New regulations have come into force in California requiring light bulb manufacturers to produce more energy-efficient products.
The new standard actually comes as part of the federal Energy Independence and Security Act, which was signed into law by President George W Bush in 2007.
The rest of the country will adopt the standard on January 1, 2012, but California has been given the authority to begin a year early.
Designed to reduce energy use and associated pollution, while improving US energy security, the new standard requires that 100-watt bulbs made on or after January 1, 2011, must use 28% less energy, while providing the same amount of light. Effectively, this means 100W bulbs being replaced by 72W bulbs that are just as bright.
The California Energy Commission said that the new standard would avoid the sale of around 10.5 million inefficient 100W light bulbs in California during 2011, saving consumers $35.6 million in lower electricity bills.
Reducing energy use in California also results in improved environmental quality by avoiding the construction of new power plants and air pollution from burning fossil fuels, the Commission said.
The inefficiency in standard incandescent light bulbs comes because about 90% of the electricity used by the bulbs is converted into heat, rather than visible light.
More efficient halogen, compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) or light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs work to convert more of their power into light.
The Commission said the new standard was technology neutral, allowing consumers to choose among a variety of high-performance products for their replacement lighting. Additionally, it does not affect the existing supply of incandescent light bulbs stocked in retail stores or incandescent light bulbs already in use.
Source: www.brighterenergy.org
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