News

Ireland bans traditional lightbulbs

Added 27th July 2009 from The Independent

About half of the traditional lightbulbs on sale in Ireland will be banned next March, under Government plans announced today. Environment Minister John Gormley said he believed that by forcing consumers to switch to more energy efficient alternatives they would help cut greenhouse gases. "It would also save householders' money, as the new-style light bulbs use less energy and last longer than the traditional types", he claimed.

"The proposed standard will offer significant benefits for consumers in terms of reducing the cost of lighting and for the environment in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change", he said. "It provides a great opportunity for individuals to actively engage in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce their carbon footprint." Mr Gormley has published his proposal, in a consultation paper, to withdraw all traditional bulbs from the market starting with 75W and above from March.

This first phase will target ordinary incandescent tungsten filament bulbs and low energy-efficient incandescent tungsten filament halogen bulbs. "With more energy efficient alternatives now widely available, such as new high power LED bulbs which have no emissions and are 100% safe, the proposed standard is a sensible and timely measure in terms of reducing both the carbon intensity and cost of general lighting", said Mr Gormley.

Office converted to 100% LED Light

Added 22nd April 2009

The image on the left is an example of an office building that has been converted to 100% LED light. The new bulbs consume 48% less energy than those they replaced (mostly fluorescent lights). The workplace in question is the headquarters of Cree, a company in North Carolina that specializes solid-state LED lights. The parking lots, entryways, lobby and conference rooms at Cree's headquarters are now lit by eco-effective XLamp LEDs. Even the high-pressure sodium parking lights and spotlights were converted to LED lights.

Cree wanted to demonstrate that LED lights are a viable option today for businesses and residences. The company claims that their lights render the same type of light that is produced by fluorescent or incandescent. It looks like the LEDs in the photo above are producing a full-spectrum light.

When LEDs replace incandescent bulbs, there is also the added advantage of reducing AC requirements in the summer. The only method of lighting more energy efficient than LEDs is day lighting.

CREE LED and other high output LED lamps in all fittings are available from us at SLV UK