Say goodbye to 60-watt light bulbs

I used to use a singly 100 watt bulb in my living and dining rooms. Now I use three "energy efficient" bulbs to try to get a decent light output. So much for the environment!

More environmentally friendly they may if you are a couch potato and only watch the tv. What about people who read, sew, knit or enjoy any other pastime which requires good light. It used to take a 150w old style light bulb to adequately light our lounge, now it takes one dim glow pig tail light in the ceiling and three other lamps to see what we are doing. How green is this? Butt out EU I am not prepared to hold a solar powered torch in my teeth to thread a needle

I have issues with this stupid ruling on two counts.

1. I worked in an old folks home where they tried this measure to cut costs but a lot of the old people were then unable to read as they could not see the print.

2. I personally have trouble reading small print in low light conditions. If they carry on with this stupidity I will end up using 2 x 40 Watt bulbs instead of 1 x 60 Watt. Where's the energy saving in forcing me to do that. Or should I just give up reading which I have always loved doing.

Lunacy at it's best.

What a load of bullsh!t. It is my experience that the new super duper bulbs do not last anywhere near as long as they are supposed to and cost more. They also contain mercury which is harmful should you break one and the quality of light is pathetic. If the CFL bulbs genuinely were an improvement, they wouldn't need to phase the traditional ones out as people wouldn't buy them. (anyone want to buy a typrewriter, a betamax VCR, a Sinclair Spectrum or any other obsolete peiece of equipment?)

The fact that they still sell well speaks volumes about how useless the CFL bulbs actually are.

There are many ways to save energy but why do all the government proposed ideas involve taxing things or banning them while they continue to be chauffeur driven around in energy inefficient cars (paid for by me!) and fly all over the place on government "business" (don't they know what a telephone is?).

Why ban them??? If the alternatives are better and cost far less to run, then market forces will see them go dark! This removal of chice by the EU is just another example of unellected officals from other countries ordering us about.

As for them being green, have you seen the chemicals used in their production? They may use less energy but they contain plenty of pollutents

Another reason to ditch the EU (along with 'Human Rights' rulings favouring the criminal classes).

The only thing they do well is the low energy bit, I suppose. There is not enough brightness for older folk to read properly. I still have a stock of 150 watt bulbs for my central lounge light - goody.
I reckon there is more light output from a dead gloworm's bum than a low energy bulb.

I think that this is just one of the many things that makes people want to get out of Europe altogether, if I CHOOS not to buy them that is my CHOICE but too ban them is frankly crazy. As someone has said the low enrgy ones are not green at all as they use many harmful things in their production and when disgarded are far more dangerous than the old tungsten one. I have been using the low energy ones for over 20 yeras now, as they use 80% less energy but that is my CHOICE. The new LED bulbs are much more environmentally friendly than the other types but there aren't many of them out there for domestic use and the ones that are are mainly unaffordable or very low light output. We need a referendum to come out of europe now and save us.

once again the environment nazis controlling the masses

I understant that the bulbs that we have to use now contain mercury. If so, how are they to be disposed of when they come to the end of their working life. I have been told to just take them back to where they were bought!!!! That's not the point. Where will they be finally disposed of? If they are just dumped, that will contaminate the ground for ever. WOW!!!! Another example of the faceless unelected people who sit in Brussels dictating what has to be. Getting out of the EEc is overdue.

After reading the replies I see what you mean about things like the Cooker hood ect I reckon they will start bringing out appliances with led lights (Which are nowhere near as bright as they claim them to be) .We use a few differnt globes in the lights around the house so Im going to stock up now I suggest you lot do the same .If you spent £20 all up I reckon youd have enough globes to do you till you died .

I have totally had it with do gooders and tree huggers trying to save the planet !!
All this renewable energy nonsense, recycling and conservation is the biggest rip off ever known in the world. Even bigger than the banks and the governments. Companys are filling their boots on this garbage whilst hippies all over the world are on nerve tablets and having sleepless nights over the state of the planet

Will the last person to leave the EU please turn off the lights.

What a load of rubbish Carbon print my eye when the men of Brussels stop getting in planes to go all over Europe for a meeting then yes carbon print but to stop 60 w bulbs is bad as the one to replace them are dull dismall and when you read hurt your eyes are we going toi ruled by thet load of Hypocrits in Europe or from an Elected UklGovernment WE should all sign a pettition

Stock up on torches and candles as these 'Bulbs' are useless !!!!!!!

for goddness sake when will we stop kowtowing to these fuds

lets say goodbye to the EU once and for all

Manufacturers can still make and sell them as light emitting background heaters, the heating aspect being the primary use.

Britain is returning to the `Dark Ages`. This may seem an attempt at humour, but the phasing out of the incondescent and halogen light bulbs, has very serious consequences. The `green` lobby are so `wrapped-up` with saving energy, that any serious consequences of their changes such as this, are totally ignored. I appreciate it is a directive of the European Commission, but it was the `green` lobby that campaigned for the change. It means that many homes will now be in darkness or very dull light for a much longer period of time. Especially in the Winter months. This, together with many Councils accross the country, adopting the `green` policy of `dulling` street lamps during the hours of darkness, will mean,not least, a rise in crime. There will be more rapes and muggings, and more opportunity for criminals to break into homes.Youngers who turn to street crime, will find it easier to get away with it because it will be more difficult to identify them. Even to be identified by security cameras. It will make driving more difficult so more accidents will occur. Away from crime, there will not be an enthusiastic take up of replacing the old bulbs with the new energy efficient ones, not least because they are `ugly` as well as more expensive. The industry is still experimenting on more `designer` friendly bulbs which, they hope, will be more attractive. But even those will be very expensive at around £50.00p each. All this at a time when the governments cuts are biting very hard in the consumers finances. We are already experiencing the effects of this governments `deep and fast` cut back policies, and know there is worse to come. I have noted that many people have rejected the idea of roof solar panels for heating and lighting, as have I. Again, it is expensive, and the very point that the sales people are saying that you can save a lot of money long term, is impracticable, when the savings on long term are actually needed right now, to get through this recession. The other point is that, as with the energy saving light bulbs, I find that homes with the solar panels on their roof look decidedly unattractive, and will only attract `green` friendly possible buyers. I know that there are many `green` supporters out there whom will criticise my comment. But I also know that the majority of people in this country are not `die hard green supporters`, as they accept that changes in our society, that affect us all, should be carried out more slowly, and indeed more intelligently, by ensuring that changes are made with a view to the consequences.

Food for thought....
Let's put this into a little perspective, shall we?
Now, for those of you saying things like: I used to use 2X 60Watt, or 1X 150Watt, now I use X Energy Savers... Let's take a look at things... ok, 2 X 60W bulbs will consume 1 unit of electricity in a little over 8 hours (8 hours and 20 minutes, to be a little more precise). Now, if the ES bulbs were completely "efficient" and only used their rated wattage throughout use, then 3X "100Watt" ES bulbs, would, at most use 75W per hour, meaning that they would take 12 hours (and 40 minutes) to consume the same amount of energy. Ok, so you need to use more bulbs to produce the same amount of light, but they don't produce the same amount of heat, you so you can expect that your heating requirements will increase, meaning more oil, gas, or solid fuel, which all produce more carbon emissions. ES bulbs contain mercury dust, which is not exactly good for the health, and who knows how much extra waste and emissions are created in manufacturing these items?
Now, the REAL food for thought.... I'm sure many of you have PC's, and I'm also sure many of you use PC's at work (and I mean desktops here, not laptops)... Now, hands up how many of you know what the power supply is rated at? Anyone? If you're rocking an old desktop, you may get away with having a 250W power supply... OK, so that'll take 4 hours to burn 1 unit of electricity... But, most standard PC's are running 350-450W, and any of you gamers out there with some of the newer components will require at least a 500W supply to play whatever game takes your fancy... Let's look at the difference now, shall we? Take a higher end gaming computer, for example, with a 600W power supply. The LCD monitor at this point is moot, because the power required to run Call of Duty or WoW (just the PC) would let you burn a standard 60W bulb for 10 hours...
Now to office buildings... Yes, let's complain about them leaving lights on, but say nothing about all of the computers and network hardware chugging down electricity at a rate of knots. If a company let's just 10 "standard" PC's run overnight, all using 350W power supplies, given that a business is closed from say 6PM to 9AM, then that's 15 hours of 3.5kW (3.5 units) racking up 52.5 units of power "wastage"....

Now, do you REALLY think that leaving the lights on is such a drain of electricity?

I understand these bulbs work on the same principle as flourescent tubes, which cause problems when installed in workshops/places with rotating/moving machinery as they flash at a frequency of around 40hz and can make rapidly-turning/oscillating items appear still or slow-moving. For this reason they are connected over three electrical phases. If then, you use your shed/garage as a workshop, do the EU intend to issue grants for the upgrade of the electrical system as this will surely result in the injury of someone. Furthermore, if this is the case and given that at least three bulbs will be required for safety, how much energy will actually be saved?