Thomas Edison’s legacy to the world will hit the dust from today, as the EU finally outlaws the 60 watt incandescent lightbulb. Ditching the old bulbs, which first went on sale in 1879, is expected to cut CO2 emissions by 15 million tonnes per year. More efficient bulbs, such as the compact fluorescent lamp or halogen lamps, are now the alternative for shoppers.
The conventional incandescent bulb’s fate was sealed in 2007 after Heads of State in the EU agreed to the move to combat climate change and lower emissions. The European Commission has been phasing out inefficient lightbulbs since 2009, when 100W bulbs were taken off the shelves, last year axeing the 75W incandescent bulb.
A spokesperson for the European Commission told ELN: “The technology is simply not state of the art any more. There are new and much better versions on the market. This happens to all devices that come from another era.” The spokesperson added that newer lightbulbs will save consumers money, because they can last six to ten times longer than the old bulbs.
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