Sales of halogen lightbulbs will be banned from September, with high-energy fluorescent lights to follow suit, under government climate plans.
The move will cut 1.26 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year and is part of tighter energy efficiency rules which will help save consumers £75 a year, the department for business, energy and industrial strategy said.
The UK began phasing out the sale of higher-energy halogen lightbulbs in 2018 under EU-wide rules, and now retailers will no longer be able to sell most remaining halogen bulbs, such as kitchen spotlights, from September 2021.
The move is to further the shift to low energy LED lightbulbs, which already account for around two thirds of lights sold in Britain – and the aim is for LEDs to account for 85% of all bulbs sold by 2030, officials said.
LED lights last five times longer than traditional halogen bulbs and produce the same amount of light, but use up to 80% less power.
There will be changes to energy labels
To help people to choose the most efficient lightbulbs, there will be changes to the energy labels you’ll see on bulb packaging, with the A+, A++ and A+++ ratings abandoned in favour of an efficiency grading between A-G, with only the most efficient bulbs given an A rating.
There are also moves to phase out high-energy fluorescent lightbulbs, such as strip lights commonly found in offices, with a view to bringing an end to their sale from September 2023.
Officials said LED bulbs could be incorporated into the fluorescent light fittings as a more energy efficient alternative.
How will banning these bulbs help the planet?
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.”
Together the new rules will stop 1.26 million tonnes of carbon being emitted every year – the equivalent of removing more than half a million cars from the UK’s roads, the department for business said.
It is part of a package of measures that aim to save consumers money, alongside new energy labels, higher efficiency standards for white and electronic goods and increased consumer rights to get goods repaired,