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Campaign Archive: (Feb 05 to present)
Campaign Goals: 1. Create a deadline for action Ban the sale of incandescents by specific dates Ban 60W + 100W incandescents first (bayonet + screw) Ban other incandescent designs later 2. Remove the price advantage of incandescents Increase the cost of incandescent light bulbs Reduce the sales tax (VAT) on CFLs from 17.5% to 5% 3. Help the poor Help the poor to replace their incandescents Help the poor to save money on their energy bills 4. Encourage responsible recycling Encourage the responsible recycling of CFLs Encourage fair + adequate funding for recycling Encourage discussions amongst recycling stakeholders 5. Encourage + strengthen supporting legislation Include light bulbs in the EU's Eco Directive Explain the pros + cons of the EU's RoHS Directive 6. Propose appriopriate exemptions Make the case for appropriate medical and specialist exemptions 7. Encourage continued innovation Propose that technology neutral "watts per lumen" criteria should be included in ban legislation Propose "watts per lumen per m2" as further criteria Highlight promising technologies as they emerge 8. Encourage energy efficiency and conservation Explain the benefits of greater energy efficiency Explain the benefits of turning things off Accelerate the uptake of available technologies 9. Use LEDs to set energy performance standards LEDs offer a 90% energy saving CFLs offer a 65-80% energy saving High efficiency incandescents offer a 25% saving Incandescents offer 0% energy saving Banning incandescent light bulbs would... Save 2 to 5 Million tonnes of CO2 per year in the UK Save 23 to 53 Million tonnes of CO2 per year in the EU Global Energy Use: Thanks to...OilPrice.com Links: BBC "Green Room" 3 Feb 06 Light bulbs: Not such a bright idea Comments BBC "Green Room" 21 April 06 Shedding light on call to ban bulb Comments BBC "Green Room" 20 Oct 06 Where have all the leaders gone? Comments BBC article 29 Jun 06 Lighting the key to energy saving IEA : Lights Labour Lost report BBC article 2 Nov 06 Bulbs must be efficient by 2009 BBC "Green Room" 19 Jan 07 The need for ambition + imagination Stern Review: Summary Guardian article 1 Feb 07 Should I replace incandescents now? Worldwatch: Effects of WEEE Directive BBC article 31 Jan 07 Plan to ban light bulbs... in California Nine MSN article 20 Feb 07 Plan to ban light bulbs... in Australia BBC article 20 Feb 07 Australia pulls plug on old bulbs Courier Mail article 21 Feb 07 See the light Turnbull EurActiv article 21 Feb 07 How many EU members does it take to change a light bulb? Guardian article 22 Feb 07 Should we ban these bulbs? Scotsman article 24 Feb 07 How many light bulbs does it take to change the world? Daily Mail article 10 Mar 07 EU switches off our old light bulbs BBC "Green Room" 16 July 07 Sex sells, but at what cost? The Guardian article 27 Sept 07 UK to phase out 150W, 100W + 60W bulbs The Guardian article 27 Sept 07 Ban The Bulb? International Light Bulb Campaigns 18 Seconds (US) Greenpeace India : BTB petition (India) www.banthebulb.co.uk (UK: unaffiliated) Campaigns One Watt Initiative (IEA) One Billion Bulbs (US) Big Green Switch (UK) Eco Portal Eco Earth Info (US) References Homestayfinder: How CFLs work MPs' Letters: EU light bulb rules Wikipedia: Ozone Depletion EU: Kyoto Protocol Lighting Industry Federation >LIF: Lamp Guide 2001 pdf UK Climate Change Programme >UK CCP: Review pdf UK Market Transformation Programme ECCP Report 2001 pdf European Lamp Companies Federation DTI: WEEE Directive Energy Saving Trust GE: Soft White Dimmable CFLs Cubans + Jamaicans hand out free CFLs ELCFED FAQs Lighting Advice Energy Saving Trust Lighting Bulb ratings Lighting choices Low energy fittings Save Your 20% Customer Utility Services Light bulb suppliers lightbulbs.co.uk Just LED Direct Trade Supplies Light Rabbit Light Rabbit : Commercial AVR LED Track Lighting Bulb Buddy Energy Bulb Synergy Lighting USA (USA) Express Light Bulbs LED Light Bulbs LED Lighting Supplier eco LED Light E-Leds EcoPal (Ireland) LED Lights LED Tape Eco St LED Eco Lights Light Bulb Planet Green Led LineLite First Light Direct Lamps On Line UltraLEDS (UK) LiteBulbs Bright Green Technology (signs) Eco Friendly Light Bulbs Go Green Lights (UK) Energy Saving World (UK) Light Bulbs Direct (UK) Better Generation (UK) Efficient Light (UK) Ultima (UK) Megaman (UK) Amazon.Com (US) The Bulbman (US) LED Online [LEDs] (UK) OptoSource [LEDs] (UK) CyberLux [LEDs] (US) Androv Medical (UK) BestBulb (UK) The Light Bulb (UK) Solar Solar Power Centre (UK) Intelligent Energy Solutions (UK) Solar Insiders (UK) Solar Gadget Store (UK) Select Solar Panels (UK) Energy Saving Advice Conserve Energy (UK) Intelligent Energy Solutions (UK) Solar Security Solar Security Solutions (UK) Energy Company Advice Good Energy Shop (UK) Home Energy Generation / Storage Cyber Energy (UK) Low carbon technology sites The Solar Centre (UK) Price comparison sites Business Electricity Prices (UK) Business Gas Prices (UK) USwitch: Business Energy (UK) Home Advisory Service (UK) UK Power (UK) Business Gas (UK) Business Electricity (UK) Solar Price Comparison Services Talk Solar Panels (UK) Talk Solar Boilers (UK) Solar Quote Provider (UK) Solar Lighting Lux Outdoor Ligting (UK) The Eco Experts (UK) http://www.theecoexperts.co.uk Light bulb history An overview 1809 Humphrey Davy (Arc lamp) 1820 Warren De la Rue (vacuum + wire) 1879 Edison and Swan (carbon + cotton) 1880 Edison (carbon + bamboo) 1898 Karl Auer (osmium) 1903 Siemens/Halske (tantalum) 1906 to 10 GEC/William Coolidge (tungsten) Fluorescent light and lamp history 1857 Becquerel (fluorescence) 1901 Cooper Hewitt (mercury vapour lamp) 1934 Germer (high pressure lamp) 1970s Anderson + Hollister (electrodeless) 1976 Edward Hammer (spiral lamp) Mercury + Fluorescent Lights Efficiency Vermont Michigan Dept. of Env. Quality Energy Efficiency Advice EU Energy Label Refrigeration Laundry Dishwashers Boilers Insulation + Windows Find recommended products (UK) Generate your own energy General advice Solar Photovoltaics Solar water heating Heat pumps Small scale wind Small scale hydro Biomass Press coverage The Guardian 7 Dec 05 BBC News Online 'Green Room' 3 Feb 06 BBC Radio 4 'Broadcasting House' 5 Feb 06 Austrian Broadcasting Corp. 7 Feb 06 BBC Radio Wales 8 Feb 06 BBC News Online 8 Feb 06 The Hindustan Times editorial The Guardian "Campaign O.T.W. " 21 Feb 06 BBC Radio Essex 22 Feb 06 Interesting energy ideas... Option 10 (UK) Light Up The World (Can) TVEC.org (UK) Downshifting Path (UK) Cent. for Alt. Tech. (Wales) Patio Heaters Are Evil (UK) NGOs Friends of the Earth Greenpeace International Natural Resources Defense Council New Economics Foundation WWF Renewable Energy Businesses Select Solar Solar Century Climate Change Carbon Trust Climate Stability 2005 DEFRA Hadley Centre IPCC Met Office Pew Centre Tyndall Centre UK Energy Research Centre UNFCCC Reports National Audit Office > report Environmental Blogs Alternative Energy Blog Dangerousmeta! Earth Blog Earth Info Energy: Action Envirotech George Monbiot Greenpeace Weblog Gristmill Mark Lynas Meta Efficient One Change Real Climate Rebecca Blood Sierra Club Scoop World Changing Ethical Expert © matt prescott
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Wednesday, October 28, 2015Guest blog : Trust and the need for independent lab testsby Rory Wilding, Which LED Light
For anyone
shopping, switching to LED lighting represents one of the biggest
opportunities to make significant money savings whilst also reducing our
environmental impact.
Despite the
clear financial benefits of investing more money upfront in a longer lasting
LED light bulb, which produces strong white light and is dimmable, we have seen
little excitement about this new technology from the average person on the
street.
This is
strange as unlike other sustainability initiatives, switching to LED lighting
is one of the easiest changes an individual can make on a day-to-day level. No
major new habits are necessary and no sacrifices in lighting performance are required;
people can have all of the light they are used to at a fraction of the cost by
simply switching a new underlying technology, which increasingly looks just
like the old one.
Even
better, once the switch has been made its not uncommon for LED light bulbs to
have lifetimes of up to 25 years before needed to be changed again. So again,
why the hesitation?
Partners on
both sides appear willing – customers clearly want cheaper bills and
manufacturers, at least on paper, have a product to sell that can help achieve
this goal.
In recent
years there has been a tide of stories where consumers have been the only real
victim; the horse meat scandal, rising energy prices in contrast
to falling oil prices, and the price fixing of milk to name a few. The latest? Fudged emissions data by Volkswagen to get their diesel cars through
the emissions testing process.
People
originally bought into diesel cars on the promise of a greener more efficient
technology. This has dramatically shifted into consumers being fooled into
purchases through corporate fraud and with senior executives looking
potentially complicit in the process.
Volkswagen
found a way of cheating in the lab tests for their vehicles’ emissions with a
‘defeat device’ that could sense when the car was being tested and adjust its
NOx emissions downwards accordingly. Another way of putting this is VW had
cheated because they were allowed to mark their own homework and avoid both
independent scrutiny and full public disclosure.
This
highlights a real need for transparency in the way data is gathered and the
software systems being used during and after performance tests. It also adds
fuel to the fire when it comes to consumer confidence in so-called ‘green’ or
‘clean’ technologies.
Make no
mistake we are all for LED lighting and believe its one of the biggest
no-brainers of the last decade; the
global cost of lighting energy is approximately $230 billion per year, of which $100 to $135 billion
can be saved with present-day technologies. However to realise these savings there is a desperate need to create
confidence with end-users to accelerate uptake.
Unfortunately,
an implicit assumption from consumers is that there will be gap between what brands
claim in terms of quality and what they will experience with LED lighting once
they buy it. The fairest way to tackle this problem is to put all lights on an
even playing field and test their performance claims through an independent
test lab in a consistent fashion.
We request
that manufacturers provide us with independent lab test to verify LED product
claims. We can then allow our users to filter products to see which LED bulbs
have had an independent lab test to verify the manufacturers claims. We hope
that implementing this proposal would help to create the trust needed by this new
and uncertain market place. Such a measure would allow people to make a truly
informed purchasing decision based around transparent data and impartiality
rather than brand strength alone.
Remember –
Volkswagen has been the top selling automaker in Europe for the past two decades. The point
we are making here is that data is essentially meaningless unless gathered in
an independent fashion. To truly inspire consumers to make that leap of faith
with a new technology means the onus is on manufacturers to reduce the risk on
the individual by providing as much transparent data as possible.
Relationships
are built on trust. At Which LED Light, we have discussed the psychology of consumers before in relation to manufacturers
and LED lighting. In the age of information, on-demand
brands need to look at consumers in less of a transactional fashion and more as
an ongoing relationship. The truth is just a Google search, tweet, or Facebook
post away. If people trust the technology and the benefits are clear then
uptake is inevitable and potential payback for people and planet is obvious.
The LED
lighting market is becoming increasingly crowded with large corporate
non-traditional lighting players like IKEA and Dyson entering the market alongside an influx of
start-ups. The manufacturers that are aware of this and act early will be the
ones that win out. Without trust LED light bulbs may take years to move into
the mainstream thus reducing sales for manufacturers and denying consumers one
of the most disruptive technologies of recent years.
In lighting,
as in all areas of life, trust is not granted, it has to be earned.
Posted 9:18 AM by Matt Prescott
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