Traditional 100 watt incandescent light bulbs banned
From 1st September 2009, traditional incandescent 100 watt bulbs cannot be manufactured or imported to the UK due to new EU rules.
The ban favours low-energy or LED bulbs which can use 80% less electricity than traditional light bulbs.
In financial terms, an average household could save over £40 a year by using LED bulbs or low-energy bulbs throughout their house. Not only doing this make bills cheaper, but it cuts carbon emissions by sometimes as much as 135KG of CO2 a year.
A short list of FAQs on the banned bulbs are as follows:
When will the ban come into effect?
The ban starts from Tuesday 1st September 2009.
Am I allowed to buy and use traditional incandescent bulbs?
Yes. The ban does not affect being able to buy these banned bulbs, but the import and manufacture will stop. Some shops have stock-piled the banned bulbs so they can be continued to be sold for months to come, but once those stocks run out - that will be it.
What equivalents or replacements are there that I can use?
Conventional energy saving bulbs and also LED bulbs are options to replace traditional incandescent 100 watt bulbs.
If I still want to buy these banned bulbs, where can I buy them?
If you do a search on Google for "buy banned light bulbs", you should see several companies still being able to offer you these bulbs.
» Also see our LED bulb FAQ