Monday 3 September 2012

loophole to flaunt incandescent phase out

Several lighting manufacturers and retailers are reported to be getting around the phase out of the incandescent lamp by marketing industrial lamps as suitable for domestic use.

With the ban on the production of all of the remaining types of domestic-use incandescent lamps coming into effect on 1 September 2012, at least two manufacturers have taken to mass producing more ‘rough service’ incandescent lamps to tap into the market of customers reluctant to move to more energy efficient lighting.

They claim that poor drafting of the EU directive means that shops can continue to supply lamps intended for ‘industrial use’ while manufacturers are allowed to make and sell the incandescent lamps if they are described on the box as ‘rough-service lamps’ that are not for domestic use.

Several retailers have begun to market rough service lamps as ‘ideal’ or ‘suitable’ for home use, with online retailer Lamps2udirect ending the description of a 100 watt pearl rough service lamp with the sentence: ‘Also, commonly used domestically around the home as general lighting!’

News sources such as the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph, which have long opposed the phase out, have also been quick to alert their readers to the similarities in performance characteristics between industrial and domestic incandescent lamps. An article on the Daily Mail website said: “The rough-service bulbs come in both screw and bayonet versions, and will cost around £1 – not much more than the household bulbs they will replace and half the price of energy-saving alternatives.”

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