Why the EU are wrong to ban low voltage halogen lamps

Posted on February 22, 2012 by lampcompany

News in from the EU and here is my gist of why it’s stupid! So I’m away for half term and I get an email stating the EU are getting rid of “low voltage” halogen lamps in 2013 as they are classed as “inefficient!!!!!!!”

How did they come to that conclusion I hear us all cry?

Well let’s look at the performance of a couple of manufacturers low voltage halogen versus their own 240v halogen which really do fly the flag on performance and efficiency never mind the fact they rarely last their rated quoted lives:-

GE:-

-Not obsolete – 240v 50w GU10 36 degrees code 92730- 1500 hours life and 600 Candela

-Obsolete 2013 – 12v 50w GU5.3 precise 36 degrees code 88239 – 5000 hours life and 2100 Candela (3.5 times more Candela than the 50w GU10)

-Obsolete 2013 – 12v 35w GU5.3 precise 36 degrees code 88236 – 5000 hours life and 1300 Candela (Still over twice the Candela of the 50w GU10 and 30% energy saving!)

-Not obsolete until 2016 – 12v 20w GU5.3 MR16 IR 36 degree code 77657 – 5000 hours life and 1000 Candela (Amazing 60% energy saving and 70% increase in light output!)

-Obsolete 2013 – 12v 50w GU5.3 start 36 degrees code 38011 – 2000 hours life and 1350 Candela

Clearly 3 of the 4 alternatives that are being made obsolete actually perform better than the item that is not being made obsolete!

Sylvania :-

-Not obsolete – 240v 50w GU10 25 degrees code 0021311 – 4000 hours life and 800 Candela

-Obsolete 2013 – 12v 50w GU5.3 24 degrees code 0022348 – 4000 hours life 2500 Candela

-Obsolete 2013 – 12v 35w GU5.3 38 degrees code 0021766 – 4000 hours life 1200 Candela (with much wider beam angle)

I ask you surely the facts speak for themselves that these items are far more efficient than the 240v halogens with clearly better light output. What are the EU playing at! Just to put the tin hat on it I wonder if anyone has done a calculation of the total amount of fittings and transformers that will be skipped between now and the death of the LV halogen. I bet it’s over a billion in the EU. I have 36 just in my house that have standard or IRC or, where they work, LEDs in them. Only been in for 3 years!!!!

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Low voltage halogen lamps to be banned from 2013

Posted on February 17, 2012 by lampcompany

Draft legislation drawn up by the European Commission looks set to ban low voltage halogen lamps from next year. Under Ecodesign legislation, which has already introduced the phase-out of incandescents, ‘poor performing’ lamps including 12v MR16s will be phased out from 2013, with better performance bulbs such as those with infra-red coatings to follow in 2016.

The new law will set out minimum standard measures regarding lifetime, efficiency and output in a move that aims to force low quality lamps out of the European market.

Draft documentation is due to be published shortly but lighting designers and manufacturers have already expressed concerns over the effect this will have on the lighting industry with millions of MR16s currently being sold every year to retail, commercial and domestic buyers.

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Valentine’s Day Promotion!

Posted on February 9, 2012 by lampcompany

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Republicans seek ways around the incandescent light bulb ban

Posted on January 31, 2012 by lampcompany

The energy efficiency standard may have been enshrined in to American Federal law but opposition to it, mainly Republican, is still plentiful. Delegate Bob Marshall will this month debate a Bill in the House Commerce Sub-Committee which seeks to allow the manufacture and sale of incandescent light bulbs in the State of Virginia. Marshall is not alone in his actions; seven other States have similar legislation pending and the State of Texas has already passed a law which enables the sale of any incandescent light bulb made within the State. 

Marshall has vehemently argued that compact fluorescent lamps pose a danger to public health should they break due to the amount of mercury they contain. He has also suggested the switch to energy saving light bulbs could result in ‘poorer quality illumination.’  

The outcome of the aforementioned State legislation is of great interest not only because of the effect on lighting but because it embodies the wider issue of the relationship between State and Federal Government, an issue which looks set to be a key battle ground in the forthcoming Presidential elections.

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Atrium Ltd – Redesigned Lighting Showroom

Posted on January 24, 2012 by lampcompany

Atrium Ltd have recently moved away from modern furniture supply to selling the finest lighting products and redesigned their Centrepoint tower showroom. As a supplier of lamps to Atrium, we at The Lamp Company have been greatly impressed by their innovative new approach to lighting, and here is what all the fuss is about: 

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Atrium have had this to say about it all:

For the last twenty years, ‘Atrium’ has been located in the base of the Centrepoint tower, the iconic building that once held the title of the tallest building in London. Recently ‘Atrium’ has made a professional move to selling the finest lighting products – a move that needed both explanation and celebration. This then lead to a design Brief that required an interactive open space, with a central reception area that could very easily be converted into a darkened showroom.

‘Studio RHE’ reacted to the Brief by designing a carefully choreographed intertwined space which utilizes a series of rotating, interlocking, hinged, jig‐sawed wall panels that transform the bright day‐lit space to a darkened showroom with a simple twist. These rotating walls allow natural light to be played with throughout the day as well as adding an ever changing frontage to the streetscape of St. Giles Circus. This theatrical transformation will let ‘Atrium’ demonstrate their range of ‘Soft Architecture’ lighting by FLOS. ‘Studio RHE’ has emphasized this by arranging a rich mix of tactile materials from high gloss resin to reclaimed Yara timber sleepers. This has been done whilst keeping to a simple palette of predominantly a clean white, accentuated by a bright acid green used throughout the edges as a luminous highlight.

Finally a darkened ‘inner sanctum’ meeting space has been created with colour change lighting control wheels and integrally plastered fittings within the walls. These complete the showroom experience before returning to the beautifully fitted central kinetic bar at the heart of the space. The design direction is continued through the entire space to the Offices above where desks are arranged along a diagonal show wall with integrated screens and net surfing booths that look out over the double height showroom and plaza.

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