New Britain, CT - Did you know that the light bulb standard is changing? It’s true. A new light bulb standard is encouraging energy efficient innovation in lighting and giving consumers more choices when selecting a bulb. Sometimes these choices can be confusing for many, but if you find yourself standing in the lighting aisle of your local retailer debating which bulb to buy, there is a ‘light’ at the end of the tunnel.
"The truth is that many people are unaware of what is behind the new standard, the 2007 passing of The Energy Independence and Security Act, which was implemented to increase the efficiency of products, like light bulbs, and move the U.S. toward greater energy independence and security,” said Richard W. Steeves, Co-Vice Chairperson, Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund. “The new legislation requires that standard 100, 75, 60 and 40 watt bulbs meet a basic level of energy efficiency beginning on January 1, 2012, with the complete phase-out occurring in January 2014.”
Back in 2007, legislators gave the standard a five year phase-out period allowing manufacturers the time to design and develop bulbs to meet new energy efficient standards. In this period of time, the federal government tried to educate consumers on the changes that were coming, and the retail market began to distribute lower wattage halogen incandescent bulbs that met the baseline efficiency requirements of the new standard, while providing the same lighting output.
With the new standard comes energy efficient choices, and for consumers, this means that now is the time to change your common bulbs to a more sustainable and money-saving alternative. While new halogen incandescent bulbs are out there on the market, there are smarter options such as compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
For example, a 60 watt incandescent is equivalent to a 15 watt CFL or a 12 watt LED. Even though these wattages are lower, they still would produce the same lumen output, which means you will get the same lighting quality around your home with greater energy efficiency.
"Consumers need to be cautious when choosing the energy-saving halogen incandescent bulbs,” Steeves advised. “Several manufacturers have already developed a full line of products in retail stores nationwide that comply with the new standard, and although they are about 20 to 30 percent more energy efficient than common bulbs, they do not provide the energy savings or life expectancy of CFLs or LEDs.”
Steeves also warned that consumers should be weary of extremely inexpensive lighting solutions because they’ll be getting exactly what they pay for in terms of quality. Consumers who choose to install ENERGY STAR®-qualified CFL or LED lighting in their homes are choosing wisely, and they are getting a quality product with measurable results.
Simply put, despite the fact that CFLs and LEDs cost more up front, they will ultimately save consumers more money and reduce their energy usage in the long run as opposed to halogen bulbs. Also, CFL and LED rebates provided by the Energy Efficiency Fund can be found at local lighting retailers.
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