Incandescent Light Bulbs — After 16 years of planning, America’s incandescent light bulb ban is now a reality. Mostly, that is.
The sale of standard incandescent light bulbs is practically prohibited by a 2007 regulation that was repealed by the Trump administration and amended last year by the Biden administration. The regulation became final on Tuesday, August 1.
What you should know is as follows.
What is illegal to use?
The Department of Energy under President Joe Biden issued a regulation requiring that light bulbs output a minimum of 45 lumens per watt in April 2022. Brightness is measured in lumens.
That basically makes it illegal to produce and sell regular incandescent bulbs, which are the type that fit into the majority of residential light sockets. That’s because conventional incandescent lights, according to light bulb producer Philips, only produce 15 lumens per watt.
In comparison, the majority of LED lights offer 75 lumens per watt or more.
What is not illegal to use?
As part of the new regulation, not all incandescent light bulbs are prohibited, according to the Department of Energy. What retailers can still sell and manufacturers can still make is listed below:
- Flood lights
- Marine lamps and some odd-sized bulbs
- Reflector lamps
- Plant lights
- Left-handed thread lamps
- Traffic signals
- Black lights
- Bug lamps
- Colored lamps
- Infrared lamps
- Showcase lamps
- Appliance lamps
- Fridge and Oven lights
Why has the government banned the bulbs?
A far more energy-efficient way to light your house is provided by new technology, such as LED lights.
The restrictions, according to the Department of Energy, would save US customers close to $3 billion on their power bills and are expected to reduce carbon emissions that warm the globe by 222 million metric tons over the course of the next 30 years.
Do I need to trash my old bulbs?
You are free to use whichever light bulbs you like as long as they are still functional (the Energy Department reports that incandescent light bulbs typically have a substantially shorter lifespan than LED light bulbs).
The use of non-conforming bulbs is not subject to the prohibition; rather, it solely applies to the manufacturing and sale of light bulbs that generate less than 45 lumens per watt.
Even yet, the majority or all interior illumination in US households is still provided by LED bulbs, according to the 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey carried out by the US Energy Information Administration. Regardless, a large portion of Americans have abandoned incandescent lights.
What makes this controversial?
The ban is the culmination of a decades-long bipartisan campaign to outlaw incandescent bulbs, which was launched under the Bush administration. However, the regulation has come under significant criticism, notably from conservative media outlets and certain Republican legislators.
A earlier Obama-era extension of the 2007 light bulb rule was reversed in 2019 by the administration of former President Donald Trump, however it was then reinstated by the Biden administration. Trump famously complained to House Republicans about the LED lighting, saying “I always look orange” under the environmentally friendly lighting.
What comes next incandescent light bulbs?
The next item to be prohibited is tiny fluorescent light bulbs.
The Department of Energy put up a regulation in December 2022 that would more than double the present minimum efficiency standard for light bulbs, bringing it to over 120 lumens per watt for the most popular bulbs. By the end of 2024, it would become formally illegal to use CFL lights.
– CNN’s Ella Nilsen contributed to this report
