Incandescent light bulbs, which were introduced in 1887 in Korea, will gradually disappear from everyday life here as the government is banning production and imports of them from next year as part of its energy-saving policy, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday.

“The move is based on the plan to phase out low-efficiency lighting, which was announced in December 2008,” a ministry official said.

According to industry sources, incandescent light bulbs consume as much as nine times more energy than highly energy-efficient light-emitting diode light bulbs. 

As a solution for replacing incandescent light bulbs, the ministry recommends self-ballast lamps and LED light bulbs.

Despite the higher product price of alternative lighting solutions over traditional bulbs, the ministry said consumers can benefit through long-term use owing to their higher efficiency.

Using an incandescent light bulb may cost up to 15,863 won ($14.14) per year in electricity bills and purchase costs. The amount drops by up to 82.3 percent to 2,813 won a year when using an LED light bulb instead, the ministry said in its press release.

About 30 million incandescent light bulbs are still in use nationwide. If these traditional bulbs are replaced with the recommended light bulbs, the ministry estimated that about 1,800 gigawatts of electricity could be saved per year.

Asked about the impact on local incandescent light bulb makers, the ministry said there was only one remaining local manufacturer. Most of the incandescent bulbs sold here are imported.

The ministry allocated 32.2 billion won ($28 million) to support low-income households or organizations to adopt energy-efficient lighting solutions.

On the other hand, as the ministry promotes use of self-ballast lamps and LED light bulbs, competition between foreign and domestic LED lighting solution providers is expected to heat up.

When it comes to the LED bulb market, foreign makers like GE lighting, Philips and Osram are ahead of domestic electric and electronics giants like Samsung and LG. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics put more focus on bigger lighting solution markets like outdoor LED lighting.

By Seo Jee-yeon  (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)