Comment by palmotea
10 hours ago
> The push toward LED seems to be primarily for emission target related reasons. It is very hard to buy incandescent bulbs in the UK; even for those of us that accept the cost implications.
Can you even buy them without buying new old stock? In the US they're banned and there's zero production.
I recall there was a guy in the EU who tried to get around the regulations by selling "heat bulbs" that were exactly the same as traditional incandescent bulbs but marketed as a heat source, but I think he was slapped down.
At least in Germany you can still fairly easily get 20W incandescent lamps. Sold as lamps for fridges and ovens, but they are available with standard sockets.
If you look around a bit you can also get 60W or 100W lamps, sold as "industrial lamps" or "extreme temperature lamps", labeled as unsuitable for household use. But those are specialty lamps that you won't find in your local supermarket. Not sure if those are new old stock or imported
Certain size/watt combos are still available for things like appliances and nightlights, but I think that includes 20W E26/A-something bulbs, and the bulbs for plug-in night lights. I can still find them on the Home Depot and some other places. No idea about quality but I still prefer how they look. There are so many other horrible energy efficiency problems with heating my home that the inefficiency of a few incandescents in key places doesn't bother me in comparison to the enjoyment I get from the nice light.