Australia is set to become the first country to ban the incandescent light bulb. Celebrating World Environment Day, Environment Minister Peter Garrett has announced that incandescent light bulb ban will come into effect in November this year and retailers will have just one year to sell current stock before the complete ban in November 2009, restricts the sale of incandescent light bulbs.
Last month Canada became the second nation to set a date for the ban agreeing to phase out incandescent light bulbs completely by 2012. Similar announcements are expected by other nations after a week-long conference in Shanghai three weeks ago attracted international delegates to address the need for the global phase-out of inefficient lighting.
As incandescent light bulbs are not produced in Australia, retailers and consumers will soon be forced to look for greener alternatives such as the new OSRAM Halogen Energy Saver range, which was released earlier this year.
The new Halogen Energy Saver range, available from OSRAM Australia, uses on average 30% less energy than the regular incandescent light bulbs and is a direct replacement for the incandescent light bulb. The Halogen Energy Saver range of lamps has the same shape and is the same size as the regular light bulbs.
Dr. Walter Wendel, Managing Director for OSRAM in Australia said, “This change to energy efficient lighting is a major benefit to Australia and will have an instant benefit for reducing CO2 emissions and saving on energy costs.”
“OSRAM invests heavily in the research and development of energy efficient and environmentally friendly lighting options. We are proud to be the first company internationally to launch the halogen technology available in our new Energy Saver Range to give consumers and retailers a direct replacement for the inefficient incandescent light bulb,” he said.
The Halogen Energy Saver lasts on average twice as long as the incandescent light bulb and unlike the compact fluorescent light bulb can be used effectively with all dimmers and gives off a light that is the same in colour to that of the incandescent light bulb. Produced with recyclable materials, the Halogen Energy Saver range is available in the classic bulb, candle, reflector and other shapes.