German “heatball” wheeze outwits EU light bulb ban

Rotthaeuser studied EU legislation and realized that because the inefficient old bulbs produce more warmth than light — he calculated heat makes up 95 percent of their output, and light just 5 percent — they could be sold legally as heaters.

Technically 100% of the output is heat, because the visible light is heat, as it is part of the blackbody spectrum. So they’re right — it is a “heatball,” as are all light bulbs. However, the whole point is that 95% of the energy is wasted if your goal is to generate visible light. What’s interesting is that electricity is considerably more expensive in Germany than in the US, so compact fluorescents pay for themselves faster and make even more economic sense (and soon will LED systems, as well). So these people are throwing money away, in their passive-aggressive protesting way.