Will You Be CFL Or LED Lit Next Year?

April 27th, 2011

First you spend and then you save
On Jan. 27, 1880 Thomas Alva Edison earned a patent for another bright idea: the incandescent light bulb. This invention has faithfully lit homes worldwide for 131 years without any major changes. Now things are about to change. Are you ready for this?

The law
On Jan. 1, nationwide, a new federal law means the incandescent bulb will start disappearing from store shelves. Instead, an expanding line of alternative bulbs will be sold bearing new nutrition-like labels on their boxes. The labels will tout a bulb’s lumens, a measure of brightness, rather than its wattage, a measure of energy use. They will also estimate its yearly energy cost. “This allows consumers to look at the full price and buyers will need to look to lumens instead of watts for brightness.”

Why the change?
The reason for the switch is the inefficiency of Edison’s invention, which wastes 90% of its energy as heat rather than light. In 2007, the U.S. Congress passed the Energy Act, requiring light bulbs to use at least 25% less electricity for the amount of lumens, or light, produced. So, come January, manufacturers will have to produce the equivalent of a 100-watt bulb using 72 watts of power.

Savings
Although halogens, CFLs and LEDs cost more than the old-fashioned bulbs, the Department of Energy (DOE) says customers quickly recoup the price difference in energy savings. It says they save about $50 yearly by replacing 15 traditional incandescents in their homes. Once the standards are fully in effect in 2015, DOE estimates families nationwide will save nearly $6 billion a year and will help eliminate 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, the equivalent of taking about 8 million cars off the road each year.

New labeling
The front of the labels will list energy cost and lumens, which can vary widely even for bulbs consuming the same amount of energy or wattage. The back will list the bulb’s expected life span, energy consumption and its “light appearance,” or color, which is measured on a temperature scale known as Kelvin (K). Lower Kelvin numbers mean the light is more yellow; higher Kelvin numbers mean it’s whiter or bluer.

Brighter
For kitchens and workspaces, where a brighter and whiter light is desired, look for bulbs marked 3,500 to 4,100K. For a cooler, bluish light akin to daylight, good for reading, look for bulbs with 5,000 to 6,500K.

Lighting options expand
With the bulb switch looming, the lighting market has exploded with new options.
Halogen incandescents are easier to find. Philips Lighting has begun selling EcoVantage ones at Home Depot that are dimmable, mercury-free and produce a traditional light. A two-pack of its 72-watt bulbs (replacing Edison’s 100-watt) retails for about $3. Each bulb, though, costs about $3.50 a year to operate, while the traditional incandescent costs $4.80, according to EPA. Shoppers can now buy dimmable CFLs, which typically come in a curly Q shape, and shatter-resistant EcoSmart ones to contain mercury if the glass breaks. A 60-watt equivalent retails at Home Depot for about $6 and the 100-watt version for $8.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 at 7:59 am and is filed under Economy, Employment, Finance, Personal / Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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