Australia Switches Off Incandescent Bulbs As best as we can make out from the myriad stories doing the rounds, the environmental group Planet Ark were about to announce a new campaign next week, in partnership with Philips. It was to be called Ban the Bulb. But the new federal Environment minister, Malcolm Turnbull, stole their thunder (and, it seems, their idea) by announcing today that incandescent light bulbs were to get the flick (as the newspapers are headlining the move). The government are claiming it as a world first, (for a nation maybe, but as we reported, California recently suggested a similar move for that state — which has almost double the population of Australia, as it happens). The minister reckons it should save 800,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions during the three year phase-out period, with an annual emission reduction of 4 million tonnes by 2015. Incandescents will be banned by legislation in about 2009-10, though some special needs, such as medical use, may receive dispensation.

Of course, the replacement lighting offering these savings will be compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). Though we imagine the LED guys will seize the opportunity too. An interesting stat that came out with all this, was that globally lighting is equal in emission contribution to about 70% of the world's passenger vehicles. Which should remind us that turning off lights when a room is vacant also helps too, even better than using CFLs. ::Department of Environment Press Release (PDF), via ABC, SMH and the Australian.Lighting Answers:Manufacturers of full-spectrum light sources have claimed a variety of benefits for their products, including better visibility, improved color rendering, better health, and greater productivity. Light sources promoted as full-spectrum can cost over ten times as much as nearly identical products that do not bear the full-spectrum claim. This report addresses questions about full-spectrum light sources: What are full-spectrum light sources? How valid are the claimed benefits?

Are these products worth the extra cost? This report also proposes a convenient definition for full-spectrum light sources that can be used to quantify the extent to which a given light source deviates from a full-spectrum light source. This revision presents an improved calculation method for this new full-spectrum metric. The term full-spectrum was coined in the 1960s by photobiologist Dr. John Ott to describe electric light sources that simulate the visible and ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of natural light. Khmer Wedding Dress ShopThere are now dozens of electric lighting products marketed as full-spectrum, some promising that they closely simulate daylight and can therefore provide benefits such as better visibility, improved health, and greater productivity. Vacuum Cleaner Noise Level Dba Different companies have different ideas about what constitutes a full-spectrum light source, and what it is about full-spectrum light that yields the claimed benefits. Pug Puppies For Sale Dorset

Some insist that invisible-to-the-eye UV radiation is a necessary ingredient in full-spectrum light. Recently, several lighting products have emerged that reduce radiation in a small part of the visible spectrum in an effort to improve visibility—and these products are also called full-spectrum. Most full-spectrum light sources are marketed at a premium price over other light sources, and they generally produce fewer lumens per watt than comparable light sources. If valid, the benefits claimed for full-spectrum light sources would seem to be well worth the additional expense and the loss in efficacy. But with each manufacturer making up its own definition of full-spectrum lighting, consumers have no way to know exactly what they are getting or what benefits to actually expect. This Lighting Answers explores consumer perceptions about full-spectrum light sources and assesses the validity of various manufacturers' claims. This report also offers a definition of full-spectrum light sources.

In the article aptly titled "Light-Bulb Ban Casts Shadow over EU Democracy", The Spiegel reminds us, the Europeans, about an important change that will affect our continent starting from tomorrow, Saturday, September 1st, 2012. No, Germany isn't invading Poland in the same way as it did on September 1st, 1939. But maybe it is... Starting from Saturday, it will become illegal to import any incandescent light bulbs to the EU or produce them at the territory of our continental confederation. Traditional Edison's light bulbs remain the optimum-value product for all applications in which an isolated light is turned on for less than an hour a day, and for many other setups. I hope you don't have to be told that the amount of electricity consumed by a light bulb may be very small and in your restrooms and in many other rooms, you may need many, many years to save the money for power to compensate for the initial investment in a more expensive lightning technology. And I am the only one who considers the spectrum of the black-body-based light bulbs to be more natural and safer?

And the mercury incorporated to the fluorescent bulbs simply is worrisome – both for the individual human health and the environment. Let me mention that I am – and my relatives are – using various fluorescent and other light bulbs at many places and there was a period in which I found it cool to buy lots of them and buy the most modern sources of light (such as LED etc.), something that didn't materialize. But I returned to my common sense. Most of the time when I press a button to turn a light on or off, it's a classical light bulb. They seem to be sufficiently long-lived but I have a couple of reserve light bulbs, too. link above, you will receive the package. (Moreover, be careful, the particular light bulb may be designed for a different voltage etc.) The green Nazis in the EU may actually steal your merchandise and show you documents claiming that they have the right to steal things from you – even though they don't actually even have a legitimate democratic right to influence political decisions in the European countries.