CANBERRA, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Experts believe halogen bulbs could disappear from Australian stores within two years as the country is moving quickly to remove halogen lights in favour of more efficient and environmentally friendly LED lighting, media reported Monday.

A ban on halogen bulbs, which use four times the energy of LED globes, was announced last month at a meeting of state and federal environment ministers.

Lighting Council Australia Chief Executive Richard Mulcahy said on Monday that manufacturers would act early to phase out the bulbs, even though the ban was not due to come into effect until September 2020.

He predicted retailers may no longer be stocking the bulbs within 12 months.

"Many consumers already prefer LED products and sales volumes of halogen lamps continue to decrease," he told the Guardian on Monday.

"Good quality LED lamps last five to 15 times longer than halogen lamps and at most will consume one-quarter of the energy to produce the same light output."

Most domestic halogen lamps could be directly replaced by LED ones, he added.

The halogen ban is backed by both Industry and the federal government, which estimates the switch will save Australian consumers 1.5 billion Australian dollars (about 1.13 billion U.S. dollars) over 10 years.

It is based on a European Union (EU) policy that will also come into effect in September 2020. The Australian government will enforce new minimum standards for LED lights, mirroring the EU policy.

Exact details of the ban and the phase-out period are yet to be confirmed but Mulcahy said he expected few exemptions.

"We expect the phase-out will set a date when halogen lamps can no longer be imported into Australia, while specifying a grandfathering period to deal with stock already in the country," he said.

A 2016 survey from the department of industry found 32 percent of households were using halogen lights (mains voltage and low voltage) and 15 percent LEDs. A further 13 percent used incandescents, 31 percent compact fluorescent lamps and 9 percent linear fluorescents.

Overall, 55 percent of homes were using high-efficiency lighting such as LEDs and fluorescents, while 45 percent used low-efficiency bulbs such as halogen and incandescents, the report found.

In 2010, only 2 percent of homes used LED and 35 percent used halogen.

Most incandescent lights, which waste 90 percent of their energy produced as heat, were phased out between 2009 and 2012.