Bulbs - Old Style

[Yorkie]

I went to buy some bulbs from are local our local wilkinson I coyly not find the old style ones so I asked one of there assistants they told me that the government has made them illegal to use and sell anymore ?? So I am obviousley breaking the law using them in the shed and house .I managed to buy the old style proper bulbs at pound land .
Robin

They're not illegal to use Robin - though there is a ban on selling them, but looking in Poundland, you wouldn't think so - they seem to have them openly on sale in abundance, and no doubt there are more supplies on a slow boat from China as I write! Don't know how this sits with Trading Standards? In practice, the "ban" is a tad fictitious because as we know, the bulbs are still available on the market, just marketed as "rough-service" or "shock-resistant" bulbs and maybe those are what Poundland sell?

Personally, I abhor those ghastly CFLs or whatever they call them. They take ages to come up to full brightness and are hopeless in places such as on landing, in toilets etc, where you only want the light on for a few minutes. Nor can most of them be used with dimmer switches, though in fairness, there are better versions of low energy lamps arriving on the market, and prices are falling.

This issue has been bouncing around for some years now and the official stance is:

European Union:

The initial Europe wide ban only applies to general-purpose, non-directional incandescent bulbs, so doesn’t affect any bulbs with reflective surfaces (e.g. spotlights and halogen down lighters) or special purpose bulbs including those used in devices such as household appliances, traffic lights, and infra-red lamps. The sale of the most inefficient bulbs will be phased out. The first types to go were non-clear (frosted) bulbs, which were off the market since September 2009. Also from September 2009 clear bulbs over 100W were more efficient types. This limit was moved down to lower wattages, and the efficiency levels raised by the end of 2012.
Also, the EU has given the target of 2016 to phase out halogen bulbs, and any bulb available for purchase after the 2016 date must have at least a 'B' energy rating.

United Kingdom:

The UK government announced in 2007 that incandescent bulbs would be phased out by 2011. The UK followed the EU-wide ban on 60w incandescent bulbs that came into effect on 1 September 2011; 40w and lower ratings will be phased out in 2012. In the UK a program is run by the Energy Saving Trust to identify lighting products that meet energy conservation and performance guidelines; the intent of the program is to reduce consumer concerns due to variable quality of products.

This article might be of interest:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/20...ent-europe

As far as I'm concerned, hurricanes in Brussels cause slight drizzle in Hull, and I'll continue to stock up with incandescents from Poundland as long as I'm able.

If they really want to conserve electricity, they should ban the sale of Christmas lights