Brazil bans sale of incandescent light bulbs

Effective as of today, the ban on the sale of incandescent light bulbs

Published on 30/06/2016 - 09:18 By Alana Gandra reports from Agência Brasil - Rio de Janeiro

The sale of incandescent light bulbs ranging between 40 and 60 watts will be banned in Brazil as of this Thursday (Jun. 30). From now on, selling these bulbs will carry fines between $32 and $460,000. The purpose of the ban is to mitigate energy waste.

A compact fluorescent lamp uses about 75% less energy compared to incandescent bulbs of equivalent brightness. With LED lamps, this can increase to 85%.

Brazil began phasing out incandescent bulbs in 2012, by banning the sale of 150W or higher wattage bulbs. According to the engineer in charge of the Brazilian Labeling Program (PBE) at Brazil's National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO), Marcos Borges, efforts to monitor implementation of the ban have an educational purpose, since suppliers have been advised of the ban since last year. “We believe these suppliers will not be abruptly impacted, because they have been receiving guidelines about the phase-out since 2010.”

Borges said INMETRO began a consumer awareness program in 2001, in which it shows consumers that incandescent bulbs have shorter life cycles and use much more energy than compact fluorescent lamps, for example.“It became clear to consumers that compact fluorescent lamp were much more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs.”

According to INMETRO, in 2010, incandescent light bulbs were used at 70% of Brazilian homes. Now, they are in use at only 30% of the households, and can no longer be sold in Brazil, following a recommendation from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
 

Translated by Mayra Borges


Fonte: Brazil bans sale of incandescent light bulbs

Edition: Talita Cavalcante / Augusto Queiroz

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