Eurolux Welcomes the New Lightbulb Legislation
New legislation governing the import of lightbulbs came into effect in May 2024 .
Until now there has been no standard minimum efficacy requirement on light bulb imports , which means you could easily buy lightbulbs that are exceptionally inefficient - they may burn brightly but the wattage consumption is high , so they use much more power than necessary . They often are of an inferior quality and pose heat and safety risks .
In fact , the South African market is flooded with lightbulbs which will not stand up to scrutiny for safety and longevity , are potentially harmful and highly inefficient , chewing through consumers ’ power at a time we can ill-afford to waste electricity .
What does it mean to consumers ? The new legislation is a game changer - it ensures that South Africa ’ s standards are aligned with international markets and that all imported lightbulbs are efficient , safer and meet the minimum efficacy requirement to be legally imported .
Part of the new law is that a lightbulb must retain its advertised brightness
level – the lumens value indicated on the box - for the full lifetime , whether it is 15,000 or 25,000 hours , and will not dim with age , which often happens .
The new minimum Rated Efficacy requirement works as follows : Efficiency refers to energy usage of a lightbulb – so the light it provides relative to the power it consumes . Light is measured in LUMENS and power in WATTS . For any given
lightbulb , by dividing the lumens output by the watts rating we get the lumen per watt rating .
Example : a 540 lumen , 6W A60 spec lightbulb works out as follows :
540 lumens 6 watts
= 90 lumens / watt
What this means for consumers is that a year from now any lightbulb that does not meet the new specification of 90lm / W should not be available in South Africa . This will last for two years , after which the even stricter specification of 105lm / W will apply .
Certain specialised lightbulbs will be exempted from the new efficiency rating , such a colour lightbulbs and heat lightbulbs , in which case these packs will need to clearly feature a statement to confirm that the lightbulb is ‘ not intended for general illumination purposes ’.
What can customers expect ? The switch will be smooth and simple : All the regular-shaped CFL and Halogen lightbulbs that have been available up to now will be easily replaceable with an LED alternative , right through to the vintage look carbon filaments , which are already available in LED filament and beautiful amber shades . www . eurolux . co . za
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