Posted on 07/29/2009 9:45:18 AM PDT by Cheap_Hessian
The staggered phase out of energy-wasting light bulbs begins on Sept. 1 in Germany. The unpopularity of the energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs that will replace them is leading consumers and retailers to start hoarding the traditional bulbs.
As the Sept. 1 deadline for the implementation of the first phase of the EU's ban on incandescent light bulbs approaches, shoppers, retailers and even museums are hoarding the precious wares -- and helping the manufacturers make a bundle.
The EU ban, adopted in March, calls for the gradual replacement of traditional light bulbs with supposedly more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL). The first to go, on Sept. 1, will be 100-watt bulbs. Bulbs of other wattages will then gradually fall under the ban, which is expected to cover all such bulbs by Sept. 1, 2012 (see graphic below).
Hardware stores and home-improvement chains in Germany are seeing massive increases in the sales of the traditional bulbs. Obi reports a 27 percent growth in sales over the same period a year ago. Hornbach has seen its frosted-glass light bulb sales increase by 40-112 percent. When it comes to 100-watt bulbs, Max Bahr has seen an 80 percent jump in sales, while the figure has been 150 percent for its competitor Praktiker.
"It's unbelievable what is happening," says Werner Wiesner, the head of Megaman, a manufacturer of energy-saving bulbs. Wiesner recounts a story of how one of his field representatives recently saw a man in a hardware store with a shopping cart full of light bulbs of all types worth more than €200 ($285). "That's enough for the next 20 years."
And hoarding doesn't seem to be just a customer phenomenon. The EU law only forbids producing and importing incandescent bulbs but does not outlaw their sale.
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
Gee, I wonder why ...
LOL!!!!
We’re doing the same thing.
I buy two or three packages every time I go shopping.
So are we!
Glad the Germans finally caught on.
I use the new bulbs everywhere except the bedroom and bathroom. I like them ok but I think when the LED technology is more widely available, that will be better than these florescent ones.
Maybe they can sell them to Meth users for a good profit.
I swear some of those light bulbs were in the sockets when I was a kid.
The life span of some of those bulbs were as long as a dogs life.
I’ve got a couple of years’ supply - does anybody know the shelf life? It seems like it would be roughly “forever”.
Just keep quiet on this or somebody in the gov will want to change the socket standard. hehe
This will be happening here shortly....we need to start hoarding ourselves.
California goes mercury laden mandatory in 2010. I am stocking up and hoarding my favorite bulbs every pay check. No doubt the thought police and gun grabbers will be knocking at my screen any day now
My husband is a fan of the new energy bulbs. I am not.
He put them in my clothes closet and now I seem to be leaving the house in mismatched clothes as I can’t tell the browns from the greens anymore.
And they make my eyes hurt from trying to see as they are not bright enough.
I keep buying the old bulbs and he can’t figure out why.
I used to find working Mazda bulbs regularly when I was an electrician for summer work in the 70s. I have a drawer full of them. Some of them even have the little melted glass nipple on the top.
Change husbands.
I’m stocked up on bulbs and .223s.
KRAMER: Are you still on the pill?ELAINE: Uh, Kramer...
KRAMER: I'll tell ya, I think birth control should be discussed in an open forum.
ELAINE: The sponge, o.k.? The Today sponge.
KRAMER: But wasn't that taken off the market?
ELAINE: Off the market? The sponge? No, no...no way. Everybody loves the sponge.
KRAMER: I read it in Wall Street Week...Louis, uh, Rukeyser.
< Elaine laughs. >
...
< Elaine enters. > Hey.
ELAINE: Well, Kramer was right. My friend Kim told me the sponge is off the market.
JERRY: So what are you gonna do?
ELAINE: I'll tell you what I'm gonna do - I'm gonna do a hard-target search. Of every drug store, general store, health store and grocery store in a 25-block radius.
GEORGE: Just for these sponges?
ELAINE: Hey man, women are really loyal to their birth control methods. What does Susan use?
GEORGE: I dunno.
ELAINE: You don't know?
GEORGE: I, uh...figure it's something.
I got mine! 100W bulbs are now hard to find. Most are made in Mexico now and some are made in China.
100W bulbs are perfect for keeping the wellhouse warm in winter. No burst pipes.
I use florescent in places hard to get to but still like incandesant in others.
God I hate government social engeneering!
My Grandpa tells me he uses the burnt out ones for his darkroom.
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