Phase-out of incandescent light bulbs

Governments around the world have passed measures to phase out incandescent light bulbs for general lighting in favor of more energy-efficient lighting alternatives. Phase-out regulations effectively ban the manufacture, importation or sale of incandescent light bulbs for general lighting. The regulations would allow sale of future versions of incandescent bulbs if they are sufficiently energy efficient.

Brazil and Venezuela started the controversial phase-out in 2005, and the European Union, Switzerland, and Australia started to phase them out in 2009. Likewise, other nations are implementing new energy standards or have scheduled phase-outs: Argentina, and Russia in 2012, and the United States, Canada, Mexico, Malaysia and South Korea in 2014.

Objections to replacement of incandescent lamps for general lighting mainly include the higher purchasing cost of alternative light bulbs. To mitigate the effects of these concerns, various programs have been put in place ranging from subsidies for lamps to improved standards for measurement of performance and for labelling products. Manufacturers develop fluorescent lamps with reduced mercury content compared to original designs, and recycling programs are intended to prevent mercury release. New lamp types offer improved starting characteristics, and dimmable types are available.

The light from an incandescent source is similar in character to that from a Planckian "black body" in spectral distribution, that is, the bulb, as the filament heats up, produces light from wavelengths throughout the visible spectrum. Alternative light sources use phosphors or combinations of mono-chromatic LEDs (red, blue, green) to produce "white" light, giving significantly irregular spectral distributions which can result in color casts in photography and differences of color matching when compared to incandescent light or daylight.

Halogen lamps are a type of incandescent lamp with improved efficiency over regular incandescent lamps. Though not as energy efficient as other alternatives, they are up to 40 percent more efficient than standard incandescent lamps designed for a 2000-hour life. Depending on size, voltage, and designed life, small low-voltage halogen lamps can have 70% higher efficacy than large line-voltage lamps. The high operating temperature of halogen bulbs may be a safety hazard in some applications.

A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) uses a fluorescent lamp tube which is curved or folded to fit into the space of an incandescent bulb and contains a compact electronic ballast in the base of the lamp. Compared to general-service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, CFLs use one-fifth to one-third the electric power, and may last eight to fifteen times longer. Newer phosphor formulations have improved the perceived color, with "soft white" CFLs judged subjectively similar to standard incandescent lamps. Objections more specifically relating to compact fluorescent light bulbs include the different quality of light produced by phosphor-based lamps compared to incandescent lamps and that compact fluorescent light bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, which is especially dangerous to children and pregnant women, and made more serious by the confined area mercury would be dispersed in the event of a breakage indoors. Environmental concerns about mercury contamination from CFLs have been raised, but CFLs can be shown to result in less mercury in the environment compared to traditional incandescent bulbs due to the significant reductions in power plant emissions. Thus, use of energy-efficient bulbs can actually reduce the amount of mercury released into the environment.Compact fluorescent lamps start poorly when very cold, and most types cannot be dimmed. A few specialist applications are unsuitable for CFLs.

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Wikipedia