More about the EU Regulation

 

From 1st September 2009 the following will be restricted from being placed on the market:

  • All clear glass bulbs 100 watts or over (except for those with an energy rating of 'C' or better)
  • All frosted bulbs (except CFLs and LEDs)
  • All bulbs in energy classes F & G

All remaining lower wattage clear glass bulbs will be banned progressively between 1st September 2009 and 1st September 2012. Reflector bulbs and spotlights are excluded from this EU regulation. The most commonly used bulb the 60W will remain available until September 2011 and 40W and 25W bulbs until September 2012.

Alongside minimum energy efficiency requirements, requirements are also set on the functionalities of lamps (e.g. lifetime and lighting performance) and on the product information to be displayed to allow the consumers to better select the appropriate lamps for a given purpose among the alternatives to incandescent lamps.

The calendar of the phase out in the Regulation, has been developed in a way to ensure that lamp manufacturers have the time to convert their incandescent bulb production lines to improved halogen lamp production. 

The Regulation will only apply to the products that are “placed on the market” (sold by the manufacturer or importer) after the first phase of the requirement.  Therefore after the 1st September 2009 stocks that were already on shelves of the retailers or in retailer stocks before 1st September will continue to be sold until they run out.

 
 

Exemptions to the Regulation   

This Regulation applies to all non-directional household lamps sold for household use. It does not apply to directional lamps (as defined in Article 2 of EU Regulation (EC) No 244/ 2009) or lamps excluded from the scope of Article 1.

For special applications or devices where there is clearly no alternative to incandescent lightbulbs or conventional halogens (such as oven lamps, infrared lamps, pet-care lamps etc.), the Regulation allows the sales of special purpose lightbulbs not fulfilling the requirements of the Regulation, provided the special purpose is clearly stated on the packaging together with an indication that the lightbulb is not suitable for room illumination.