New Rules in Bulbs: LED vs. Incandescent


After illuminating the nation’s homes and businesses for more than a centuryIncandescent bulbs are finally on the market, changing the design of buildings and even extending the average workday.

The Biden administration agreed on Tuesday two new rules Setting stricter energy efficiency standards for light bulbs, these standards will effectively end sales of most new incandescent light bulbs (pear-shaped spheres with glowing wire centers) in 2023.

Much of the country is illuminated by LED lights, which use some of the electricity and last 50 times longer than incandescent bulbs, according to the Department of Energy’s estimates. HE IS revolutionary change It has already reduced electricity demand in American homes, saving consumers money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“The lighting industry is already embracing more energy efficient products and this measure will accelerate progress,” energy secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement.

The department said that when the new rules come into effect, Americans will collectively save $3 billion a year on their electricity bills at a time when high energy costs are squeezing household finances. The department added that stricter standards would also reduce emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide by an estimated 222 million metric tons over the next 30 years, equivalent to emissions produced by 28 million homes in one year.

Progressive use was on track to start earlier in 2019. But the Trump administration has succumbed to pressure from some of the world’s largest manufacturers of incandescent bulbs, stopped the effort. By contrast, in the European Union, the same companies adhered to the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs.

President Biden is trying to reinstate many of the environmental rules taken back by his predecessor, as part of the administration’s bolder action to limit climate change. These regulatory changes could bear much of the weight of the Biden climate agenda ever since. much of that effort has now stalled in Congress.

Bulb manufacturers have argued that moving away from incandescent bulbs too quickly will hurt their bottom line and lead to an abundance of stranded inventory – in other words, bulbs that have already been produced and can no longer be sold – and this will eventually lead to landfills. unused.

For manufacturers, profit margins for incandescent lighting are significantly higher than for LEDs, in part because investment in production equipment for incandescent lamps has long paid off and there is relatively little competition among legacy bulb manufacturers. The LED market, on the other hand, has attracted new manufacturers and has become much more competitive.

Environmental and energy efficiency groups praised the new rules, but said the regulatory timeline gave manufacturers too much time to move away from a technology where the new one is already widely available.

“LEDs have gotten so cheap that there’s no good reason why manufacturers should continue to sell 19th century technology that wasn’t very good at converting electrical energy into light,” said Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient. Economy.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the bulb manufacturers’ trade group, said the transition to LED lighting, which is already underway, was a “successful success”. Spencer Pederson, vice president of public relations, said the group “appreciates management’s recognition of the challenges faced by the industry in complying with the rule and adopting a more manageable compliance timeframe.”

Studies show that lower-end retailers such as dollar stores or grocery stores that serve low-income communities stock your shelves When working with traditional or halogen incandescent bulbs, stores serving more affluent communities have gravitated towards selling only the much more efficient LEDs. A Michigan studyfor example, he found that not only are LED bulbs less common in poorer areas, they also tend to cost an average of $2.50 more per bulb compared to wealthier communities.

“Most energy-burning light bulbs have labels claiming they’re energy efficient, and it’s infuriating,” said Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. “Responsible chains should remove them from their shelves as soon as possible and certainly by the end of this year.”



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