However, he said, technology had improved the performance of energy saving bulbs.

“Things are improving. If the bulbs carry the energy-saving recommended logo, they will reach at least 60 per cent of their brightness in 60 seconds,” he said.

“There are sometimes rooms that have no windows, such as bathrooms and cupboards, where one needs to have the light on straightaway. This is a matter that has got to be dealt with by the industry,” the Scotsman quoted him as saying.

He said the number of energy-efficient lightbulbs in British homes had risen from 26 million in 2000 to 110 million last year, adding that it was intended that Britain should lead Europe in the usage of more efficient and greener lightbulbs.

“We are working with energy suppliers, the Energy Saving Trust, retailers and manufacturers to phase out inefficient light bulbs in the UK, ahead of our European partners,” the paper quoted Lord Rooker as saying.

Andrew Arnold, of the Energy Saving Trust, said that Labour peer Baroness Hollis of Heigham criticism that these bulbs took much longer than standard ones to light up fully and were potentially dangerous on stairs and landings, had failed to reflect on the advances in lightbulb technology.

Arnold said energy-saving bulbs used the same technology as fluorescent lights, but were more compact and used even less energy.

“Most modern energy-saving lightbulbs take little more than a few seconds to warm up to full brightness. Like standard lightbulbs, many energy-saving lightbulbs are now available in a wide range of sizes and shapes and are just as bright, as well as lighting up just as quickly,” Arnold said.

He said the savings in energy and the benefit to the environment through the use of energy-saving alternatives to standard lightbulbs were undeniable.

“If every household in the UK fitted three energy- saving lightbulbs, it would save enough electricity to supply all the street lighting in the UK,” he said. (ANI)