The decision is not new but time has caught up with producers and tradersalso consumers.
The regulation that dictates this change was approved in 2006, was modified in 2011 and prohibits the commercialization and production of certain lighting sources, although it will allow merchants to sell all the stock they have up to now.
As of August 25 of this year, we Europeans will have to say goodbye to the iconic fluorescent lights with which we have lived in recent decades.
Offices, hospitals, public buildings… there is practically no place where they are not used.
The fluorescent T5 and T8 and compact plug-in lights will be prohibited (G4, GY6.35 and G9 models), but HPD and special purpose lamps have a 3-5 year exemption.
The responsible directive is called RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances, Restriction of polluting substances in Spanish).
The change in standard is due to the desire to have more efficient and healthier lighting systems.
When it was approved, the international context was very different from the current one. With the price uncertainty of energyany action that implies the reduction of consumption –without limiting economic activity– is welcome.
The LED market
LED lighting is a growing market. Its value was 75.810 million dollars in 2020 and is expected to reach 160.030 million dollars in 2026, according to economic intelligence sources. Between 2021 and 2026 the estimated annual growth is 14.25%.
The cost of electricity savings is estimated at 18 billion dollars only with the use of low consumption LEDs and the industry would be saving 160 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It’s all benefits.
Lighting accounts for 10% of total electricity consumption in homes. The figure oscillates between 18% and 40% in commercial premises. With this change in less than a month, at least at a European level, a reduced demand for electricity for lighting between 30-40% over the next five years.
