Welcome led light bulbs and goodbye halogen bulbs.

the production of most halogen lamps and bulbs ceased in the European Union: they represented the vanguard of energy efficiency when energy-efficient incandescent bulbs were used, which are now forbidden for years, but now have switched to the rearguard and are expected to be replaced by LED light bulbs, which stands for Light Emitting Diode.

Lamps and LED bulbs, with the same yield, consume much less energy than halogen lamps. According to the European Commission, the elimination of halogens and the use of more efficient light bulbs will save by 2025 an amount of energy equal to that consumed by Portugal in a year.

THE ADVANTAGES

Energy efficiency, or doing the same things while consuming less energy, is very important for the portfolio and the environment: in fact, we have obtained that the EU considers it the same as energy infrastructure. It means that from now on, before building - say - a pipeline, we need to assess whether there is an alternative based on energy efficiency.

THE RISKS

However, energy efficiency, in itself, is not the magic wand. Care must be taken not to be swallowed up by the paradox of Jevons: when you spend less on energy thanks to greater efficiency, there is the possibility that more energy is consumed. According to a famous study (the ARPA Umbria has taken up the topic in Italian) it can end up using in another way up to 30% of the energy saved, and up to 50% in 2030: for example with an excess of useless lighting or simply leaving the lights on because "they consume very little". For this reason, sometimes, due to the use of LEDs in public lighting, light pollution is worsening in the cities. The Earth is becoming a giant light bulb: it hurts our health and animals.

There is also another thing to watch out for. The manufacture of LED bulbs requires some of the so-called rare earth, such as yttrium, indium, europium, and gallium. Minimal quantities are needed, but these minimum quantities are absolutely essential. Will we have enough? Recycling is possible but little practiced, also due to the difficulty in recovering such small masses of material: yet only recycling can be an antidote against dependence on China, which produces 95% of the rare earth. Moreover, their extraction is very polluting.

Most halogen lamps will no longer be produced from September 1st following the entry into force of an EU regulation of 2015 that corrects another EU regulation, this time of 2012, according to which production was already to cease two years ago. However, it will be possible to sell and purchase stock. Only halogen spotlights and spotlights can be produced as well as halogen lamps used in desk lamps.

ADVICE FOR CONSUMERS

Obviously there is no need to eliminate halogen lamps already installed and still working on September 1st. When replacing them, if you choose LEDs, it is wise to pay attention to the color temperature that is to the shade of light that is measured in degrees Kalvin and which is shown on the label. As can be deduced from the recommendations of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, the amount of blue light emitted by LED lamps can affect the circadian rhythm, that is, the "biological clock" that regulates sleep and wakefulness. The color temperature of 3000 degrees Kelvin or lower, which corresponds to warm white light, does not disturb him and is the ideal one, for the lighting of urban environments and especially for the domestic environments in which the evening is spent before going to sleep ".