As of January 1 next year, 75W, 100W and 150W incandescent bulbs will no longer be sold in the UK and by 2010 the 40W incandescent bulbs will also disappear from store shelves.

According to this Guardian report, if all UK households replaced just three incandescent bulbs with CFL’s or LED lighting, the collective energy saved in a year could power all UK’s street lighting.

Earlier this month, European Union Member States also agreed to a incandescent bulb phaseout starting in 2009 and finishing at the end of 2012.

After the phaseout is complete, the EU will save close to 40 terrawatt hours of electricity per year. This is equivalent to the electricity usage of the entire country of Romania and will lead to a reduction of about 15 million tons of CO2 emission per year!

The UK and EU’s move also demonstrates that small changes, when multiplied by millions of people making them, can have a substantial impact!

While CFL and LED lighting is more expensive than incandescent bulbs, the longer life and energy efficiency aspects can save consumers a substantial amount of money over the long term.

Incandescent bulbs have served us well, it really is antiquated technology, especially when you consider that only very little of the electricity consumed by the bulb is converted into light.

The vast majority of electricity consumed by these bulbs is turned into heat. In fact, the glass of an incandescent bulb can reach temperatures between 400 and 550 degrees Fahrenheit (200 to 260 degrees Celsius). That heat might be fine if you live in a cold place, but it also causes increased electricity consumption in warm places due to the additional strain on air conditioning systems.

Related:

Compact Fluorescent Lamps
LED lighting