The Lamp Room

So, seems it's finally happening - a ban from September 2021 on the sale of all halogen lamps and a ban on fluorescent light sources from 2023. This isn't like the previous legislation, which prevented the import and manufacture of various light sources, this goes further and prevents their SALE within the UK from these dates.

Get writing to MP 'Anne-Marie Trevelyan' or your own local MP (or both) and point out the fact that whilst LED's are cheaper to run and use less energy, this is far from the whole picture. Consumers are actually in my opinion, worse off when using LED when you factor in the non-repairability of many fittings, the fact they are harder to recycle and the fact that as these fittings do not last as long, the vast amount of energy and materials used in their production, shipping, distribution, etc. The fact LED's use less energy is far from the whole picture. They have either really not seen this, or have chosen to ignore this fact.

The MP Ann-Marie Trevelyan (Energy Minister) can be contacted here:

annemarie.trevelyan.mp@parliament.uk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57407233

A very sad day indeed!

Don't think anything we can do will stop it tbh. No way an MP will go against a green policy ect as the general public think LED is gods gift ect.

Was only a matter of time tbh!

We all need to write to her and make sure she sees the bigger picture here. She's looked at wattage alone and ignored everything else about this. Seriously, get writing!

Was about to post this on here.

This is definitely the final nail in the coffin for fluorescent in commercial spaces, sign lights, etc. I'm glad I have a good collection of fluorescent tubes.

Legislation will also include moves to phase out high-energy fluorescent lightbulbs [lamps] - such as strip lights commonly found in offices - with a view to bringing an end to their sale from September 2023.

Sounds like even the T5 HO tubes will be going too even though they are very efficient and long lasting.

"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."

We had a Wilko LED lamp here which cost me a fiver and it only lasted a couple of months!

The ban will also include the sale of lighting fixtures with bulbs that can't be replaced, meaning fixtures have to be thrown away.

If that includes LED fittings then they are in trouble as most LED fittings have non-replaceable LEDs.

Fair enough LED uses less power but at the end of the day, quite a lot of LED fittings fail quickly and the entire fittings have to be replaced. I have sign lights from the 70s which ran 24/7 and they still work. Only ever requiring new tubes every 3-5 years. As the saying goes "follow the money". I wonder who is making money off all of this...

Precisely, which is why we all need to write to the MP responsible for this - Anne-Marie Trevelyan and detail to her all the concerns we have. You can contact here here:

annemarie.trevelyan.mp@parliament.uk

I'm going to post what I commented on FB here, cause its totally relevant here as well.

This whole new act is just downright deplorable, how much useful stock will end up in the bin cause of senseless laws like this? Seems they haven’t even thought of the ecological damage this’ll cause by just bringing in an overnight outright ban. How many already struggling businesses will end up totally in the dark because they can't afford to totally replace what they have?

Not that I really need to but let’s put into perspective what’s used in building such lamps. Fluorescent and halogen literally are only glass, metal, gas and phosphor, mostly non toxic stuff and totally recyclable. Leds just guarantee more e-waste, let alone all the dangerous chemicals and micro plastics they use. Totally unrecyclable and way more harmful to the environment in the long run. Just seems all they care about is wattage, but that alone isn’t gonna reduce carbon output, you have to factor in the components that make the lamp. Anyone who thinks that less wattage alone means less carbon, is so painfully blinded by government and manufacturers rhetorical bullshit it’s unreal. The old line of 'do your research' definitely comes into play here.

Looks like I need to stock right up now...

There is a place near me called Darlington and the council there maintains their fluorescent sign lights really well and they are all in excellent condition. If this ban goes ahead, in a couple of years, all of their sign lights are going to have to be replaced which is a waste!

Example of Darlington sign lights: Forest City Manchester 2 x 8w. I'm surprised how this ban covers ALL fluorescent lamps and the fact that it's only in a few years is very surprising. While LED is taking over fast, there are still lots of places which still use fluorescent lights, battens, downlights, emergency lights, etc.
Some of the lifetimes you see on LED fittings are terrible. Just 25k hours. That's not even 3 years 24/7 and when it burns out, the entire fitting has to be replaced. Furthermore decent, 8w tubes (Bell, Osram, Philips, etc) often do 3 years+ 24/7. I have loads of old Slave emergency lights which ran 24/7 from 1990. All of them work still and they were saved. They only ever needed new tubes every few years.

The draft of my letter concerning this - please feel free to write your own, based on this if you wish, but please don't just wholesale copy it!

Dear Anne-Marie,

I’m writing to you today in response to the Government’s recent announcement regarding the phase-out of incandescent lamps and the proposed phase-out of fluorescent light sources from 2023. As an electrical contractor and lighting designer, I have a number of concerns, which I do not believe have been addressed in the Government’s push to be ‘green’ and I worry that far from being an environmentally sound decision, a number of points have been overlooked in the rush to cut carbon in the UK. Whilst I agree we all need to do our bit to be greener, I worry that some parts of this legislation will have the reverse effect when you look at the wider picture. These I have detailed below:

Incandescent:

Firstly, there are quite a few applications where LED light sources simply cannot be used. A good example here, being lamps inside ovens. LED light sources are made of plastic and are not suitable for use in high heat areas, so besides oven lamps, any other areas, such as commercial hoods over ovens / hobs / grills in restaurants, etc are areas these cannot be installed – will there be an exemption for special purpose lamps such as these?

Fluorescent:

For almost 90 years, fluorescent lighting has been dominant in the UK and in fact, around the world. The reason it has been in use so long comes down to several factors. It’s reliable – for example, I look after fittings in village halls, scout huts and so on, which have been in use for over 50 years. It’s easy to repair – every part of a fluorescent fitting can easily and cheaply be replaced. It’s designed to have lamps cheaply replaced at end of life and these lamps are almost 100% recyclable. A WEEE lamp disposal scheme already exists for the safe recycling of fluorescent lamps. It’s an energy-saving light source – some T5 HE (high-efficiency) lamps, are AS energy efficient as LED light sources.

Are we to expect that churches, village halls, scout and guide groups and the smaller independent businesses are suddenly going to be able to find the funds to rip out perfectly working lighting and replace it (at great expense) with LED fittings – the majority of which are sealed and have NO replaceable parts inside, especially as we’re coming out the back of the Covid pandemic and at a time when many of the above are severely cash strapped? Many of these places will only recently have upgraded older, less efficient T12 fluorescent fittings to the newer, high-efficiency T5 versions. Many virtually new lights will needlessly end up being scrapped – is this really a sound environmental decision? As many of these fittings are as energy-efficient as LED and have the advantage of being easily repaired, would it not be better to phase out the manufacture of just the fittings and allow spares (particularly lamps) to continue in production, allowing these fittings to continue in service until such time as they are replaced during refits, or the fitting naturally reaches the end of it’s useful life? To bin perfectly working lighting, creates a huge pile of waste – how much of this will simply end up in landfill?

The Problems With LED:

As a contractor, I deal with lighting on a daily basis. I have some very severe concerns with a lot of the LED lighting currently on sale, the largest of which is lifespan and reliability. Most new LED fittings are sealed and contain NO serviceable parts. This means that when a fitting fails, the whole thing is thrown away, rather than being able to simply change a lamp. When you add to this, the fact that these fittings are largely made from plastic (we’re increasingly being told how bad plastic is) is this really a sound environmental decision? A lot of the parts in these fittings are either hard, or impossible to recycle. Manufactures will claim that LED fittings last many times longer than fluorescent, my experience working with these, tells me this simply isn’t the case. The look of amazement on customer’s faces when you tell them that their 3 year old LED fitting is dead and that all you can do is to replace it entirely, says it all. We’re moving from an environment where a customer can simply install a new lamp, to one where they need to call a contractor in to replace the fitting for them. Any savings in electricity are more than eclipsed by both the cost of the new fitting and the charge to install it.

In the past, the UK was a leader in the manufacture of lamps and light sources. These days, even the biggest lighting manufacturers import their LED wares from China. So, now we add in the environmental damage caused by the shipping of these products half-way around the world, on a ship burning crude oil, the environmental impact of some of China’s at best, questionable environmental standards in manufacturing, the onward distribution on lorries in the UK burning diesel and then the disposal of these products when they fail – don’t forget, we’re now talking entire plastic fittings, rather than easily recyclable glass tubes! Furthermore, at a time with a deteriorating relationship with China, we really are putting all of our eggs in one basket when it comes to security of supply.

This legislation feels as though it has been pushed for and influenced by the lighting manufacturers themselves, rather than on sound scientific advice from independent experts. Don’t forget, it’s in the interests of the lighting manufacturers to sell you a sealed fitting you can’t repair, rather than a cheap, replaceable lamp or tube. With LED lights lasting no longer than fluorescent, the only people here who are going to cash in are the manufacturers. Consumers will be no better off, any energy savings being totally eclipsed by the cost of these more expensive fittings and the skilled contractors required to install them.

I can think of many examples where LED has failed to live up to the manufacturers claims and I’d be very happy to discuss this further with you. I would be interested indeed to read your response to this, but first, please, please look at the bigger picture here, there is a lot more to this than simply how much electricity is used by the consumer. I urge you to investigate this matter further, ideally with some sound scientific advice, which has not come from the manufacturers themselves.

Regards,
Richard Atkinson
Electrical Contractor & Lighting Designer

Looks good! I do wonder what they mean by saying this:

The ban will also include the sale of lighting fixtures with bulbs that can't be replaced, meaning fixtures have to be thrown away.

This basically bans of most LED fittings with integrated LEDs?
From:
http://www.free-instruction-manuals.com ... 944530.pdf

This stupidity has made my piss boil!

I'll definitely be writing an email to that MP.