Canada
The provincial government of Nova Scotia stated in February 2007 that it would like to move towards preventing the sale of incandescent light bulbs in the province.
In April 2007, Ontario's Minister of Energy Dwight Duncan announced the provincial government's intention to ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs by 2012. Later in April, the federal government announced that it would ban the sale of inefficient incandescent light bulbs nation-wide by 2012 as part of a plan to cut down on emissions of greenhouse gases.On Nov 9, 2011, the federal government approved a proposal to delay new energy efficiency standards for light bulbs until Jan. 1, 2014, when it will become illegal to import inefficient incandescent lighting across the country. In Dec 2011, Ontario Energy Minister [Chris Bentley] confirmed that Ontario is scrapping the five-year-old promise "to avoid confusing consumers".
The Energy Star program, in which Natural Resources Canada is a partner, in March 2008 established rules for labeling lamps that meet a set of standards for efficiency, starting time, life expectancy, color, and consistency of performance. The intent of the program is to reduce consumer concerns about efficient light bulbs due to variable quality of products.Those CFLs with a recent Energy Star certification start in less than one second and do not flicker.
In January 2011, the province of British Columbia banned retailers from ordering 75- or 100-watt incandescent bulbs.The nation's Energy Efficiency Regulations are published on the Natural Resources Canada website.
Cuba
Cuba exchanged all incandescent light bulbs for CFLs, and banned the sale and import of them in 2005.
United States
Individual state efforts
California will phase out the use of incandescent bulbs by 2018 as part of bill by California State Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-Santa Rosa) that was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on October 12, 2007. The bill aims to establish a minimum standard of twenty-five lumens per watt by 2013 and sixty lumens per watt by 2018.
Connecticut legislation was proposed by state Representative Mary M. Mushinsky (D-Wallingford).
New Jersey Assemblyman Larry Chatzidakis introduced a bill on February 8, 2007 that calls for the state to eliminate incandescent bulbs in government buildings over the next three years. Chatzidakis said, "The light bulb was invented a long time ago and a lot of things have changed since then. I obviously respect the memory of Thomas Edison, but what we're looking at here is using less energy."
Federal legislation
In December 2007, the federal government enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which contains maximum wattage requirements for all general service incandescent lamps producing from 310–2600 lumens of light. However, these regulations never became law, as another section of the 2007 EISA bill overwrites them, and thus, current law, as specified in the U.S. Code, "does not relate to maximum wattage requirements."
The efficiency standards will start with 100-watt bulbs and end with 40-watt bulbs. The timeline for these standards was to start in January 2012, but on December 16, 2011, the U.S. House passed the final 2012 budget legislation, which effectively delayed the implementation until October 2012.
Light bulbs outside of this range are exempt from the restrictions. Also exempt are several classes of specialty lights, including appliance lamps, rough service bulbs, 3-way, colored lamps, stage lighting, and plant lights.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program in March 2008 established rules for labeling lamps that meet a set of standards for efficiency, starting time, life expectancy, color, and consistency of performance. The intent of the program is to reduce consumer concerns about efficient light bulbs due to variable quality of products.Those CFLs with a recent Energy Star certification start in less than one second and do not flicker. Energy Star Light Bulbs for Consumers is a resource for finding and comparing Energy Star qualified lamps.
By 2020, a second tier of restrictions would become effective, which requires all general-purpose bulbs to produce at least 45 lumens per watt (similar to current CFLs). Exemptions from the Act include reflector flood, 3-way, candelabra, colored, and other specialty bulbs.
In 2011, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas and 14 other Republicans joined to introduce the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act or BULB Act (H.R. 91), which would have repealed Subtitle B of Title III of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Barton was opposed to regulation, while Rep. Michael Burgess pointed to jobs purportedly lost to China and voiced a fear of mercury problems resulting from CFL use.On July 12, 2011, H.R. 2417 failed to pass by the required two-thirds majority in the U.S. House.
In December 2011 the US halted the government phase-out of 100 W incandescent bulbs in what has been described as "a win for Tea Party activists".
In October 2012, conventional 100-watt bulbs were no longer made, but AAMSCO of Summerville, South Carolina began making a bulb in Mullins, South Carolina that followed the rules but was intended for businesses, harder to break with "non-hazardous materials" inside.
