Energy-intensive and inefficient halogen light bulbs will no longer be sold across the European Union from Sept. 1 onwards, in accordance with newly introduced European Commission (EC) rules.
According to an EC statement, by addressing this at EU level, the rules will ensure significant EU-wide energy savings for householders - equivalent to the electricity consumption of Portugal over five years.
'The halogen bulbs will be replaced by LED-lightbulbs, which due to innovation have become safer, more affordable, and more energy efficient,' the statement read.
Originally agreed in 2009 by member states and the European Parliament, the new rules were reconfirmed in 2015, but their introduction was deferred until September 2018 to ensure that sufficient, affordable alternatives would be available.
The changes are part of the EU's Ecodesign Work Program of June 2018 that comes under the Clean Energy for All Europeans package in which co-legislators reached political agreement on a new 32.5 percent energy efficient target for 2030.
LED bulbs tend to last five to 10 times longer than their halogen equivalent and use much less energy - often less than one-tenth of the halogen equivalent.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr