Australia, one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases in the world, and one of the few developed countries that refused to ratify the Kyoto Treaty, is now leading the way in one significant aspect - it is to get rid of all incandescent light bulbs:
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| Traditional inefficient incandscent bulb. |
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| Modern CFL. |
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Australia's ban on the traditional incandescent light bulbs is designed to help reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In fact, Australia isn't the first country to do this - both Cuba and Venezuela have already done so, and the US state of California is also taking an early lead with its proposal that would see incandescent bulbs phased out by 2012.
With man-made global warming now increasingly being seen as possibly the biggest threat ever faced by mankind, even Australia has seen the light, possibly helped along the way by the most severe drought it has encountered. The Australian government is to negotiate with manufacturers to phase out the bulbs and replace them with energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). This would be achieved within three years; after that, it will be impossible to buy incandescent bulbs in Australia. The change in technology should allow Australia reduce its annual CO2 emissions by 800,000 tonnes by 2012.
The reason for making traditional incandescent light bulbs obsolete is simple. Such lamps, which have been around from the very beginning of electric light, are extremely inefficient, and convert only 5 - 10% of the electrical energy supplied to them into light. The rest of this energy (90 - 95%) is totally wasted as heat. Today, there is no excuse for such profligate waste. There are other good reasons for changing to CFLs, even though incandescent bulbs are cheap to buy and make a lovely light. These are that, although CFLs cost a lot more (less now that some countries ensure that the price differential is reduced through support etc), they last many times longer. This, combined with the hugely greater energy efficiency, means that CFLs have a much better total cost of ownership than incandescent bulbs. Bearing in mind that CFLs are today more compact still, hardly flicker at start-up, and provide much more attractive light with better colour rendering than they used to, the advantages are inescapable. Typically, every CFL could save the homeowner up to £150 over its lifetime (less if it not used often).
Even so, CFLs have been around for 20 years or so, and have never sold well into the domestic market, as homeowners always look at first costs. This is why Australia banning incandescent bulbs is so important. The problem has been removed at a stroke.
Philips calls for joint action:
This news should be seen in the light of the announcement a few weeks ago by Royal Philips Electronics, which has called for joint action between the lighting industry, NGOs, energy suppliers and governments to replace the incandescent light bulb with the many alternative energy-saving lamps available on the market today.
At an energy efficiency forum in Brussels Philips announced it would start this initiative in Europe. The switchover, if it happens, could happen within a decade. If successful, the move would make a significant contribution to the issue of climate change and help reach Kyoto commitments.
Philips, probably the world's leading lighting supplier, believes that these discussions in Europe should be conducted as part of the new EU eco-design directive for energy using products (EUP). The result of this collective effort would support the EU's new energy efficiency plan to achieve 20% savings by 2020.
Commented Philips Lighting CEO Theo van Deursen: "A wide range of energy-saving light bulbs is available on the market today. These not only save energy, but also cost far less to run and are simply a better environmental choice than incandescent light bulbs. We believe it is time to encourage the switch to energy-saving light bulbs by taking action to discuss the replacement of incandescent light bulbs."
Figures show that about two billion incandescent light bulbs are sold every year in the EU. Up to three quarters of these are used in the home, the remainder being used in the commercial sector. About 80% of all lighting in the home today is still using incandescent light bulbs. The collective energy waste is massive. With a change to energy-saving alternatives, realistic running cost savings for European consumers of EUR 5-8bn / year and an indirect CO2 reduction of 20m tonnes could be achieved. Moreover, for users, a six-year-life rated energy-saving bulb would save up to EUR 72 during its lifetime. Switching to these alternatives offers a simple win-win proposition. The consumer saves money and the environment benefits from lower energy consumption.
CFLs do have a difficulty in that they can't easily be dimmed, although lighting manufacturers are looking at this. And with the WEEE and RoHS Directives now in force, or coming into force across Europe, there is a problem with end-of-life recycling. This is because CFLs contain mercury (though less than they used to) and require careful disposal.
There is also the problem that, although there are now many energy saving types, including the fast developing light emitting diodes (LEDs), which can be very efficient in the right application, energy saving lamps still cannot cater for every application. It will be very interesting to see how the process of replacing incandescent light bulbs with CFLs and other energy saving types goes in Australia. Before the three years is up, however, it is to be hoped that the UK will have followed suit.
The main manufacturers of advanced energy saving lamps OSRAM, Philips Lighting and GE Lighting.
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Related contacts
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Philips Lighting (UK)
Guildford Buss. Pk, Guildford GU2 8XH
Tel: 01483 293 071
Web: www.lampsandgear.philips.com
Osram Ltd.,
Osram Hse, Waterside Drive,
Langley, Berks SL3 6EZ
Tel: 01744 812 221
Web: www.osram.co.uk |
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