The Truth About the New Light Bulb Law - DEFUNDED
Ron Czapala
Posts: 2,418
EDIT: See post #12 - Congress Defunds Ban on Incandescent Light Bulbs but Doesnt Quite Save Them
http://shine.yahoo.com/green/truth-light-bulb-law-200200491.html
On January 1, 2012 a law phasing out standard 100-watt incandescent bulbs will go into effect. However, it won't be the bulb apocalypse that some detractors have been warning of. In short: the notion that incandescent bulbs will no longer be available is a myth. Nor will you be forced to buy Compact Fluroescent Lightbulbs (CFLs). "You will still be able to buy incandescents," Noah Horowitz, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), told Yahoo! Shine. "The only difference being that the new and improved ones are more efficient." Related: Samsung Introduces Advanced LED Light Bulbs to Brighten U.S. Households with Energy Efficient, Natural-looking Light
The new incandescent bulbs operate and look just like the old-fashioned bulbs that you are used to-they have the same shape and base design. And, according to Horowitz, most people won't notice any difference in the color or quality of light. What is different is that they have an improved filament design, which makes them 28% more efficient as the law requires. So, when you are bulb shopping for replacements for your old 100-watt incandescents, look for new ones labeled "72-watt soft white." Sylvania, Philips, and GE all make similar versions.
The Federal Trade Commission has revised its labeling requirements for most light bulb packages, which might initially cause some confusion. All new bulbs will be labeled prominently with lumens in addition to watts. Watts measure power used, lumens measure the amount of light emitted. Since CFLs, LEDs and other types of bulbs vary in wattage, the most accurate way to look for new efficient bulbs that give off the same amount of light you are used to and prefer is by lumens. The approximate equivalents for old standard incandescents are:
New incandescent bulbs aren't your only option. All major retailers, such as Home Depot, Lowe's, and Target, sell a range of bulbs that meet the new energy standards including the improved incandescents, CFLs, and LEDs. Compact fluorescent bulbs are the cheapest, while LEDs are the most expensive but last for as long as 25 years.
Here are some more shopping tips from Horowitz:
1. Look for "warm white" CFLs and LEDs. Most people prefer "warm white" over those marketed as "cool white" or "day light."
The Environmental Protection Agency offers detailed information on buying the right CFLs for your needs
2. Not all new bulbs are dimmable. If you are replacing a bulb that was in a dimming circuit, make sure to buy a new incandescent or a CFL bulb specifically labeled dimmable.
3. Not all new bulbs are created equal. To ensure you are getting the highest quality product, choose bulbs with the Energy Star label, which meet strict performance requirements.
4. Dispose of bulbs properly. You can throw incandescents and LEDs in the trash. To dispose of CFLs, which contain a very small amount of mercury (less than what's in a can of tuna), place them in a plastic ziploc bag and bring to a Lowes's, Home Depot, or IKEA for free recycling.
The NRDC has a simple light bulb buying guide you can print and bring to the store.
Old incandescents will not be taken off store shelves on January 1, but phased out as they are sold off. The old 75-watt incandescent bulbs will be phased out in 2013 and the 60 and 40-watt bulbs in 2014. Horowitz points out that that new law has spurred innovation: "Without the law, we'd still be stuck with the 125-year-old technology that was so inefficient 90% of the electricity used was wasted as heat."
http://shine.yahoo.com/green/truth-light-bulb-law-200200491.html
On January 1, 2012 a law phasing out standard 100-watt incandescent bulbs will go into effect. However, it won't be the bulb apocalypse that some detractors have been warning of. In short: the notion that incandescent bulbs will no longer be available is a myth. Nor will you be forced to buy Compact Fluroescent Lightbulbs (CFLs). "You will still be able to buy incandescents," Noah Horowitz, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), told Yahoo! Shine. "The only difference being that the new and improved ones are more efficient." Related: Samsung Introduces Advanced LED Light Bulbs to Brighten U.S. Households with Energy Efficient, Natural-looking Light
The new incandescent bulbs operate and look just like the old-fashioned bulbs that you are used to-they have the same shape and base design. And, according to Horowitz, most people won't notice any difference in the color or quality of light. What is different is that they have an improved filament design, which makes them 28% more efficient as the law requires. So, when you are bulb shopping for replacements for your old 100-watt incandescents, look for new ones labeled "72-watt soft white." Sylvania, Philips, and GE all make similar versions.
The Federal Trade Commission has revised its labeling requirements for most light bulb packages, which might initially cause some confusion. All new bulbs will be labeled prominently with lumens in addition to watts. Watts measure power used, lumens measure the amount of light emitted. Since CFLs, LEDs and other types of bulbs vary in wattage, the most accurate way to look for new efficient bulbs that give off the same amount of light you are used to and prefer is by lumens. The approximate equivalents for old standard incandescents are:
- 40 watts=450 lumens
- 60 watts = 800 lumens
- 75 watts = 1100 lumens
- 100 watts= 1600 lumens
New incandescent bulbs aren't your only option. All major retailers, such as Home Depot, Lowe's, and Target, sell a range of bulbs that meet the new energy standards including the improved incandescents, CFLs, and LEDs. Compact fluorescent bulbs are the cheapest, while LEDs are the most expensive but last for as long as 25 years.
Here are some more shopping tips from Horowitz:
1. Look for "warm white" CFLs and LEDs. Most people prefer "warm white" over those marketed as "cool white" or "day light."
The Environmental Protection Agency offers detailed information on buying the right CFLs for your needs
2. Not all new bulbs are dimmable. If you are replacing a bulb that was in a dimming circuit, make sure to buy a new incandescent or a CFL bulb specifically labeled dimmable.
3. Not all new bulbs are created equal. To ensure you are getting the highest quality product, choose bulbs with the Energy Star label, which meet strict performance requirements.
4. Dispose of bulbs properly. You can throw incandescents and LEDs in the trash. To dispose of CFLs, which contain a very small amount of mercury (less than what's in a can of tuna), place them in a plastic ziploc bag and bring to a Lowes's, Home Depot, or IKEA for free recycling.
The NRDC has a simple light bulb buying guide you can print and bring to the store.
Old incandescents will not be taken off store shelves on January 1, but phased out as they are sold off. The old 75-watt incandescent bulbs will be phased out in 2013 and the 60 and 40-watt bulbs in 2014. Horowitz points out that that new law has spurred innovation: "Without the law, we'd still be stuck with the 125-year-old technology that was so inefficient 90% of the electricity used was wasted as heat."
Comments
The comparison is that if a CFL bulb were to break, you would breath in less mercury than you would ingest by eating a nibble of tuna.
A CFL bulb has far more mercury (76x) than a can of tuna.
Can of tuna ~ .0000527 grams Source
CFL ~ .004 grams Source
I am amused by the comparison (favorable no less!) between the quantity of mercury in CFL's, and mercury in a can of tuna...
Perhaps we should begin considering the eradication and proper disposal of all tuna??
I believe you are quoting the mercury content of the domesticated variety aka Tunicus Americanus and not the wild Tunicas Mercurial Maximus...
Sources added to my post.
My apologies, That was a tongue in cheek attempt at humor and I should have been more clear about who it was directed at, CFL manufacturers. I've noticed that a large majority of the marketing hype about CFL bulbs tends to include some comparison to tuna. Inevitably, to the detriment of that tasty fish.
They really seem equivalent (unlike CFL bulb claims). Pretty sure they are Halogen bulbs (you can see the bulb-within-a-bulb design on the clear ones.
They were $3.49 for two of the 53W Natural Light and $2.97 for two of 72W Soft White...
Yeah - this was the headline in the local paper this morning:
Incandescent light bulbs are back.
A last-minute rider attached to the omnibus government spending bill defanged the 2007 energy standards for light bulbs that would have rendered the good ol incandescent all but obsolete, starting Jan. 1, by stripping funding for enforcing the ban.
Beginning next year, the federal government had planned to start banning cheap, energy-guzzling light bulbs and instead requiring more energy-efficient bulbs be manufactured and sold.
It was a bipartisan idea, but conservatives have come to hate it. It wasnt just that the new bulbs are uglier, dimmer and more expensive, but that the federal government was dictating what kind of light bulb consumers could buy.
The American people want less government intrusion into their lives, not more, and that includes staying out of their personal light bulb choices, said GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, who, as a member of the House, introduced a bill to roll back the incandescent ban.
So today Congress took the teeth out of the incandescent ban by eliminating the funds the Department of Energy would need to enforce it.
But what many Republicans are celebrating as a win for individuals light-bulb-choosing freedom will probably not save the energy-guzzling bulbs from disappearing off store shelves.
The industry has moved on, said Larry Lauck, a spokesman for the American Lighting Association.
Lauck said U.S. light bulb manufacturers have already retooled their production lines to build more efficient bulbs, he said.
Joseph Higbee, a spokesman for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, which represents 95 percent of U.S. light bulb manufacturers, said even if the Department of Energy does not have the funding to enforce the energy efficiency standards, manufacturers are not going to retro-fit their assembly lines to produce the traditional, less-efficient bulbs.
The manufacturers have invested millions into the transitions and a delay in enforcement undermines those investments and creates regulatory uncertainty, Higbee said. Without [federal] enforcement, it does allow bad actors to sell noncompliant products without fear of enforcement and that creates a competitive disadvantage for law-abiding companies.
-- Gordon
I still have some old Philips Halogena bulbs rated at 3000 hours but the new ones are only 1000 hours. Of course the older one were about $3.50 apiece.
From what I see here in Taiwan, what we gained by using florescent and LED lighting is being lost by more of it being used. You might feel like you are visiting Las Vegas if you ever get here.
Similar events are playing out with digital TV. The problem with analog TV is that it is too available to tack on any greater profit margin. So the shift to digital offers up a grand new opportunity to have everyone forced to renegotiate their TV viewing services. I don't need HDTV and I don't need digital - the eyesight is in a downward spiral with age. And I definitely don't need to be forced into another $25/month bill for something that is a pastime.
As Pogo the Possum observed, "WE have seen the enemy and it is US."
Dave
And now we have LEDs. My son has replaced his 59W halogen 240Vac bulbs with 3W, 5W & 7W Led bulbs which work great. Only where he requires a spot over the kitchen sink and stove does he use the higher powered LEDs. These are certainly the way of the future.
However, the more efficient requirement of the US makes more sense. We all know the lightbulb manufacturers were sitting on all sorts of improvements. Why would you want to sell a lightbulb that lasts 100 times longer... you would go out of business!