Lights out for bright bulbs; West Volusia stores won't carry 100-watt, 75-watt

BEACON PHOTO/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN
New bulbs — Kyle Laursen shows some of the new styles of light bulbs offered by Ace Hardware in Downtown DeLand, to replace the 100-watt and 75-watt incandescent bulbs that are being phased out.

By Al Everson
Beacon staff writer

posted Jan 7, 2013 - 5:27:11am

A ban on the manufacture of standard 100-watt and 75-watt incandescent light bulbs is now in effect in the U.S., as of Jan. 1. Stores may sell the bulbs until their stock is exhausted.

The demise of the conventional bulbs leaves consumers to choose other products, particularly compact-fluorescent bulbs or light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, which use less electricity — unless manufacturers respond to the ban with new products.

A company in South Carolina has begun making a new type of incandescent 100-watt bulb that meets the new federal energy standards.

The ban of 100-watt incandescent bulbs was originally set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2012, but

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A member of the Washington staff of U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, discounted another postponement of the ban, as the Congress was extra-busy during its lame-duck session.

“I do not anticipate another delay of the phase out, with all attention focused on the fiscal cliff, a [Hurricane] Sandy supplemental [funding appropriation] and a couple of other outstanding must-pass pieces of legislation,” wrote Brian Waldrip, Mica’s legislative director, from his office on Capitol Hill.

Prohibiting the manufacture and sale of the brightest incandescent light bulbs follows from the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, passed by Congress and signed into law by former President George W. Bush.

The law set new standards for lighting, to reduce energy consumption.

The phaseout of conventional incandescent bulbs will apply to 60-watt bulbs, effective Jan. 1, 2014, unless the Congress acts to change it.

— al@beacononlinenews.com

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