INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULBS FACE SWITCH OFF WITHIN FOUR YEARS

Government Details Timetable for Withdrawal

All incandescent light bulbs will be off the UK market within 44 months. A detailed annual timetable for withdrawal has been agreed between the lighting industry and Treasury ministers.

From next January, every incandescent light bulb of over 100 watts will have been removed from sale. These will be replaced by compact fluorescent (cfl) lights bulbs offering just 18 or 20 lumens per watt. By January 2009, all 100w bulbs will have disappeared, and the following January will see the removal of all 60w bulbs, including golfball and candle shape bulbs. All other remaining incadescent bulbs will become unavailable to UK consumers from January 2011.

This follows the timetable set out by incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown in his Budget 2007. And it will be a far swifter schedule than is currently being negotiated across Europe by the European Lamp Companies federation, ELC.