Halogen lightbulbs will remain on shelves for another two years after EU members decided to delay the phasing out of the halogen bulbs. The ban was originally meant to begin in 2016 but there has been concerns regarding the costings and availability of LED light bulbs.

Halogens are a form of incandescent lamps that are seen as inefficient compared to other lamps such as LED lamps and CFL lamps. Halogens are branded as class D bulbs due to their poor energy efficiency ratings. Typically, halogens use about 10% less energy than old-style incandescent bulbs which have already been banned by the EU while energy-saving CFLs use 60%-80% less. LED lights on the other hand use up to 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs.

Many households still have halogen bulbs in their homes ranging from pear shaped halogens to halogen spotlights. However the 2018 ban does not affect all of these bulbs as it mainly covers the pear shaped bulbs but does not apply to halogen spotlights, halogen desk lamps or halogen floodlights.  

The phasing out of halogens being delayed is mainly due to industry stating that it needs more time to develop LED’s with features that consumers need, such as standard dimming, multi-directional light beams and good colour rendering at an affordable price.

Making the change to LED lighting could be the best option for consumers as they save money as well as energy, for example replacing only six 50W halogen or incandescent light bulbs with six equivalent LEDs could save you £32 a year.

Here at Meteor Electrical we have a huge range of LED bulbs to suit all needs, check them out here.