Federal Law Will Require All Light Bulbs to Be 25 Percent More Efficient

Beginning with the new year, federal law will require all light bulbs to be 25 percent more efficient, leaving Edison's beacon of late night fun out in the dark and flipping the switch to its more frugal counterparts, notably the long-lasting compact fluorescent light bulb, commonly referred to as CFL. "You might install a light bulb in your foyer when your kids are born and that light bulb will still be working, no problem, when the kids go off to college," says Ed Crawford of the Phillips, North American Lighting Division. But not everybody is thrilled with the change. For one thing, the alternatives are more expensive up front, and some consumers complain the newer bulbs just don't look right. "There's a pushback," says lighting engineer and historian Dave Dilaura, "from people who say, 'I'm sitting in my living room, I want a warm, comfortable light. And that's the word they use-- warm." Crawford concedes that, "Some of the earlier compact fluorescent products; they were not ready for primetime. They buzzed. They had lousy color. They made everything grayish-green." As far as cost, CFLs promise savings. One CFL can burn for 7 years, or 8,000 hours, at a total cost of about $25. They last 10 times longer than standard bulbs. To get the equivalent in incandescents, you'll have to buy eight bulbs and spend $96. So you save some $70 using CFLs. They also use about one-fourth the energy as incandescents and produce 90 percent less heat, while producing more light per watt. Some people worry that the new CFL bulbs are not safe, but Underwriters Laboratory says that they do not present any unique danger. UL says that for as long as anyone can remember, light bulbs burn out the same way - a pop, a flash and, when shaken, the familiar rattle confirming that the bulb needs to be changed. But with CFLs, everything consumers know about a bulb burning out changes. "People expect to see the bright flash and to hear the popping like a traditional incandescent bulb, but the burn out of a CFL is different. The light dims over time and might produce a more dramatic pop, emit a distinct odor, and maybe even release some smoke," said John Drengenberg, consumer affairs manage at UL. In some cases, Drengenberg said that the plastic at the base of a CFL can turn black, but comments that this is also normal in most cases, as safety standards require the use of special flame retardant plastics in the base that do not burn or drop particles. "CFLs are one of the products that we regularly test and investigate to specific UL requirements for electrical safety, fire and shock hazards," he said. "Any popping sounds or smoke that a consumer might see when a CFLs burns out means that the bulb's end-of-life mechanism worked as it should have." Experts also note that many brand-name manufacturers are now incorporating innovative end-of-life mechanisms into CFLs that cause the bulbs to burn out more like the traditional incandescent bulbs. Source: kxlh.com