New Zealand to phase out traditional light bulbs by late 2009

Tuesday 17th June, 01:51 PM JST

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10 Comments

smithinjapan at 02:28 PM JST - 17th June

Nice to see some countries finally taking positive steps. In Japan, if I'm not mistaken, all new buildings must be planned and created with LED lighting in mind, with said incandescent bulbs being a thing of the past, as well as other inefficient forms of lighting.
Altria at 02:29 PM JST - 17th June

I didn't even know NZ had the old ones yet!
weedkila at 02:30 PM JST - 17th June

I hope the Kiwis are not going to make the same mistake as the Americans where mercury-containing, made-in-China lamps will become compulsory. The rules they've made for disposing of these new lamps (in case of breakage) almost sound like they've been taken from a chemical safety manual.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=e-LOtKIIKcg
sdmsec at 03:54 PM JST - 17th June

Get real efficiency: require LEDs when you're not heating the building and require switching to incandescent when you are heating building. >:)

As weedkila mentions, flourescent bulbs have their own drawbacks for environmentalists. I wonder how much surface area it would require to get sufficient lighting from LEDs?

Anyhoo, not being a citizen of NZ it's their own choice to make... I just hope the USA will be patient and watch the guinea pig for a few years to see what really works and what doesn't.
skipthesong at 05:22 PM JST - 17th June

Good for NZ. You people are a great customer.

Let it be known, however, that it is much easier for NZ to roll out such a change.

FYI, Japan is so far behind most countries. In fact, they even have certain laws in most prefectures that prohibit you from making your own fuel, storing any energy that you garner from solar or wind. If you build your house, you are not allowed to have a rain harvesting system for you water (if one thing Japan does have is a lot of rain - what a waste).

We won't see many significant alternative sources to energy in Japan for at least another five years to allow their power companies to make sure they fizzle out the proper way in terms of what is best for the big corps. here.
bebert at 01:34 AM JST - 18th June

One more stone smashing the myth of the freedom loving Anglo-Saxon. If they're not regulating your toilet or seizing your guns, they're telling you how you will light your home. I can't wait to see the eventual environmental impact of having all of this mercury scattered around.
rajakumar at 02:21 AM JST - 18th June

Light bulbs phase out, why don't keep one room lighted by mercury free light bulbs, for their difference in lighting experience.

This room need to be switched on just 1-2 hours or less, a day.
WhiteHawk at 02:43 AM JST - 18th June

sdmsec:

I just hope the USA will be patient and watch the guinea pig for a few years to see what really works and what doesn't.

Sorry, no. The "Green" lobby (It's green all right! If it weren't such a profitable industry, there wouldn't be as many "environmentalists".) has already pressured congress to "do something". Legislation has already been proposed, but I don't remember if it passed.
sdmsec at 06:03 AM JST - 18th June

All we need is to introduce more Cane Toads...

I'm trying to remember a time when the environuts proposed something that actually had an actule long-term benefit rather than causing newer and bigger problems.
WhiteHawk at 06:16 AM JST - 18th June

That would be a time before enviromentalism was a highly profitable industry with powerful lobbyists.