Nothing is more important than saving our planet. Recent research shows that CO₂ emissions are occurring at a rate double the capacity that the earth can assimilate. Furthermore, CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere are now 380 ppm, which is higher than any measured records over the past 4 million years, worsening global warming.

Lighting is a basic necessity. Therefore, greater use of eco-friendly and energy–efficient lamps is considered the quickest and simplest option for reaching a carbon neutral state. Compared with incandescent bulbs, LEDs/CFLs deliver incredible lighting performance while consuming 80% less power, and generate 80% less CO₂ as a result. Moreover, LEDs/CFLs emit much less heat than incandescent bulbs, that contributes to the reduction in energy consumption from air-conditioning, thus further reducing CO₂ emission that causes global warming.

Note: In generating 1kWh of electricity in a power plant, 0.616kg of CO₂ is emitted to the air.

Countries worldwide have begun to realise the need for carbon reduction, and some have responded actively to combat the issue.

1. The EU has banned the sale of 100-wattage incandescent bulbs since September 2009, and gradually phased out the bulb in other wattages in 2012*
2. With the support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), fourteen developing countries are to come up with plans to phase out incandescent lamps in July 2012 – the countries are Uruguay, Chile, Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Morocco, Jordan, the Philippines and Tunisia
3. Korea is planning to ban the use of incandescent bulbs in 2013
4. The federal government in Canada announced it would ban the sale of incandescent bulbs in 2012
5. Taiwan started to stop the production of incandescent bulbs in 2010, and targets to ban it completely in 2012
6. China's government is planning to ban incandescent bulbs in 2018
7. In 2012, Japan’s government banned the sale of high-energy incandescent bulbs and planned to phase out all incandescent bulbs
8. The United States has started to phase out 100-wattage incandescent bulbs in 2012, and it would expand the range to other wattages in 2014
9. The federal government in Canada announced it would ban the sale of incandescent bulbs in 2012
10. The United Kingdom declared it would replace incandescent bulbs with energy saving lamps in 2011
11. Australia declared that it would phase out incandescent light bulbs gradually before 2010, and replace them with energy saving lamps
12. Ireland stopped using incandescent bulbs in January 2009, making it the first country to implement such a ban

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When an incandescent bulb is lit, about 90% energy is converted to heat instead of visible light, making it very energy inefficient. The CFL undergoes two processes in generating light:

1) electrons collide with mercury vapour particles, converting to ultra-violet radiation;

2) ultra-violet radiation projects on phosphor to generate light. The efficiencies of both processes are very high. Therefore, compact fluorescent lamps possess very high luminous efficacy.

LED Lamps use light-emitting diodes as the source of light. They can also save up to 80% electricity compared to traditional halogen lamps.

In general, both CFLs and LEDs can generate the same level of lumen with 20% of the electricity used by their incandescent or halogen counterparts. To make it easier for the public to select the true energy efficient products, many countries and regions have implemented energy efficiency policies and introduced mandatory or voluntary labelling systems to provide information on energy consumption and efficiency to help consumers make better purchasing decisions.

LEDs/CFLs are cost efficient as well. While saving you up to 80% of electricity costs, they further save you maintenance costs with their high illumination performance, prolonged lamp life and durability. Click here to see how much money you can save.

It is estimated that if every American home replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an energy saving lamp, the energy saved would be enough to light more than 3 million homes for a year. In addition, more than USD600 million in annual energy costs would be saved with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 800,000 cars. For further details, please refer to http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls.

LEDs/CFLs are now available in different sizes, shapes, colour temperatures and features, providing more options to consumers for home and commercial use.