Incandescent bulbs on way out

Looks like the end of next year is the beginning of the end for incandescent light bulbs. I first started using the long-life bulbs in 1999 when I spent over $200 replacing every bulb in our new house with the $14 each Philips variety from Pak n Save, as they cost back then. The upside was that I never bought another bulb for that house in the 4 years that followed and I saved about 15% on the power bill during that time. I also didn't have to get the step ladder out every few weeks to replace blown bulbs, which I thought was a huge benefit.

The prices of long life bulbs in NZ have down considerably since then. I've paid as little as $2.99 each for the hose branded long-life bulbs at the Warehouse a couple of years ago. You do find yourself talking prices in intervals of years as you buy a new bulb rarely once you've populated all your fittings with the long-life version.

I was amazed when in Canada last year that Ontarians have to pay - after converting the currency - roughly 3 times as much as Kiwis do for long-life bulbs. But their power from the Ontario public power monopoly is much cheaper than ours, so they do not save as much by using them, so there has been less demand for them. My brother's 5-bedroom house will be electrically heated and lit all (COLD!) winter,every room, day and night, for a lot less than C$200 / month. The same in NZ would, today, cost 3 or 4 times that in nominal terms.