Traditional light bulbs

[dave50]

Does anyone know if you can still buy the traditional light bulbs from abroad? The 100W bulbs have alrady been banned with the 60W soon to follow thanks to the idiotic climate change zealots. Is there anwhere you can get them from abroad via the internet? I'm sure if somewhere like China started making and exporting them they would sell thousands.

[ChuckFickens]

They would be illegal to import into this country, so they would only sell a handful that got past customs.

[RATTER15]

They would probably not be allowed to sell them in this country if they are being banned and we probably wont allow the import.

[RATTER15]

Sorry Chuck, we crossed.

[rowanwitch]

still a lot being sold at car boot sales

[smurf]

i bought a load of 100w of the internet only a few weeks ago, just put a search in and i am sure you will find some

[deggers316]

try your local markets
and the pound shops still sell them but only up to 100 watts

[dzug2]

It's legal to sell them but not to make them

I would suspect importing counts as making, certainly on a commercial scale

[ChuckFickens]

Just as a slightly pedantic point...

"traditional light bulbs" have not been banned, there is no mention in the regulations as to the types of light bulbs which are allowed and which are not allowed. what has been banned are light bulbs that require over a certain amount of power to output a certain amount of light... if somebody could make a "traditional light bulb" that met the efficacy requirements it would still be allowed.

[beso]

I visited China in 1999 and again in 2001. The biggest change I noticed was the incandescant bulb had all been changed to CFLs.

They started taking energy efficiency seriously a long time ago.

BTW. The truth of climate change is supported by the science. The idiotic zealots are those who try to overcome the facts by endlesslessly repeating lies on behalf of fossil fuel companies.

[Old_Geezer]

The problem is that the few you still see in some shops are not brilliant quality. When the authorities imposed this unjustified imposition on us all they effectively ruined a market which had eager buyers and sellers, and left the way open for the cheap & nasty products to supply those determined to continue their right to buy the bulb of their choice. And of course, not all nations have the same mains voltage so you may be looking for items specifically knocked up to be bought in the UK. It seems a dodgy activity to contemplate.

[Old_Geezer]

Changing light bulbs will have next to no affect on climate change. The efficiency aspect is way overrated since it assumes all energy not converted to light is wasted energy, whereas often you want the heat. This was just down to some idiots who wanted to impose their will on others for their own self importance, simply because they could, and speaks volumes for the state of the world we are presently living in. How do this sort float to the top, to drop it on the rest of us from a great height?

[Clanad]

We have the same problem approaching us here in the U.S. due to recent legislation. Our family has accumulated nearly 50 4 packs of various Wattages, mainly as a protest of some sort, but also because of verified "horror" stories about people that have accidently broken one of the CFL's and have been required to call in a Hazardous Materials clean up squad at no small cost simply because the new bulbs contain a small amount of Mercury... Progress, no?

[Old_Geezer]

If your laws insist on calling the "Hazardous Materials clean up squad" at great cost to you, then that's another con. Yes it is hazardous and thus a poor choice for lightbulbs, but the quantities involved mean IMO any expert cleanup is well over the top.

[Clanad]

Maybe yes, maybe no, Eddie... see here:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp

At least one lady was ill-informed and knowing the government, that's likely not all that rare...

[Prudie]

I find a lot of independent high street hardware stores still sell them.

[Disco Fever]

I'm a sparky and it's not illegal to sell them but illegal to import them, I've been to wholesalers and they still have stock of 60 watt pearl light bulbs but not much stock of the 100 watt variety, I have changed all my lights in my kitchen to LED colour 6500 and they are brighter than spotlights and only take 5 watts of power. If you want extra light instead of a 100 watt pearl bulb, go to an electrical wholesaler, yes they do sell to the general public, and get the 23 watt low energy equivalent but in colour 840, not the colour you can buy anywhere else, which is colour 827 (warm white) and is horrible..

[emmie]

You can still buy the traditional bulbs, try Robert Dyas, or any local hardware store. No matter what the idiot zealots say its a bad move. I don't like the newer types, as they make reading more difficult, i have a stash of 60w bulbs and plan to buy some more.