Torchieres turning the corner
Torchieres turning the corner
Energy Star labeled compact fluorescent torchieres (also called uplighters)
have been available in US shops for more than two years now. They have
made significant progress against halogen torchieres.
For the last few years, US safety requirements for halogen floor lamps have been growing more stringent, raising the cost of manufacturing. At the same time, a wave of costly litigation is underway against US halogen lamp manufacturers and retailers after at least 530 fires, 36 deaths, and 138 injuries attributed to the products (as of Oct 1, 2000).
A few major retailers, including Home Depot and Wal-Mart, have begun phasing out their purchases of halogen torchieres entirely to avoid additional legal exposure. As a result, annual sales of halogen torchieres have dropped by more than one-third from their 1995 high, while average prices are rising.
Unfortunately, much of this demand is simply shifting to torchiere designs utilizing standard incandescent technology. Home Depot, for example, now stocks a variety of incandescent torchiere styles at prices only slightly higher than its previous halogen products. The products almost always include three-way switches and a vertically mounted screwbase socket. Most incandescent torchieres are rated for 150 watts maximum, though some new designs allow the use of incandescent bulbs of up to 250 watts.
From the perspective of energy efficiency, total operating cost, light output, and fire safety, there are only minor differences between 300W halogen torchieres and 250W incandescent models. By contrast, the 150W models operate at substantially lower temperatures than 300W halogens but also provide far less light output. Screwbase CFLs can be used in many of these torchieres, but they also have difficulty providing comparable light output to pin-base dedicated CFL designs using the 58W 2D or 2C lamp.
Energy star-labeled torchiere sales continue to grow, partly because of the products' ability to meet or exceed the light output of 300-watt halogen torchieres without unattractive safety cages, thermal cutoff switches, tipover switches, or multiple warning labels. Perhaps most importantly, their long-life pin-based CFLs eliminate the hassle of frequent bulb changes that require removal and replacement with a screwdriver of both the safety cage and the tempered glass bulb shield.
CFL torchieres continue to receive incentives of US $10 to $20 a piece through electric utility programs in at least ten US states, though incentive levels are dropping over time. Efficient models are now available from American Power Products, Emess, General Electric, Good Earth, Harmony, Lights of America, MaxLite, Michigan Avenue, Technical Consumer Products, and US Energy Technologies at list prices of $30 to $80.
Circular T5 light sources are gaining popularity, with wattage and pin-base configurations that often allow their use with existing 55W 2D ballasts. Cumulative US sales of CFL torchieres now exceed 1 million units. In 1999, they garnered approximately a 4% share of the overall US torchiere market, including incandescent models.
To build consumer interest in Energy Star torchieres, electric utilities and retail stores have sponsored more than 25 "halogen torchiere turn-in" events throughout the US. Televised safety demonstrations and print advertisements invite consumers to bring their old halogen torchieres to a central location for free recycling and the opportunity to purchase Energy Star torchieres at promotional prices. During one of these day-long events, customers will normally recycle at least 1000 halogen lamps and purchase about the same number of new Energy Star units.
Recent results have demonstrated the power of these turn-in events to spark consumer interest. Five fall 1999 events conducted through retail stores in the Portland, Oregon, area yielded sales of 11000 Energy Star models and recycling of 8500 halogen models. An April 2000 event in Chicago, Illinois, stimulated enough consumer demand to persuade Home Depot to order an additional 10000 Energy Star torchieres for its Chicago stores. A May 2000 turn-in held at a Connecticut shopping mall over an 11-day period resulted in the recycling of 4500 halogen torchieres and the sale of 5000 Energy Star torchieres and 15000 additional screw-based CFLs.
The capstone of these various local turn-ins was a nationally coordinated turn-in event in October 2000. Running throughout National Fire Prevention Week, this event brought national television coverage to the subject. Final numbers suggest that the event was a great success: 49000 halogen torchieres were turned in and more than 58000 Energy Star qualified lamps purchased. More importantly, it elevated consumer awareness about the torchiere problem to new heights, contributing greatly to the success of future efforts to transform the US residential lighting market.
The torchiere turn-in model seems ripe for implementation in Canada, Europe, and Asia. In Europe particularly, the combination of a very mature recycling infrastructure and the widespread notion of manufacturers' lifecycle responsibility for products makes this concept seem like a natural extension of existing efficiency programs. Moreover, European programs could benefit from the lessons already learned in the US, greatly shortening the period of time needed to design and refine successful program approaches.
Fig.1 Annual sales of halogen torchieres have dropped by more than one-third from their 1995 high, while average prices are rising.
Chris Calwell
A 1999 paper written by Ecos Consulting for the Natural Resources Defense Council expands further on these themes. Halogen Torchiere Market Transformation: A Look at Progress to Date and Future Strategies is available at the IAEEL web site (www.iaeel.org). Subsequent research also appeared in a paper, Compact Fluorescent Torchieres: A Case Study in Market Transformation, presented at the September 2000 Energy Efficiency in Household Appliances and Lighting Conference in Naples, Italy.
The author is a consultant with the US-based Ecos Consulting Inc. He
can be reached at calwell@ecosconsulting.com