EU begins ban on incandescent lightbulbs

The European Union argues that the switch, which will be gradually extended to cover lower-wattage lights by 2020, will save enough energy to power 11 million households and lower the average family's annual electric bill by about 50 euros (around $71.50). The EU also notes that consumers can still use transparent improved incandescent bulbs with halogen technology, which they claim provides exactly the same type and quality of light as conventional incandescent bulbs. (Read this post about new energy-efficiency rules for incandescent reflector lamps and general-service fluorescent lights. For more on the current quality of CFLs, read or listen to this National Public Radio interview with Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman, deputy editor of the Consumer Reports Home franchise.)

The EU is also pinning its long-term hopes on LEDs, which are free of the mercury found in CFLs and last even longer than CFLs. In a recent interview with Consumer Reports, Nadarajah Narendran, the director of research at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, described future improvements to LED lighting and its potential to help millions of people in the industrialized and developing worlds.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook