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BERLIN (Reuters) A German entrepreneur is bypassing a European Union ban on
light bulbs of more than 60 watts by marketing his own brand as mini heaters.
Siegfried Rotthaeuser and his brother-in-law have come up with a legal way of
importing and distributing 75 and 100 watt light bulbs -- by producing them in
China, importing them as "small heating devices" and selling them as
"heatballs."
To improve energy efficiency, the EU has banned the sale of bulbs of over 60
watts -- to the annoyance of the mechanical engineer from the western city of
Essen.
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.
On their website (http://heatball.de/), the two engineers describe the
heatballs as "action art" and as "resistance against legislation which is
implemented without recourse to democratic and parliamentary processes."
Costing 1.69 euros each ($2.38), the heatballs are going down well -- the first
batch of 4,000 sold out in three days.
Rotthaeuser has pledged to donate 30 cents of every heatball sold to saving the
rainforest, which the 49-year-old sees as a better way of protecting the
environment than investing in energy-saving lamps, which contain toxic mercury.
(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Steve Addison)