The Government has announced plans to introduce legislation to end the sale of halogen light bulbs from September 2021 in an effort to tackle climate change. The aim is to remove high-energy light sources from the market and replace them with LED light sources, with fluorescent lights to follow suit soon after.
Currently about 2/3 of light bulbs sold in England, Scotland and Wales are LED, which use 80% less energy than halogen lights and last up to five times longer, which makes them highly energy-efficient.
The new light sources will also feature new, rescaled energy efficiency labels, changed from A+++ and below to A-G. The new labels will raise the bar for energy efficiency, meaning that now very few light sources will be able to achieve the highest "A" rating at the moment. This will also help the customers in picking the most energy-efficient light sources.
In addition to the halogen lights ban, the Government announced that from this September, lighting fixtures with lightbulbs that cannot be replaced, therefore need to be thrown away, will be banned.
Furthermore, the Government aims to start phasing out high-energy fluorescent lightbulbs, with an aim to end the sale of those light sources from September 2023.
The Energy Minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: "We're phasing out old inefficient halogen bulbs for good, so we can move more quickly to longer-lasting LED bulbs, meaning less waste and a brighter and cleaner future for the UK.
"By helping ensure electrical appliances use less energy but perform just as well, we’re saving households money on their bills and helping tackle climate change."
