Beginning Jan. 1, 2012, a federal law takes effect to phase out incandescent light bulbs. The first phase of the ban prohibits the sale of 100-watt incandescent bulbs. When the final phase goes into effect in January 2014, the only incandescent bulbs allowed in the marketplaces will be three-way bulbs and assorted specialty lights for appliances.

Technological advances

The incandescent light bulb invented by Thomas Edison has remained virtually unchanged since it was first introduced more than 130 years ago. Fluorescent bulbs have been on the market for some time, but their customary installation has been reserved for industrial, office and school buildings. Consumers shunned these elongated tubes of light for home use, reacting negatively to their overly bright and cold, blue light, compared to the yellow glow of an incandescent bulb. When compact fluorescent lights (CFL) and LEDs entered the market as energy-saving devices, homeowners were more willing to trade off incandescent lighting in some areas of the house for these newer bulbs that lasted longer and used less electricity.

Wisdom

The new law, part of the Energy Independence and Security Act signed by President George W. Bush in 2007, is based on similar laws passed in Australia, Canada and the European Union. Advocates indicate that replacing a single incandescent bulb in every home with a CFL would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road (see www.energystar.gov/index). Thus, the collective impact of a global shift toward lighting homes with more efficient devices would be astronomical. In addition, individual homeowners would see an impressive and immediate reduction on their electric bills, as each newer device is calculated to save more than $10 a month in energy used. The new bulbs have a longer lifetime as well, lasting up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

Practical concerns

Despite the soaring cost of energy, American consumers have been slow to embrace this more energy-efficient technology for practical reasons. CFLs and LEDs cost substantially more per bulb than an incandescent bulb. Instead of a dollar or two for a three-pack, a single CFL costs $3 or $4. LEDs currently on the market for household lighting can cost more than $10 per bulb. In addition, manufacturers of the new devices paid little attention to designing the bulbs to fit the lamp styles that are commonplace in American homes. Although new wand adapters were produced in response to this complaint, consumers continued to find the devices ill fitting and inappropriate for the lamps in their homes.

Folly

CFLs are a biohazard because they contain mercury. In an age when the public is trying to stop damaging the environment and develop consumer practices that improve the biosphere, CFLs loom as a dangerously toxic introduction into the habitat. At the level of the homeowner, the Environmental Protection Agency has issued guidelines that include not using CFLs in bedrooms or children's areas, not contaminating a vacuum by using it to clean up a broken bulb, and not laundering contaminated clothing (see www.epa.gove/cfl/cflcleanup). At the community level, the disposal of CFLs poses a hazard to ground water, rivers and lakes, in addition to health hazards for humans and animals.

The current Congress has introduced the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act (H.R. 91). The intent of this legislation is to repeal that section of the Energy Independence and Security Act that concerns regulating light bulbs, leaving the choice in the hands of consumers. Although the new act is driven primarily by the voices of those who want choice over federal law in the matter of lighting their homes, it is also a wake-up call to the lighting industry that the technology to date is flawed. The goal is to produce lighting technology that is both efficient and safe.