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| Europe |
| German "heatball" wheeze outwits EU light bulb ban |
| 2010-10-17 |
| A German entrepreneur is bypassing a European Union ban on light bulbs of more than 60 watts by marketing his own brand as mini heaters. Siegfried Rotthaeuser and his brother-in-law have come up with a legal way of importing and distributing 75 and 100 watt light bulbs -- by producing them in China, importing them as "small heating devices" and selling them as "heatballs." To improve energy efficiency, the EU has banned the sale of bulbs of over 60 watts -- to the annoyance of the mechanical engineer from the western city of Essen. Rotthaeuser studied EU legislation and realized that because the inefficient old bulbs produce more warmth than light -- he calculated heat makes up 95 percent of their output, and light just 5 percent -- they could be sold legally as heaters. On their website (heatball.de/), the two engineers describe the heatballs as "action art" and as "resistance against legislation which is implemented without recourse to democratic and parliamentary processes." Costing 1.69 euros each ($2.38), the heatballs are going down well -- the first batch of 4,000 sold out in three days. Rotthaeuser has pledged to donate 30 cents of every heatball sold to saving the rainforest, which the 49-year-old sees as a better way of protecting the environment than investing in energy-saving lamps, which contain toxic mercury. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #6 All this Global Warming related nonsense is the price we pay as a society for most people knowing nothing about science. No, it's the price we pay for having scientists who know nothing about society, economics or politics and who can be so easily rolled by leftists. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-10-17 20:43 |
| #5 It also illustrates why most of the claimed energy saving won't happen. In most of Europe, most of the time people light their home, they also heat it, and the heat lost from 'more efficient lightbulbs' will have to come from other sources. All this Global Warming related nonsense is the price we pay as a society for most people knowing nothing about science. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2010-10-17 18:51 |
| #4 1 year, 2 months, and 15 days. 441 days to go until 100W light bulbs are no longer for legal sale in the US. If you plan to stock up on 100W bulbs, try to get those that are at least 1600 Lumens, which should be marked on the front of the box. More Lumens means brighter, and some 100W bulbs produce as little as 850 Lumens. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-10-17 18:40 |
| #3 "If the EU banned dim bulbs only they'd pretty much abolish themselves." ROFL, EC! Well, at least they'd have to ban the Brussels "leadership" crowd. ;-p (And most of the rest of the "leaders" of the various governments, too.) |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-10-17 14:32 |
| #2 If the EU banned dim bulbs only they'd pretty much abolish themselves. Win Win |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2010-10-17 13:53 |
| #1 Hah! |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2010-10-17 12:43 |