Madam, - The proposed ban on conventional lightbulbs will necessitate the scrapping of some older light fittings. This is a legitimate concern.
However, your Saturday Review of December 15th quoted an electrician who had recently installed 160 downlighters in one house - all of which he implies will have to be replaced because they cannot accommodate a modern CFL lamp.
Such overuse of downlighters is truly shocking, yet they seem to becoming almost the norm in domestic lighting. Why? The selective use of downlighters above a worktop or table might make sense, but scattering them all over the house is abominably wasteful. However efficient the lamp you fit, most of the light from a typical downlighter is absorbed by the floor.
Given that lighting consumes a considerable proportion of the power used by the typical family, it is time to ensure that all electricians have some training in energy efficiency? And that all lighting installations should be certified as energy-efficient in the effective delivery of light, not just in the generation of it? - Yours, etc,
DUNCAN J MARTIN, Townsfield, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary.