Goodbye Light Bulbs

Governments have passed measures to prohibit the sale of incandescent light bulbs. The aim is to encourage use of more energy efficient lighting alternatives, such as compact fluorescent lamp (CFLs) and LED lamps. Brazil and Venezuela started to phase them out in 2005, the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, in 2009; and other nations are planning scheduled phase-outs: Argentina, Russia and Canada in 2012; and the USA between 2012 and 2014

Follow the leader

March 16, 2010
Toshiba ended production of mass-market incandescent light bulbs on Wednesday, putting to a close a 120-year manufacturing history of the products.

Toshiba traces its history in incandescent bulb production back to 1890 and the start of bulb production at Hakunetsu-sha, a company that would eventually merge into Toshiba and was Japan's first manufacturer of incandescent light bulbs.

Production began at just 10 bulbs a day but peaked in 1973 at 78 million bulbs per year. Last year Toshiba produced 7 million incandescent bulbs.

Incandescent light bulb production at other companies is expected to end in the coming years as regulations come into force banning their sale. Governments around the world are keen to promote the use of more energy-efficient lighting products.

Source: IDG News, March 16, 2010