Australia to Choose Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
I was very happy to read the other day that Australia is planning to ban incandescent bulbs in favour of compact fluorescent light bulbs. I can’t believe the Government is actually going to do something useful. It’s great news - a good start to doing something for the environment.. It’s a simple change which everyone can make, which will lead to less carbon dioxide entering the environment. Let’s not forget the financial savings we’ll all make as well.
I hope that along with promoting compact fluorescents they will promote the proper disposal of these bulbs. They do contain mercury which can be dangerous for the environment if not disposed of correctly. It would also be great if they were to promote LED lighting, perhaps by putting money into developing these extremely efficient lights.
From the Australian:
Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the standard incandescent light bulb, which has been around for 125 years, will be phased out by 2009.
It will be replaced by the compact fluorescent bulb which costs $5 more, but saves an average of $30 a year, and is around 80 per cent more energy efficient.
Mr Turnbull said the plan was expected to save up to two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in Australia over time and, if introduced globally, could have an enormous impact.
Low efficiency halogen lights will also be phased out but the more efficient ones will remain.
This has had numerous mentions in the blogosphere including:
While this announcement is still just that, here’s to hoping that such a strong position becomes law. There’s no reason we should still be selling a light bulb that wastes so much energy.
Legislation is being proposed in California to ban incandescent bulbs beyond 2012. Australia, however, in an example of enviro-friendly one-upmanship, is giving the antiquated and power-hungry bulbs the flick from 2009.
As best as we can make out from the myriad stories doing the rounds, the environmental group Planet Ark were about to announce a new campaign next week, in partnership with Philips. It was to be called Ban the Bulb. But the new federal Environment minister, Malcolm Turnbull, stole their thunder (and, it seems, their idea) by announcing today that incandescent light bulbs were to get the flick (as the newspapers are headlining the move).
Let’s hope it’s not all talk and it becomes law.
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It is great to see the gov’t doing something green, but like most things there is more to the story.
Although incandescent globes produce much more heat than light they also require only a small input amount of power to turn on. This is contrasted by fluoro and compact fluoro’s which require a large amount of power to start and then are very efficient to run. Incandescent lights have their place in a green world for the right applications including, fridges and other short term lighting needs like toilets.
Bans have a history of not working as planned, with incentive based methods more effective. I don’t envisage black market trade of light globes, but think the government needs to think before acting. My thought for a sustainable future is for a balance.
I agree that cfl’s are more appropriate in certain situations but I don’t agree that using incentives is the way to get people to make the change.
People are reluctant to change from what they are used to and many just don’t understand that you can actually save money by using these bulbs.
Many more see the price different when they go to buy the bulbs and, even if they know they can save on their energy bill, still buy the cheaper, less efficient bulbs. People are just like that; they often don’t think long term.
We all need a push sometimes, to do the right thing.
Plus it’s not a complete ban, the Govt has already said there will be some exceptions.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs do not despite common misconception use a lot of power when being switched on - they used approximately 3 times their normal power usage for less than half a second whilst powering up. The old magnetic ballast fluorescents did use a lot more power to switch on and off, but all new compact fluorescent light bulbs contain a electronic ballast, which uses only 3 times the normal amount of power during power up - usually under half a second.
The only concern with CF bulbs is that an electronic ballast can wear out slightly faster when frequently switched on and off after brief periods of use in comparison to incandescent bulbs which do not suffer from this issue.
Thanks for the info.