Posted on 12/05/2013 5:32:19 AM PST by thackney
Light bulbs are changing.
Federal rules taking effect Jan. 1 ban the manufacture of incandescent bulbs using 40 watts of power or more, the third phase of energy efficiency legislation passed in 2007.
The intent of the law is to push consumers toward more energy-efficient lighting technology than the incandescent light bulb – which has helped beat back the night for more than a century, but expends most of its energy producing heat rather than light.
Compact fluorescent lamps — those spiraling tubes that some consumers may associate with harsh light and delayed start-up — cost more than incandescents but last longer and use 75 percent less energy.
Halogen incandescent bulbs are more energy-efficient than older ones, but less efficient than CFLs, which are emerging as the most common alternative as higher-wattage incandescents fade out.
And retailers say their quality has improved significantly.
“If you bought a CFL bulb three years ago, you might not know how good the technology is now,” said Mark Smith, a Houston-based director of operations for retail chain Batteries Plus Bulbs.
A key to the improvement was advances in the technology of ballasts, devices that regulate the currents and voltage in fluorescent bulbs. The electronic ballasts in newer CFLs eliminate the flickering and slow illumination of older bulbs.
“They are cheaper, safer, more efficient and are instantly on,” Smith said.
Also available — considered state-of-the art lighting but at higher up-front cost — are light-emitting diode lamps, known as LEDs.
While costlier, LEDs are 80 percent more energy-efficient than incandescents, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, and have far longer life expectancies.
Incandescent bulbs typically last 1,000 to 2,000 hours, while LEDs can burn 25,000 hours or more. The increase is the result of illumination technology that relies on computer chips.
The technology also makes LEDs environmentally friendlier than CFLs, which contain small amounts of toxic mercury.
Significant savings
The energy efficiency of both types can mean significant savings for consumers, said Doug Lewin, executive director of the South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource, which promotes energy efficiency in Texas and Oklahoma.
About a third of residential electricity usage can go to lighting, Lewin said, so an 80 percent reduction in that power use could mean significant savings over time.
In general, recent improvements in technology have reduced residential electricity demand for lighting by 2 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Besides the potential for long-term savings, the new bulbs also give consumers a chance to reassess the aesthetics of lighting their homes.
Martin Lide, a Houston architect, recently decided to replace 32 incandescent lights in his home with the LEDs, inspired both by the cost savings and the chance to judge the quality of the lightinge.
Lide began by buying four variations of LEDs and experimented with using them in various rooms. “I wanted to see how they lighted up art as opposed to a room,” Lide said.
Lide noted that LED boxes include information on color and brightness relative to comparable incandescent bulbs.
“Buy one or two and put them in the same location and make sure you are not disappointed with the result,” he advised.
Special rebates
CenterPoint Energy, which distributes electricity to Houston-area customers regardless of what company sells them power, has a program that periodically offers rebates on specially marked LED bulbs at certain stories, said Cheryl Bowman, an energy efficiency specialist for CenterPoint.
The program has resulted in sales of nearly 40,000 LED bulbs this year, potentially saving more than two million kilowatt-hours of electricity use, Bowman said.
None of this means incandescent lights are going out for good.
Even though the manufacturing of 40-watt and higher bulbs will shut down, stores will be able to sell inventories that could last months.
“We thought the incandescent would go away completely, but they are making some more energy efficient incandescent bulbs,” said Bowman. “The incandescent is not going to completely disappear off the shelf.”
The new bulbs contain Uptonite.
I’m still over run with 100 watters.
Let the market place work. LEDs will replace them all.
Hardware Guy: Casting a little light on bulb law not easy
http://triblive.com/business/realestate/4314394-74/bulbs-bulb-lights#ixzz2mbhenlSe
Nov. 7, 2013
Have you ever been confused?
Of course you have. Many things confuse me — computers, modern art and the metric system come to mind.
Every once in a while though, something monumentally bewildering comes along which confuses us all equally. The current light bulb legislation is a case in point.
We all remember the good old days when there was no such thing as light bulb legislation and, while those days were good, the future might be — pardon the pun — bright. Let’s begin by clearing up some details of the law.
In plain language, all light bulbs must now meet new efficiency standards. This means that lights that use a given amount of electricity (watts) must have a certain amount of light output (lumens).
Traditional incandescent bulbs are largely incapable of achieving the new standards and are therefore being phased out.
Starting in 2012, most 100-watt incandescent bulbs became illegal to produce in the United States. Soon 75-watt and even 60- and 40-watt traditional bulbs will follow. Special purpose bulbs such as rough service, high wattage and three-way bulbs are excluded from the legislation.
Some retailers still stock regulated lights and yes, you are still allowed to use “outlaw” bulbs. But purchasing them in the future will become more and more difficult. On the other hand, it will become easier to find and purchase suitable substitutes.
For a while now compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have been available as an alternative. Consumers have been slow to embrace CFLs due to the poor light quality and short life span of the early versions.
Another fascinating innovation in lamp technology is the trendy light emitting diode, better known as LED. LED lighting is crisp and remarkably bright. It uses little electricity and is becoming available in more and more bulb styles. LEDs are pricey right now, which makes them seem impractical to most consumers. But as the market changes, I am confident that the price will come down.
Additionally, the savings on the electricity cost is substantial.
The third alternative to traditional bulbs is the halogen bulb. Like the LED, halogen lights are bold and bright. They are now made in the shape of a typical light bulb. Halogen lights have been used extensively for years in spot and flood lights because of their clarity and long lives.
Although halogen lights are a bit more expensive than incandescent, they aren’t ridiculously expensive and, like the other new bulbs, they use less electricity.
When it comes to understanding light bulb legislation, I suggest keeping it simple by knowing the fundamentals. That way, you can make wise purchases at the right time. However, if you relish complete confusion, read the legislation in its entirety. If you can wrap your head around that, you must be pretty smart. If, in fact, you are smart, give me a call … maybe you can explain the metric system to me. I still can’t figure out how many kilometers are in a foot.
We should be good for about 20 years with our current supply.
There just might come a day when a stash of 100 watt light bulbs will be a precious thing to have. <^..^>
That way I wont run out so soon.
I am stocking up on lightbulbs and should be good for 20 years or so.
So, if incandescents are phased out, what are you supposed to use to provide light and heat for a chicken coop or similar installation?
The new lighting technology is not designed for people who read or work on fine or delicate equipment or other tasks requiring high definition.
I hate LED bulbs, I bought some for the tree and they almost blinded me and gave me an instant headache so I took them down and pitched them vowing never again. The LED flashlights are ok. I like the old light bulbs, the thing that ticks me off is that I know the bulbs can be made to last forever, but they burn out after a few weeks. The long lasting ones I had put in my porch ceiling 10 years ago are still going.
Somebody is getting rich off of this bullsh*t.
it's 40 below zero windchill in North Dakota today
the news media, government and scientists have been lying for 30 years telling us our capitalism( cars, factories, light-bulbs, energy usage, power plants) etc. are causing global warming. there is not even any warming much less man made global warming
all this proves government is inherently corrupt and can never work. that government would fund 30 years of fake global warming research . then government used that fake research to ban light bulbs and hurt the economy ( shutting down coal power plants etc.)
and the sheep believe because the news media is one with the government. the democrats own the media
Would LEDs have a chance in the free market if it weren’t for the artificial pressures of this law?
You don’t need to worry, Global Warming will take care of that. ;)
I find it very contradictory to be heralding the curly cue as a means to save energy, while polluting the environment with mercury. Hospitals had to phase out mercury thermometers. It takes at least a ton of dirt to handle the mercury in one of these light bulbs.
So while the EPA is making sure that coal plants are closed, mercury bulbs are A OK. We are truly living in a very confusing Alice in Wonderland Bizzaro world.
I believe you can still get incandescent “heat bulbs” up to 200W.
They are exactly the same as light bulbs, but not sold as such.
government banned lightbulbs because of a hoax they gov created and funded for 30 years ( a hoax called global warming). it's bitterly cold and it's not even Winter yet.
government and the media have sheep believing that us using lightbulbs is causing global warming that is melting the Ice caps and so raising sea levels. there is not even any warming at all . government/socialism is inherently corrupt and can never work. but democrat voters trust government and their news media masters . “if it's on the news or if scientists say it or if government says it then it's true” this is what dumb idiot democrat voters believe and that is why we are in trouble
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