Incandescent light bulb bans have been enacted by several governments that prohibit the manufacture or importation of incandescent light bulbs for general lighting in favor of more energy-efficient alternatives. The regulations are generally based on efficiency, rather than use of incandescent technology. In 2009, the European Union and several other nations began the process of banning incandescent bulbs. In the early to mid 2010s, the bans continued in various other nations. In 2023, the United States banned most general service incandescent lamps, but had exclusions for specific bulb implementations. Objections to banning incandescent light bulbs include the higher initial cost of alternatives, lower quality of light of fluorescent lamps, and concerns of government overreach. Bodies such as the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks, as well as some psychiatrists, have expressed concern about the health and psychological effects of fluorescent lighting and blue light, stating they disrupt sleep, circadian rhythm and melatonin production compared with incandescent bulbs. Additional objections focus on the potentially hazardous materials in some alternative lamps.
Alternatives to incandescent bulbs The light from an incandescent source is similar in character to that from a Planckian "black body" in spectral distribution, that is, the bulb, as the filament heats up, produces light at wavelengths throughout the visible spectrum. Alternative light sources use phosphors or combinations of mono-chromatic LEDs (red, blue, and green) to produce "white" light, giving significantly irregular spectral distributions that can create color casts in photography and differences of color matching when compared to incandescent light or daylight. Halogen lamps are a type of incandescent lamp with improved efficiency over regular incandescent lamps. Though not as energy efficient as other alternatives, they are up to 40 percent more efficient than standard incandescent lamps designed for a 2000-hour life. Depending on size, voltage, and designed life, small, low-voltage halogen lamps can have 70% higher efficacy than large, line-voltage lamps. They operate at a high temperature, which may be a safety hazard in some applications. A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) uses a fluorescent lamp tube which is curved or folded to fit into the space of an incandescent bulb and contains a compact electronic ballast in the base of the lamp. Compared to general-service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, CFLs use one-fifth to one-third the electric power and may last eight to fifteen times longer. Newer phosphor formulations have improved the perceived color, with "soft white" CFLs judged subjectively similar to standard incandescent lamps. Objections more specifically relating to compact fluorescent light bulbs include the different quality of light produced by phosphor-based lamps compared to incandescent lamps and that compact fluorescent light bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, which is especially dangerous to children and pregnant women, and made more serious by the confined area into which mercury would be dispersed in the event of a breakage indoors. Environmental concerns about mercury contamination from CFLs have been raised, but they can be shown to emit less mercury into the environment overall compared to traditional incandescent bulbs, due to the significant reductions in power plant emissions. Compact fluorescent lamps start poorly when cold, and most types cannot be dimmed. A few specialty applications are unsuitable for CFLs. Light emitting diode (LED) lamps are used for both general and special-purpose lighting. Their advantages over fluorescent bulbs include: they use less power for the same light output, they contain no mercury, they turn on instantly over a wider range of temperatures, their lifetime is less affected by cycling on and off, they have no glass to break, and they emit fewer UV rays that fade colored materials. LED lamps radiate much less heat than other technologies, and can be either multi-directional or unidirectional, eliminating the need for a mirrored reflector in the bulb or fixture. LED lamps can emit saturated colored light. Disadvantages include spectral limitations resulting from the discrete emission bands of LED phosphors and semiconductor junctions; however, this issue has been partially mitigated through various spectral-engineering strategies, such as the use of multi-phosphor blends, remote phosphor coatings, and mixed-die architectures (e.g., RGBW or violet-pump systems) designed to broaden the emission spectrum and improve color rendition. Modern evaluation methods—such as the Color Quality Scale (CQS, measured in Qf and Qg units) and the IES TM-30 metrics (including the fidelity index Rf and gamut index Rg) provide more comprehensive assessments of these improvements than the traditional Color Rendering Index (CRI, Ra). When incandescent light bulb bans began, the purchase price for LEDs was much higher than other bulbs, but it has decreased steadily over the years.
Regional developments
Africa
Botswana Botswana has an exchange program distributing CFL bulbs.
ECOWAS Of the members of ECOWAS, Cape Verde, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Benin and Togo have had exchange programs to replace incandescent bulbs with energy efficient versions. Ghana banned incandescent bulbs in 2008 and Senegal has banned the manufacture and import.
Egypt Egypt is reported to have a partial ban on incandescent light bulbs.
Kenya Kenya has a programme to exchange a number of light bulbs with more efficient types.
Morocco Morocco has a programme to exchange a number of light bulbs with more efficient types.
Namibia Namibia has an exchange program which distributed 1 million energy saving bulbs in 2016.
Rwanda Rwanda has an exchange program, distributing CFL bulbs.
South Africa South Africa phased out incandescent light bulbs in 2016.
Tanzania Tanzania has an exchange program to replace incandescent bulbs.
Tunisia Tunisia is reported to have a partial ban on incandescent light bulbs.
Zambia Since January 2016, the importation of incandescent light bulbs has been banned in Zambia.
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe has banned incandescent light bulbs.
Asia
Bahrain Bahrain has banned incandescent light bulbs.
Bangladesh Bangladesh has an exchange program.
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