As one can see, there's a consultation period so people could send in
information or comments they have ready for other situations.
If the situation in Ireland was to be altered, it might be a useful
precedent to refer to in other countries e.g. if there was to be limited
access to traditional light bulbs for people for whom the new light bulbs
did not suit for medical reasons. Also perhaps they could be ordered from
Hopefully it's self-explanatory.
Minister Gormley Launches Consultation Paper on Light Bulbs
John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local
Government, today (10 October 2008) launched a consultation paper on a
proposed energy efficiency and performance standard for light bulbs.
http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Atmosphere/ClimateChange/LightBulbsPublicConsultation/PublicationsDocuments/FileDownLoad,18645,en.pdf ) outlines details of the proposed standard that will be introduced on a phased basis
over a number of years.
The Minister said "An important step in achieving this objective is to
early as possible. With more energy efficient alternatives now widely
available, the proposed standard is a sensible and timely measure in terms
of reducing both the carbon intensity and cost of general lighting".
The types of bulbs which will not meet the proposed standard, and, as a
consequence, will no longer be available on the Irish market are ordinary
incandescent tungsten filament bulbs and low energy-efficient incandescent
tungsten filament halogen bulbs for general lighting.
The first phase will be introduced in March 2009 and will apply to bulbs of
75W and above. This will eliminate a substantial number, possibly in the
region of half, of the most energy inefficient light bulbs from the Irish
"The proposed standard will offer significant benefits for consumers in
terms of reducing the cost of lighting and for the environment in terms of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change. It
provides a great opportunity for individuals to actively engage in reducing
greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce their carbon footprint. The
consultation process provides an opportunity for all concerned to make their
views known" said the Minister.
Comments are invited from all interested individuals and organisations by 14
November 2008, either by email to:
or by post to:
National Climate Change Policy Section,
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government,
"What about medical conditions? Is it true that some energy efficient
lighting has negative effects on people suffering from conditions such as
Again, this is an area covered by this consultation process, to establish if
this is the case, and if any special measures are needed to cater for this.
However, as per above, Tungsten Halogen Bulbs would seem to provide the
answer if this is the case."
Sources of further information that came up on a quick search (far from a
complete list but might get people started):
The UK and EU plans to phase out incandescent lightbulbs will mean suffering
and total social exclusion for people with light sensitivity conditions.
People with conditions including lupus, XP, forms of eczema and dermatitis,
electrosensitivity, ME, autism, epilepsy, migraines, certain types of
porphyria, and many more can suffer severe and painful reactions to
Don't let the needs of sick and disabled people be ignored - go to the
Campaign Page to see how you can help.
Email sent to European Parliamentarians: low energy light bulbs Options
be interested in the article below. This article is on Russ Andrews
website. Russ probably knows more about mains electricity in the UK
than any other person
How green are low energy bulbs?
The EU has ruled that ordinary 40W / 60W / 100W incandescent lamps
will be banned from 2012. The decree is that domestic lights will be
replaced with 'energy saving' lightbulbs (or, more correctly 'compact
fluorescent lamps' or CFLs) in the interest of energy saving and
reducing our carbon footprint. It is claimed that these CFLs use 25%
of the energy and last eight times as long as the equivalent
incandescent lamps – and so will help "save the planet".
To understand more, some key things to know about are apparent power,
real power and the power factor. Apparent power is the amount of
energy an electricity company needs to supply to produce the real
power required by a component or a piece of equipment. Electrical
equipment where the apparent power is the same as the real power has a
power factor of 1. If a piece of equipment requires more apparent
power to produce the real power, it has a power factor of less than 1.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that equipment with a power
factor nearer 0 is not as 'green' or 'environmentally sensitive' as an
electrical component with a power factor nearer 1.
Knowing this, I've tested several CFLs with surprising results: taking
a sample 60W light bulb as a reference against the equivalent 13W CFL,
the CFL used more than twice as much apparent power as real power.
Compared with ordinary incandescent light bulbs, CFLs have a poor
power factor because they require more than the minimum apparent power
to supply the real power.
My tests have shown that the CFLs use half the power of a 60W lamp,
not quarter as stated and that's before taking into account the extra
power the supplier must generate.
The power difference between the real power consumed by the CFL (in
the case of the Osram, it's almost 15 watts) and the apparent power is
wasted in more ways than one. The electricity supply becomes less
efficient because it senses the difference between the real and
apparent and becomes unbalanced by the redundant currents swilling
around. The result is that it must generate more power than is really
being used and the system needs to be upgraded to handle it. The cost
of generation goes up and so the cost to the consumer goes up with it.
The net result of using CFLs is that there is no saving whatever…
quite the opposite; the electricity supply system has doubled its
output and doubled its carbon emissions. The more people use CFLs, the
worse the problem will become. And that's before we've even talked
about the fact that CFLs use mercury in their construction, which
leads to more issues in their disposal. Utter stupidity… isn't it
better just to switch off a few lights?