14 June 2007

CALL FOR LIGHT BULB INDUSTRY TO WALK THE TALK ON ENERGY-EFFICIENCY

 

Whilst talks are under way at EU level about phasing out the sale of traditional incandescent bulbs by 2009, a new report by Ethical Consumer finds that major bulb manufacturers could push energy efficient products much more.

Mary Rayner, author of the report, says: “Large companies are actively taking part in EU plans to phase out the manufacture of traditionally-shaped incandescent light bulbs. However, we would like to see manufacturers giving concrete time frames or targets that will see the least efficient products eliminated from the market.”

Omicron tops Ethical Consumer’s list of bulb manufacturers, having scored an Ethiscore rating of 15 out of 20 points. Second and third are Kosnic LED and Ecozone's brand BioBulb CFL, scoring 14 and 13.5 respectively. Among the big brands are B&Q's CFL bulb, which receives a rating of 9.5, ahead of Philips' LED (8), Ikea's CFL (7.5), Osram's CFL (3) and GE's CFL (2).

ENERGY EFFICIENT LEDS TO GO MAINSTREAM

The Ethical Consumer report also states that super-efficient LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are only now finding their way into the mainstream consumer market. Retailer B&Q is promising to stock a traditional light bulb shaped LED from September, while manufacturers Osram and Philips are planning to introduce new LED products for the home. Omicron’s traditionally shaped LED light bulb is available online from www.bltdirect.co.uk, but at  lower wattage than the standard incandescent light bulb.

States Mary Rayner at Ethical Consumer: “Advocates of energy efficient lighting are predicting that LEDs will in the end replace CFLs as the bulb to have. We welcome the fact that LEDs are becoming increasingly popular on the market as more energy efficient lighting is a simple means for households to reduce their carbon footprint.”

• Incandescent: the traditional style light bulb. Use on average 80% more energy than CFLs.

• Compact fluorescent (CFL): the original low energy light bulb. Now come in ‘normal’ shapes, just like a traditional incandescent. Advances in technology mean they’re brighter, don’t flicker and don’t take minutes to ‘warm up’. Some can be fitted with a dimmer switch too.

• Light Emitting Diode (LED): Several diodes are clustered together to produce sufficient light. They’re now found in traffic lights as they don’t suffer from glare and last much, much longer.

Click here for the Ethical Consumer buyers’ guide to light bulbs.