64% of Northern Irish households using energy saving light bulbs

(Christopher Ewing)

Preliminary statistics show that 64% of all households in Northern Island use energy saving light bulbs, estimated to save 135kg of CO2 per year, as the EU and USA phase out standard bulbs.

Preliminary figures released by research organization the Central Survey Unit on July 2 show that nearly 50% of households in Northern Island are environmentally aware. The statistics indicate that 64% of Northern Island households used "energy saving light bulbs" and 44% of households said they had taken a range of actions for environmental reasons over the last year including, reducing the amount of energy used in the home. The full report is due to be released on September 30 this year.

UK based energy organization, The Energy Saving Trust estimates that changing all the light bulbs in the home would save 135kg of CO2 per year and 3 tons of CO2 over the lifetime off the bulb, and installing a single energy saving bulb per UK household would be equivalent to taking 70,000 cars off the road.

Alternatively households are adopting magnetic field Induction Lamps, which transfer power from the outside of the lamp via electromagnetic fields giving the bulb improved energy efficiency and a longer service life.

The EU adopted a policy on March 18 2008 designed to phase out incandescent bulbs and replace them with energy saving alternatives between 2009 and 2016. US federal legislation calls for a phase out of incandescent bulbs beginning in 2012 and some shops, such as Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, have already begun taking them off their shelves.