September 2020 marks the cut-off date for the nationwide ban on halogen light bulbs.
The halogen ban was announced in February 2018 at the COAG Energy Council meeting.
Ministers met to discuss their top priority – ensuring the security, reliability, affordability and sustainability of the electricity market whilst working towards a lower emissions future.
Many consumers have already made the change and prefer LED products. Good quality LED lamps can last up to 15 times longer than halogen lamps and consume one-quarter of the energy to produce the same amount of light output, said Lighting Council Chief Executive Richard Mulcahy.
It is expected that shops will phase out halogen lights before the ban comes in effect. The bulbs are manufactured overseas and then imported into Australia, so once current stock depletes the bulbs will be phased out.
It should be noted however that there will still be a small number of exemptions for applications where LED technology is not yet suitable e.g. oven lights (high temperature) and particular theatrical lighting.
The bulb switch estimates to save Australian consumers in excess of 1.5 billion, over the next 10 years.
Why are Halogen light bulbs being phased out?
Halogen bulbs are quite hot to touch, due to the halogen gas sealed within the bulb. They have been linked to fires, and are essentially a fire hazard. Halogen bulbs are quite expensive to run and they are harmful to the environment, with their inefficiency converting all the electrical energy into heat rather than light. So why use them in the first place? Put simply, they look good.
The Federal Government’s policy is mirroring action being taken in Europe to totally phase out halogen lights by 2020 and introduce minimum standards for LED lights; minimum efficiency requirements of 85 lumens per watt and a maximum standby power of 0.5W on all light sources as part of a review of the Ecodesign laws.
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