Watt’s up?
U.S. production of 100-watt bulbs is ending, but there are some really bright alternatives
TONY CENICOLA THE NEW YORK TIMES The 2007 law that essentially bans making 100-watt incandescent light bulbs takes effect on Sunday.
By John Funk THE PLAIN DEALER
The old 100-watt light bulb is about to go dark — regardless of what Congress tried to do in recent weeks. The Energy Independence and Securities Act of 2007, supported by both political parties and signed by President George W. Bush in December of that year, created efficiency standards for everything from lighting and appliances to automotive mileage and building energy standards.
The law declared that household light bulbs had to become at least 25 to 30 percent more efficient in five years or they couldn’t be manufactured any longer in the United States.
Beginning on Sunday, the traditional 100-watt incandescent bulb would have to be more efficient or go the way of the old gaslights. The 75-watt would improve or disappear on Jan. 1, 2013; the 60-watt and 40-watt on the first day of 2014.
That schedule apparently remains intact despite maneuvers this month by Republican lawmakers opposed to the federal efficiency standards, especially for light bulbs.
Led by Rep. Joseph Barton, a Texas Republican and former oilman, the group slipped a provision into the 2012 federal spending bill prohibiting the U.S. Department of Energy from enforcing the rule, at least during the time the budget bill is in effect, through September.
Not that G-men doing surprise inspections of plant production lines would have been necessary.
The industry is not going to manufacture 100-watt light bulbs after Saturday. It has invested millions of dollars engineering alternatives — new efficient halogen light bulbs, even more-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs and ultra-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs.
After passage of the 2012 budget bill, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association quickly issued a statement criticizing the rider. The association noted that Barton’s rider did not change the law, only handcuffed the Energy Department, created regulatory uncertainty and fostered outlaw sales of old-fashioned bulbs made elsewhere.
The law also gives state attorneys general the authority to enforce its provisions, and the association predicted Barton’s funding cutoff to the Energy Department only would create confusion among consumers.
The office of Ohio Attorney General Mike De-Wine had no immediate answer when asked whether it would enforce the federal law.
Meeting the 2012 efficiency challenge was something of a cinch for lighting manufacturers. They turned to time-tested halogen technology.
Halogen bulbs are still incandescent bulbs, but they produce much more light per watt. In other words, they are far more efficient than standard bulbs.
The bulbs look like old-fashioned household bulbs but contain a halogen capsule rather than the standard Edison filament. They contain no mercury like fluorescent bulbs, cost a fraction of what an LED costs and are about 28 percent more efficient than the old-fashioned bulb. For example, the 72-watt halogen lamp bulb provides at least the same light as the old 100-watt bulb. The 42-watt halogen produces as many lumens as the old 60, and so on.
“Halogen technology was, unfortunately, forgotten about,” said Cathy Choi, president of Bulbrite. “And most important for consumers, I think the halogen is the closest relative to what they are accustomed to.”
The three major lighting manufacturers — Osram Sylvania, Philips North American Lighting and General Electric Lighting — all have created new halogen products, along with Bulbrite, a wholesale supplier to lighting stores exclusively.
All of the bulb-makers say they have ramped up the manufacturing of the new halogens for many months, and retailers should be well stocked with them.
Both Lowe’s and Home Depot representatives confirmed that the halogens are available, along with an increasing variety of CFLs and a growing number of LED bulbs.
- None of the new bulbs is as inexpensive as the old-fashioned Edison lamp, but each of them, including the halogens, uses less electricity and lasts longer than the old bulbs. Philips Eco-Vantage halogens, for example, cost about $1.50 each but give more light at a lower wattage and last a little longer, Philips spokeswoman Silvie Casanova said.
Bulb-makers tend to describe the halogens as “transitional,” meaning the technology won’t meet federal energy standards expected later.
- CFLs, which are about 75 percent more efficient than Edison light bulbs, and LEDs which are about 90 percent more efficient, are the future, they say.
Philips LEDs ushered in the New Year for the past three years at Times Square. The giant ball contains 32,256 separate LEDs.
- The new law does not mean the old-style 100-watt bulb cannot be sold after Sunday, only that it cannot be manufactured.
A Home Depot spokeswoman said the old-fashioned bulbs are a best seller, when asked whether there is evidence that consumers might be hoarding them.
Sylvania’s fourth annual consumer “socket survey” this year found that 13 percent of consumers admit to hoarding the bulbs — the same percentage the survey turned up for the past three years.
The survey also found that for the first time a majority of Americans, 55 percent, are aware of the 2007 law. But a third of those surveyed said they planned to just switch to a lower wattage in 2012 when the 100-watt bulb is phased out.
Home Depot sees the transition as a consumer educational process and will have free public clinics every Saturday in January, beginning at 10 a.m., to explain the options that consumers now have. (very Nice)
Lowe’s is converting store lighting shelves to include educational displays of each of the three technologies. jfunk@plaind.com
Choices to replace incandescent bulbs
HALOGEN BULBS
• This time-tested incandescent technology produces more light per watt than regular incandescent bulbs. The major bulb-makers already are offering them in 72 watts (replacing the 100), 53 watts (replacing the 75), 43 (replacing the 60) and 29 (replacing the 40). You will see them packaged as A19 bulbs, which is the industry code for the standard household bulb. They will cost about $1.50 each. The 72-watt will last about 1,000 hours, or about a year in normal household use. It is actually brighter than the old 100-watt it replaces and will save you nearly $4 in power costs over its lifetime.
COMPACT FLUORESCENT BULBS
• Manufacturers typically offer a 23- to 26-watt to replace the 100, a 13-watt to replace the traditional 60-watt and an 11-or 12-watt to replace the old 40-watt bulb. Major brand CFL bulbs can cost $2 to $3 each but last 10,000 to 12,000 hours and save you up to $100 in electric bills. Off-brands can be as inexpensive as $1 each but might not last as long. Among the major brands, the squiggly-or spiral-shaped bulbs have gotten a lot smaller, come on instantly, contain less mercury and give off a warmer light than their ancestors of just a few years ago. There are also bulbs as large as 39-watts, which rival the traditional 150-watt bulb for brightness. And GE Lighting is selling a hybrid halogen CFL that turns on seemingly at full brightness, thanks to the halogen, which then turns off as the CFL heats up to maximum brightness.
LED (LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES)
• Costly ($49 plus) spotlights have been around for several years. But in the past two years, the major manufacturers have been racing to engineer LEDs that look almost like traditional bulbs. A 40-watt equivalent uses only 8 or 9 watts; the 60-watt equivalent uses 12 or 13 watts, depending on the brand, and the 75-watt light equivalent, already offered by Philips, uses 17 watts. LED prices range from $25 to $40 but are expected to decrease as production ramps up. LEDs are rated to last between 100,0000 and 250,0000 hours, or more than 20 years in normal household use (operating about three to four hours per day, on average).
Source: Plain Dealer researcher
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