Hong Kong starts campaign to phase out incandescent light bulbs

Hong Kong proposes to progressively phase out incandescent light bulbs to conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions and alleviate the impact of climate change.

Thus the government has launched a three-month public consultation on the restriction of sale of energy-inefficient incandescent light bulbs.

"Lighting on average accounted for around 15 per cent of total electricity consumption in Hong Kong in the past decade. ILB work by heating a tungsten filament with 90 per cent of the consumed electricity lost as heat, and only 10 per cent is used for lighting. Replacing ILB with more energy-efficient products will achieve substantial savings in electricity consumption. Moreover, the public can save money in electricity bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Mr Chan Fan, Deputy Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services.

In the consultation document, the Government proposes to restrict the supply of energy-inefficient non-reflector type ILB by phases through legislation. The initial phase of the proposed mandatory scheme will cover non-reflector type ILB that are 25 watts or above, which includes General Lighting Service lamps, candle-shaped, round-shaped and other decorative lamps, but excludes tungsten halogen lamps. The Government proposes to prohibit the supply of lamps that cannot meet the minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and to govern the supply of lamps that can meet the MEPS through a registration system.

For ILB that are proposed to be phased out, the Government also proposes to make reference to overseas mandatory schemes in setting relevant MEPS.

The Government expects the scheme to achieve an electricity saving of up to 390 GWh per annum. Assuming an average tariff of $1 per kWh, the scheme can achieve an annual saving of $390 million in electricity bills and reduce carbon emissions by 273,000 tonnes.

The consultation period will end on November 11, 2011.