New Zealand latest to ban the bulb

Traditional light bulbs may soon be a thing of the past as world governments ramp up their efforts to ban energy hungry incandescent bulbs.

The New Zealand government this week became the latest to announce plans to ban the sale of incandescent bulbs from October next year in favour of more eco-friendly CFL and LED alternatives.

This follows similar moves by leaders in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe, where old-style bulbs will similarly be phased out over the next one to five years.

"The traditional light bulb is very old technology, and very inefficient," said NZ energy minister David Parker. "Only five per cent of the energy it uses generates light – the rest is wasted as heat. There's a whole new generation of lighting that is more cost effective, saves energy and is better for the environment."

US president George Bush has also agreed to legislate for the abolition of traditional bulbs – which can use up to 80 per cent more energy than fluorescent or LED bulbs while producing the same amount of light – by 2014.

In Ireland, they will be banned as early as next year, while Australia has set a target of phasing out the technology by 2010.

Parker said that the New Zealand ban would result in significant cost savings for consumers, cutting lighting energy consumption by 20 per cent by 2015 and saving the country's 4.1 million residents $500m (£193m) up to 2020.