100 Watt Lightbulbs Banned

European Law has called for the compulsory end of 100 Watt household light bulbs. The old style bulbs use far more energy than newer bulbs, and the move hopes to get people to use less energy in their homes.

From the 1st of September 100 Watt incandescent bulbs are no longer to be sold in European shops. A ban on other bulbs of the same type with lower wattage will follow in the coming years, in a plan to phase them out completely agreed by the EU last December.

New energy saving light bulbs such as compact florescent lights (CFL) are up to 80% more efficient compared to the old style bulbs. Switching not only saves money for the home owner on electricity bills, but also means less usage at the power plants, and thus less emissions. At the moment 85% of household lighting is deemed to be inefficient, using more electricity than necessary.

It’s a minor, yet significant change. I personally prefer the newer bulbs anyway, but we really should not care about an extra bit of brightness shining on our furniture when the fact is that we can save so much electricity by switching to these new style bulbs. Advancements in technology comes in many forms, but when its a no-brainer like this, we really should embrace it.

Is this perhaps the first Government decision on climate change that effects the everyday person? It could well be. It certainly wont be the last. These sort of decisions will certainly not be met kindly by many, but they will come sooner or later, and it is in our joined best interests to follow them if we are going to fight dangerous climate change.