COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION Market assessment on mains-voltage lamps as required by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1194/2012
Date: 2015-09-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission
Subjects: electrical energy, energy consumption, energy efficiency, energy saving, environmental impact, environmental protection, lighting equipment

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 11.9.2015  
COM(2015) 443 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

Market assessment on mains-voltage lamps as required by Commission Regulation (EU) 
No 1194/2012 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
1.  INTRODUCTION 
Commission  Regulation  (EU)  No  1194/20121  contains  minimum  energy  efficiency 
requirements for directional lamps, light emitting diode lamps and related equipment. These 
ecodesign  requirements  are  introduced  in  stages,  with  each  stage  adding  new  or  more 
stringent requirements compared to the previous stage. The last one, stage 3, is due to apply 
from  1  September  2016  and  will  require  a  minimum  energy  efficiency  of  0.95  for  filament 
lamps, 0.36 for high-intensity discharge lamps and 0.2 for all other lamps, expressed using an 
energy  efficiency  index  (EEI).  Directional  mains-voltage  halogen  lamps  currently  on  the 
market  do  not  meet  the  requirement  for  filament  lamps,  and  stage  3  will  therefore  prohibit 
their placing on the market. 

To  ensure  that  these  halogen  lamps  are  not  phased  out  without  an  adequate  replacement 
option, Regulation 1194/2012 states that stage 3 will apply to mains-voltage filament lamps 
only if ‘no later than 30 September 2015, evidence is produced by the Commission through a 
detailed  market  assessment  and  communicated  to  the  Ecodesign  Consultation  Forum  that 
there are mains-voltage lamps on the market that are: 

— compliant with the maximum EEI requirement in stage 3; 

— affordable in terms of not entailing excessive costs for the majority of end-users; 

—  broadly  equivalent  in  terms  of  consumer-relevant  functionality  parameters  to 
mains-voltage  filament  lamps  available  on  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  this 
Regulation [3 January 2013], including in terms of luminous fluxes spanning the full 
range of reference luminous fluxes listed in Table 6 [of Regulation 1194/2012, ranging 
from 90lm to 1000lm]; 

—  compatible  with  equipment  designed  for  installation  between  the  mains  and 
filament lamps available on the date of entry into force of this Regulation according to 
state-of-the-art requirements for compatibility.’2 

This  Communication  fulfils  the  legally  required  market  assessment  of  the  available  mains-
voltage replacement lamp options on the market. It is based on a technical market overview3 
produced  for  the  Commission  by  external  technical  consultants  and  presented  to  the 
Ecodesign Consultation Forum.  

2.  COMPLIANCE WITH THE MAXIMUM ENERGY EFFICIENCY INDEX 

The most likely replacement option for halogen lamps are light emitting diode (LED) lamps, 
which  are  currently  transforming  the  lighting  market.  Around  70 %  of  all  models  of  LED 

1  Commission  Regulation  (EU)  No  1194/2012  of  12  December  2012  implementing  Directive  2009/125/EC  of 
the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for directional lamps, light 
emitting diode lamps and related equipment, OJEU L 342/1. 

2  Cited  from  Regulation  1194/2012,  Annex  III  1.1.,  p.11  —  inclusions  in  square  bracket  have  been  added  for 
increased readability. 

technical  market 

3  The 
the  Commission’s  website: 
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/Draft%20Final%20Market%20Assessment%20data.pdf.  It 
was presented to Ecodesign Consultation Forum meeting on 25 June 2015. 

accessible 

overview 

publicly 

on 

is 

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lamps found on the market meet the maximum EEI requirement of stage 3, giving consumers 
plenty of choice in replacement options. The proportion of these compliant lamps available on 
the  market  is  expected  to  increase  further  due  to  the  continuing  improvements  in  LED 
technology. 

3.  AFFORDABILITY OF REPLACEMENT SOLUTIONS 

Directional LED lamps offered on the EU market are affordable in terms of both retail prices 
and life-cycle costs. 

For  retail  prices,  although  the  initial  investment  cost  of  LED  lamps  is  higher  than  that  of 
directional  mains-voltage  halogen  lamps,  observed  prices  range  from  ca.  €1.80  to  €18 
depending on brand, point of sale and type of LED lamp. Most LED lamps cost under €10. 
These prices are expected to continue to decrease due to technological developments in LED 
technology; retail price decreases of up to 25 % were observed on the EU market in the first 
four months of 2015.  

LED  lamps’  lower  energy  consumption,  often  around  a  factor  of  5,  leads  to  significant 
savings in terms of life-cycle costs for consumers, even if higher retail prices are taken into 
account.  Pay-back  times  of  around  one  year  or  less  are  currently  possible,  and  in  nearly  all 
cases  the  savings  from  replacing  directional  mains-voltage  halogen  lamps  with  LED  lamps 
will cover the initial cost. 

4.  BROAD EQUIVALENCE IN TERMS OF FUNCTIONALITY 

LED lamps offer a fully functionally equivalent replacement option for ca. 90 % of directional 
mains-voltage  halogen  lamp  models  on  the  market.  These  LED  lamps  fulfil  the  functional 
ecodesign  requirements  of  Regulation  1194/2012,  including  a  sufficient  colour  rendering 
index (CRI) of CRI ≥ 80, with some LED lamps reaching a high CRI of above 90. In general, 
the  variety  of  LED  lamps  in  regard  to  lumen  levels,  beam  angles,  colour  temperature  and 
models exceeds the variety of directional mains-voltage halogen lamps on the market. 

For  the  remaining  10 %  of  directional  mains-voltage  halogen  lamp  models  on  the  market, 
LED lamps offer a broadly functional equivalent replacement option. Consumers may have to 
compromise  on  minor  characteristics  such  as  the  beam  angle,  but  most  would  not  notice  a 
difference. Another option is to use adapters for the socket type to achieve full equivalence 
with an LED lamp with a different cap. 

5.  COMPATIBILITY WITH EQUIPMENT 

Replacement  LED  lamps  are  in  general  compatible  with  the  equipment  used  for  directional 
mains-voltage  halogen  lamps.  An  exception  is  their  compatibility  with  dimmers;  while  all 
halogen  lamps  are  dimmable,  only  certain  LED  lamps  on  the  EU  market  work  with  the 
trailing edge and leading edge dimmers that were available on the market on 3 January 2013, 
when Regulation 1194/2012 entered into force. These dimmable LED lamps also fulfil all the 
requirements. 

The  mandatory  information  requirements  of  Regulation  1194/2012  already  require  that 
consumers be informed of which dimmers, if any, each LED lamp model is compatible with. 
This allows consumers to purchase the right replacement option for them. 

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6.  CONCLUSIONS 

This market assessment shows that directional mains-voltage LED lamps that comply with the 
minimum  energy  efficiency  requirements  under  Regulation  1194/2012  are  available,  
affordable,  equivalent in terms of functionality and compatible with equipment used between 
the mains and the lamp. 

The  requirements  for  stage  3  of  Regulation  1194/2012  to  apply  to  mains-voltage  filament 
lamps have therefore been met. 

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