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retrocop | 01:13 Tue 03rd Mar 2015 | News
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Not long ago I had my house rewired. A lot of the lighting was renewed with Halogen GU10 bulbs at great extra expense. I did this because Brussels stated that traditional Incandescent bulbs will no longer be allowed. I now read that Halogen lights will now be banned. Is it any wonder that UKIP's quest to leave the EU is widely supported when these crazy rules are implemented?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2974856/Now-Europe-wants-ban-halogen-light-bulbs-Sales-stopped-early-year-energy-saving-drive.html

Another reason to leave the EU.
Last year I was lambasted on this site for saying that this country's constitution and legal system is being eroded and undermined by too many EU laws thrust upon us. I was told in scathing terms that I was talking pish or words to that effect.
Read on Europhanatics.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2974938/Two-thirds-laws-Britain-past-two-decades-inspired-Brussels.html
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“Actually, being an electrician I have to agree with the decline of the halogen.” What you say is quite true, youngmaf. But that is not the point. I have two large light fittings (which take four bulbs each) for which I cannot now buy bulbs. The complications (and more importantly the restrictions) surrounding light bulbs has been reduced to an absolute...
12:52 Tue 03rd Mar 2015
We have halogen bulbs and they are nasty things. Short life, sore on power and of course they get very hot.
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ichkeria
I didn't have my house re-wired to accommodate a specific bulb. I realised and was advised that all the original 3 bulb ceiling lights were supposed to be soon redundant.As the house was being re-wired I chose to replace the light fittings with Halogen that were not on the EU's hit list. Now we are informed that Halogen are now on the hit list.I will probably have to buy new light fittings to accommodate another type of bulb of the EU's dictat.
Usually what happens is that new bulbs come along with the same fittings.
So for example the demise of the old filament bulbs was, despite a lot of fuming and campaigning to 'save our light bulbs' a bit of a fuss about nothing.
If it transpires that we need new fittings to replace our halogen bulbs so be it but as far as we are concerned it would be no bad thing and surely with it in the long run.
*worth it!
Retrocop,
From Graham-W's post earlier, the halogen and LED versions of the GU10 should fit the same fittings, no need to buy any new equipment.
Question Author
So I have to fork out £200 + to change my light fittings every time the EU find another hobby horse to promote. I wouldn't have minded if the old bayonet cap fitting was used on Halogen bulbs but they aint.
You can still get incandescent 100w light bulbs from bargains stores, though they tend not to last long.
Retrocop - did you ask the advice of your electrician before installing halogen bulbs?

The phasing out of these bulbs throughout the EU has been known about for many years now - this is from a 2008 article...

"halogen bulbs - which also gobble up huge amounts of electricity compared to CFLs or LEDs - will still be available for another eight years until 2016"
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/eu-ban-inefficient-light-bulbs-eventually-sort-20081212

As it says in the Daily Mail article..
.."the energy savings for Britain as a whole could be so large that it would eliminate the risk of black-outs caused by the closure of old and run-down power stations."

So the word 'now' in that Wail report is not really accurate.
And some people wonder why we have a problem with sensationalist tabloids ...
The thrust of the OP is that the EU is coming out with "crazy rules"

I agree for one - I'd like to see a Tory / Ukip coalition - we might get our country out of the grip of the Fourth Reich then.
What is crazy about wanting to save power?
Ichkeria - can the sacred EU do no wrong?

Thinking we can end global warming by spending millions on halogen, then more millions on a third compulsory switch to LED doesn't look like good sense to me.
retro, you will not need to chage fittings, probably ever, the makers of whatever bulb generally make then to fit with the standard fittings. This is not specifically to make it convenient for you but to increase their sales. Whilst I think that gromit clearly has shares in an LED maker, he is bang on with his comparison with Halogen, above.
When I changed my kitchen 3 year ago I replaced the halogen bulbs with LEDs in the same light fitting. It immediately improved the brightness. the bulbs were very expensive 3 years ago (£18 each x3 if I remember correctly) but they promise a 20 year life.

In the 3 years the price has come down dramatically and will probably continue to do so. There is of course the ongoing saving from less electricity consumption.

I copied and pasted the long post previous, it wasn't my work.
“Actually, being an electrician I have to agree with the decline of the halogen.”

What you say is quite true, youngmaf. But that is not the point.

I have two large light fittings (which take four bulbs each) for which I cannot now buy bulbs. The complications (and more importantly the restrictions) surrounding light bulbs has been reduced to an absolute farce and this is a direct result of EU legislation. Among your biggest wasters of energy you have not mentioned large shops who leave their doors wide open in January and run 25Kw worth of “curtain” heaters to heat the street for ten hours a day. It takes a lot of 60w incandescent light bulbs to compensate for that lunacy. A bit of legislation to curb that may produce more benefits.

The demise of old style light bulbs was not a fuss about nothing. I have some of the “new” efforts and they are useless. I have to make an appointment to go up my stairs because by the time they reach a decent level of light I have climbed the stairs, forgot what I went there for and returned downstairs. Consequently I tend to leave my lights on all the time thus saving me nothing and adding to the planet’s alleged woes.

But even this is beside the point so I will return to the thrust of retro’s question. All of these matters should be determined by the Westminster Parliament. This has nothing to do with the single market. It is simply another example of the EU lauding it over the population and imposing their ideologies on 500 million people who have virtually no control over their activities. If the majority of people in the UK are happy with that I’ll go along with it. But we’ve never been asked. (Please don’t mention the 1975 referendum because that related to a completely different animal to that which the EU is today).

“What is crazy about wanting to save power?”

Nothing at all. It makes perfect sense. But, as above, if the choice whether or not to do so is to be removed from the UK electorate it should only be removed by the Westminster Parliament. It’s not the issues, it is the principle upon which the issues are decided.
As I understand it, it is just a suggestion at present. But if they are willing to impose one unjustifiable prohibition on member States then there is no reason to believe they won't do so anywhere else they want an ego boost, too.

All the more reason to get out. It's bad enough railing against one's own government, at all levels, about the daft things they impose on us against the public will, without having a further band of elites that aren't even part of our sovereign nation being given the whip hand.
If it takes the EU to force me to save on my electricity bills do be it. Leaving the EU though will not lead to the emancipation of our oppressed high energy light bulbs :-)

The only bulbs we ever seen to need to chagr in our house now are the wretched halogen ones.
There may be good reasons for leaving the EU but I'd suggest this isn't one of them :-) It is domegat unbelievable that we can get so worked up about this
Or even somewhat unbelievable ...
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I am not getting worked up. Light bulbs happened to be a more recent example of the thrust of the thread.
NJ has ably explained that the raft of EU measures should, if necessary, be handed out by our own sovereign Westminster Parliament.
I do not believe that any British government would dictate what shape fruit we should buy or other such daft dictats.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
As NJ said it is about who decides these issues!!

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