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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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Thursday, December 17, 2015Big brands 'cheating' with false energy efficiency claimsBREAKING NEWS... from The Guardian... VW mark II?http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/17/leading-lightbulb-brands-making-false-claims-on-energy-efficiency Lightbulb manufacturers are misleading consumers about the brightness and energy use of their products by exploiting a loophole in European tests, lab results seen by the Guardian show. Ikea, Philips, GE and Osram are among the companies exaggerating energy performance up to 25% higher than that claimed on packaging, according to the Swedish Consumer Association tests. Ikea told the Guardian as a result it would refund customers who were dissatisfied with bulbs they had bought from its stores. The discrepancy is caused by manufacturers taking advantage of leeways – known as “tolerances” in official testing procedures for bulbs. The Swedish tests, conducted between, 2012-14, found that a 42W Airam halogen lamp consumed 25% more energy than claimed on the label to achieve its declared 630 lumens of brightness. A GE 70W halogen bulb guzzled 20% more energy to reach its stated 1,200 lumens. A 28W Philips halogen bulb was found to be 24% less bright than claimed while Ikea’s 53W and 70W bulbs both underperformed by 16%. A senior lighting industry executive told the Guardian that tolerance manipulation was rampant, forcing smaller firms to put substandard products onto the market or risk going out of business. “All the major brands are doing it,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “No one is clean on this issue and everyone has to follow suit to compete. In the past, we declared our measured values on the packaging but when we measured our competitors equivalent products we saw that they were declaring higher values on their labels. “So we had to play the same game. We’re in a competitive market and if we didn’t, we would be idiots.” There is nothing illegal about the mislabelling, which cuts across brands and ranges and affects the lightbulbs’ advertised brightness per unit of energy – rather than their A-G energy label ratings. But the same whistleblower, who has two decades of experience in the industry, said that many companies manufactured products with lower-grade components knowing that they would fall short of the required wattage and lumens specifications, as his firm was now reluctantly doing. “The industry just follows the letter of the regulations, and they’re not in line with today’s technology,” he explained. “The net result is that consumers are being cheated by the system and I’m fed up with it.” The European tests for bulbs allow for a 10% tolerance threshold, meaning a bulb advertised as rated at 600 lumens, a measure of brightness, could in reality be 540 lumens. A 2-3% tolerance threshold would be fairer and easily doable at little extra cost to consumers, the Guardian’s source said. The European commission is aware of the loophole and has been working on proposals to close it since November 2012. Staff working documents show that officials knew that firms were exploiting loopholes in the system as far back as 2013. But plans for a legislative proposal are still gathering dust. “The commission found out that lighting manufacturers were adding the tolerance to the performance they measured for their own lamps, and using this to claim a higher label class than the performance they measured [in their energy] labelling or claim a pass for a product they measured as failing in ecodesign [regulations],” a commission spokesperson said. “This is not what is meant to be done, but the text of the regulations did not specifically exclude it.” While the commission has moved to close the loophole in energy labelling, lamp ecodesign requirements will not be reformed until next year, the official added. This would leave the tolerance loophole in place for other home appliances such as TVs, water heaters, dishwashers, washing machines, fridges and air conditioners. The cost to consumers across the home appliance industry range could be as high as €2bn a year, when other home appliance product ranges were factored in, the campaign group Coolproducts said. Viktor Sundberg, a vice-president at Electrolux said that tolerance loopholes should be closed across all product ranges. “I would like the EU to go ahead with a clarification to make the law clearer to everyone at the beginning of next year,” he said. Efficiency campaigners say that they have been told by officials that a robust proposal to address the problem is “doomed” because of fears in Brussels of attracting headlines comparing it to the VW diesel emissions scandal. “VW went bang and EU regulators woke up,” said Stephane Arditi, a product expert for the European Environmental Bureau. “The same thing could happen with home appliances, but the commission leadership would prefer to go back to sleep. They should accelerate rather than bury these reforms. Until they do, the playing field will slope in favour of those prepared to deceive their own customers.” Raw data from the 2012 and 2013 tests has been published on a blog. When contacted by the Guardian, Ikea offered full refunds or product exchanges to any customers dissatisfied with lightbulbs they had bought from their stores. “The report refers to halogen bulbs that are no longer sold at Ikea,” a spokesperson for the Swedish firm said. “Since September 2015, we switched our entire lighting range to LED for our customers to live a more sustainable life at home.” Jo Picardo, a spokesperson for Philips, said that the firm complied with all relevant standards and was committed to accurate labelling. “Lamp performance can differ per bulb,” she said. “This is the nature of the product and is especially true of halogen bulbs due to the tungsten coil. On average our bulbs meet the specs well within the allowed 10% tolerance range.” Osram described the issue as “not company-specific but an industry topic” and deferred to the Lighting Europe trade association. Diederik de Stoppelaar, Lighting Europe’s secretary-general, said that the industry was aware of the problem and that his association’s tests had found discrepancies of up to 35% in stated lightbulb performances, mostly involving bulbs manufactured outside the EU. “The allegations are not new to us as in our market surveillance programme we had the same findings,” he said. “We found mistakes in lumen output mainly.” His preferred solution though was for a simplified label, rather than an end to the current tolerance threshold. “We need a reasonable tolerance and in principle, tolerances of 10% are accepted in international standards,” he said. “I believe that all the major suppliers are within the limit. Once or twice you might get an occasional difference but that can also be a manufacturing issue, or an exceptional case.” De Stoppelaar declined to share information about the performance of EU-based companies in Lighting Europe’s surveys. • This article was amended on 17 December 2015. An earlier version showed a photograph of a fluorescent, rather than halogen, bulb. Posted 11:26 AM by Matt Prescott
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