European consumers are switching to green products as a result of the EU ban on incandescent lamps. According to a market research company, sales of traditional light bulbs fell by up to 35 percent in the first quarter of 2009 in a number of European countries. Increases in purchases of regular light bulbs are a regional phenomenon, particularly in Germany and Austria.

EU ban on incandescent lamps will help consumers and the climate

"The big trend is energy efficiency. Green products account for 65 percent of our sales nowadays and we aim to raise this figure still further to 80 percent in the coming years", explains Martin Goetzeler, CEO of Osram. The EU ban will come into force in stages by 2016. The first step will see the phase-out, as from September 1st, of the 100 Watt bulb, one of the biggest energy wasters, in addition to frosted-glass light bulbs.

"Our recommendation as from September 1st is therefore to change to energy-saving products. This way the consumer will save up to 250 euros throughout the product life as well as protecting the environment", according to Goetzeler.

A recent study by Osram and Siemens Corporate Technology proves that light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are just as environmentally friendly as energy-saving lamps and have considerably less impact on the environment than traditional light bulbs. According to the study, the latest generation of LED lamps uses more than 98 percent of the total energy used during its service life and only less than two percent during their manufacture.