Learning About the New Lighting Standards? A Variety of Illuminating Resources for Consumers!

New light bulb standards mean more options at the store and more ways to save money at home. Far from banning any type of bulb, the standards are part of a bill passed in 2007 that requires light bulbs to use about 30% less electricity. The information in this article can help you get your customers ready for this new standard. But what is the new standard?

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was signed into law by President Bush and aims to lower the amount of energy Americans use. The law does not ban incandescent bulbs, nor does it require the purchase CFLs. The lighting standards are “technology neutral,” so there isn’t a preference on one type of light bulb over another. So, when 2012 hits, incandescent bulbs won’t be illegal — they’ll just have to waste less energy.

Traditional incandescent light bulbs waste 90% of the energy they produce on heat, instead of light. However, a variety of energy-efficient bulbs use a fraction of the amount of electricity as the old incandescents and are available with the same quality of light.

Energy-Efficient Bulb Options

Once your customers make the smart choice to pick an energy-efficient bulb, they will need to decide which bulbs to buy. Companies are making this easy, by having a variety of energy-efficient options.

There are three main types of energy-efficient bulbs: Halogen incandescents, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

• Halogen incandescents look like traditional incandscent bulbs, but use 25% to 30% less energy on average and can last up to three times longer than the older versions.
• CFLs use about 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.
• LEDs are another option that have the potential to last up to 22 years and save 75% or more in energy costs.

Get More Lighting Tools From the Experts!

• The LUMEN Coalition – an ad-hoc coalition of organizations and professionals united to educate consumers about energy-efficient lighting choices and the benefits of today’s energy-efficient lighting products – has put together a website that explains the lighting transition and answers consumer questions have about switching your bulbs.
• The Alliance to Save Energy has lighting policy updates and news articles that provide enlightening information.
• Different companies have comprehensive guides that compare energy-efficient options available today to the less-efficient counterparts many consumers are familiar with.
• Osram Sylvania has a chart with comparisons,
• Phillips compares different lighting technologies, and
• Bulbrite provides color-coded lists.
• Before going to the store, consumers may want to check their fixtures to know what to look for.
• The ENERGY STAR “Choose a Light Guide” lets you walk into a room and see bulb options.
• Are your consumers worried about the safety of CFLs?
• Answers are given by the EPA about safe disposal and clean-up for CFLs, and
• ENERGY STAR provides a page about how CFLs work.
• The new label on efficient bulbs will help identify important lighting facts.
• Read about lumens and the new labels on the FTC’s website, and
• Find out the anatomy of the labels here.

Read other recent blog posts here.
Find recently submitted resources here.