First the traditional light bulb, and now the halogen lamp: the European Union's crackdown on energy-inefficient products is claiming another victim. Halogen lamps should have been banned two years ago, but they were granted a reprieve to develop suitable alternatives.
Now it is lights out, however.
As of September 1, most halogen bulbs can no longer be brought to market in the EU, under 2009 rules setting out efficiency benchmarks for manufacturers.
Incandescent light bulbs - which were banned in 2012 - turned just 5 per cent of the energy consumed into light.
Halogen lamps meanwhile use five times more energy than currently favoured LED lights, according to the European Commission.
The EU rules on eco-design target all products impacting energy consumption, including shower heads or windows, for example.
Besides the light bulb, products such as vacuum cleaners, ovens, hotplates and extractor fans have all fallen foul of these guidelines.
From September, halogen lamps will mostly be replaced by LED lights.
This should save as much energy annually as is consumed by member state Portugal, according to the commission.
There will be exceptions, however: Spotlights as used in ceiling lighting, as well as halogen bulbs used in floodlights or desk lamps are not impacted by the ban, which predominantly targets candle or bulb shaped lights that fall into energy consumption category D, denoting high inefficiency.
Remaining stock can still be sold after September, but no new halogen lights can be brought to market.
LEDs may still be more expensive to acquire, but their prices have sunk significantly in recent years, falling by 75 per cent between 2010 and 2017, according to the commission. In any case, the extra money can be recouped within a year by lower running costs.
A halogen lamp that burns for three hours a day over ten years would cost around 160 euros (185 dollars), including the initial purchase price, according to Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND).
By comparison, an LED lamp would cost just 28 euros.
"Consumers can save a lot of money if they don't fall for energy guzzling products," said BUND's energy expert Irmela Colaco.
"In the last two to three years in particular, the technical possibilities of energy efficient LED lights has advanced a lot," said Juergen Waldorf of the German electrical industry association ZVEI.
Different shades of light are now available, and both shade and brightness can be controlled by smartphone apps, Waldorf said, while acknowledging that consumers had faced a "learning curve" to adapt to the new technology.
The market share of LEDs is growing rapidly, shooting up from 38 per cent in 2014 to 61 per cent last year, according to the German market research institute GfK.
During this time, the share of halogen lamps fell from 16.7 to 12 per cent.
When incandescent light bulbs disappeared off the shelves six years ago, the alternatives were not yet fully developed.
But the end of the classical light bulb gave an impetus to technological progress, Colaco noted.
In Brussels, meanwhile, the commission is already looking at other areas to improve energy efficiency.
Studies have been launched to examine the savings potential of kettles, hand dryers, pressure washers and lifts, among other things.