New EU law starts phasing out of traditional light bulbs

The new legislation, agreed by EU Member States last December, follows a voluntary initiative to phase out incandescent, or old fashioned bulbs, which started in 2007 and has been supported by a number of UK energy suppliers and retailers.

The new legislation will make it illegal for EU states to manufacture and import traditional light bulbs, but it does not require consumers or businesses to replace all their light bulbs immediately and retailers will be permitted to sell off existing stocks, which are expected to last around three to four more months.

Energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) use 80 per cent less energy than an old fashioned bulb, reducing annual energy bills by between £3 and £6 per lamp.

Environment Minister Dan Norris welcomed the implementation of legislation that will enforce the switch to CFLs. “We can no longer rely on light bulbs which waste 95 per cent of their energy as heat. We are glad the EU has put this measure in place to stop the waste of energy and money from old fashioned high energy bulbs,” he said.

Compliance with the new legislation will, for the time being, be overseen by Trading Standards, although the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is currently consulting on the possibility of establishing a new body to do this.

“With new energy standards and energy labels coming in across the EU for white goods and other products, as well as the new rules on light bulbs, we are consulting on the best way to surveil what comes in and out of the country and how to enforce the standards that the EU has set in law,” a Defra spokesperson said.

Any individual found breaking the new rules and importing traditional 100W incandescent bulbs after September 1 faces a fine of £5,000, with potentially unlimited fines for breaches by large companies.

But Defra does not expect such sanctions to be need. “We don’t expect people to be breaking the rules because of the profitability that will result from everybody switching to low energy light bulbs,” said a spokesperson. “There is no worth in selling a 20 pence light bulb for the risk of a £5,000 fine.”

The Eco-design for Energy-using Products Framework Directive restricts the manufacture and import into the EU of 100W and frosted incandescent lamps from September 1, with a phase out of lamps of lower wattage by 2012.