Guide to New EU Directive on Lamps
The Directive and what it means for you
The European Commission has decided to prohibit the sale of particularly energy-intensive lamps for household use in a series of stages up to 2016. Upgrading the lamps could reduce a household's total electricity consumption by up to 10-15% and save easily £50 a year (taking into account the purchasing cost of lamps).
The sale of the worst-performing domestic lighting products will be prohibited from 2009. The EU commission state that the ban will be applied only where alternatives exist, whilst avoiding any risk of disruption of supply to the internal market or loss of functionality from the user perspective.
The table below shows when certain requirements will be enforced and also displays some examples of the types of lamps, commonly used in households that will be affected by the new requirements.
| Date | Requirement | Lamp types prohibited from retail (common in households) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Sept ‘09 | Lamps rated at 100w or more must carry an energy rating of C or better. All others may carry E. | [1] Clear incandescent and conventional halogen lamps rated at 100w or more [2] All frosted lamps excluding those carrying an energy rating of A (CFLs) |
| 1 Sept ‘10 | Lamps rated at 75w or more must carry an energy rating of C or better. | Clear incandescent and conventional halogen lamps rated at 75W or more |
| 1 Sept ‘11 | Lamps rated at 60w or more must carry an energy rating of C or better. | Clear incandescent and conventional halogen lamps rated at 60w or more |
| 1 Sept ‘12 | Lamps must carry an energy rating of C or better | All clear incandescent and conventional halogens (Halogen lamps rated B & C still ok) |
| 1 Sept ‘13 | Raising of quality requirements followed by a review |
Raising of quality requirements followed by a review |
| 1 Sept ‘16 | Lamps must carry an energy rating of B or better with 1 exception | All lamps carrying an energy rating of C except special cap halogens (C rating ok) |
Exceptions to the directive
Halogen lamps with special caps like G9 do not exist with energy classes better than C. They are needed on the market as there are luminaires that can only take such lamps. Therefore further improvements can only be achieved by imposing requirements on the luminaires themselves, which the Commission is planning to do in a measure currently under preparation and to be tabled in 2009.
Special purpose incandescent lamps (e.g. those used in household appliances such as ovens or fridges, traffic lights, infrared lamps etc.) are meant to be exempt from the measure, as they cannot fulfil the efficiency requirements and most of the time there is no alternative lamp technology.
Spotlamps and other directed or reflected lamps will not be regulated until a second directive is drawn up at the end of 2009. This will then have to be implemented as of September 2010. We intend to update our customers when this happens. Please sign up to our mailing list if you wish to be informed.
Lamp types explained
If you don’t know an incandescent from a CFL, a GLS from a candle or an ES from a BC then please follow this link for more information on lamp types explained. You will also find out about energy saving replacements and alternatives to your current household lighting.
Energy Ratings explained
The EU commission states that most white goods, light bulb packaging and cars must have an EU Energy Label clearly displayed when offered for sale or rent. The energy efficiency of the appliance is rated in terms of a set of energy efficiency classes from A to G on the label. A is the most energy efficient, G the least efficient. An example of the current EU energy rating label is shown below.
An update of the lamp energy label is planned for 2009 in order to redistribute the energy classes after the phasing out of classes D, E, F, G and also to integrate low voltage lamps and reflector lamps, which are currently not covered by the label. It may take up to 2 years to see this new energy label filter through to the consumer market.
