Taking a dim view of 'Stalin's lamps'

Published on Thursday 19 November 2009 21:30

HOW revealing that low-energy light bulbs – nicknamed "Stalin's lamps" – are found to emit even less light than their apologists claim.

A study by a German consumer group has found the so-called compact fluorescent light bulbs, forced on a reluctant public by the EU, lose a fifth of their "brightness" over their lifetime and end up emitting only 60 per cent as much light as the nearest traditional bulb. This illuminating research found an average reduction in brightness of 22 per cent, while 16 per cent of the bulbs stopped working altogether.

The survey has brought light to a dark pool of consumer suspicion. Many said low-energy bulbs cast less light than they claimed to do, and were pooh-poohed by experts. The bulbs have been only reluctantly adopted, and plans to phase out traditional bulbs have brought waves of buying.

While people want to save energy, low-energy bulbs are unpopular because of their potential danger in stairways and because their weak, cold light made people miserable and depressed. Their glow, such as it is, would make a morgue look cheerful. The poor light also conjures up images of life behind the Iron Curtain in the 1950s when millions lived in drab buildings with drab lighting. Are we happy in the low-energy collective? Impossible to see in the dark.