Incandescent Light Bulb Ban Goes Into Effect
Time has just about run out for the energy-wasting incandescent light bulb.
Starting January 1, 2014, companies in the United States will no longer
be able to manufacture or import standard 40-watt and 60-watt wire
filament light bulbs.If you can’t do without the old-style incandescent bulbs, there’s no need to race out to your local home improvement store to beat the New Year’s deadline. Stores and warehouses will be able to sell existing stock on hand until they run out. There’s no telling exactly when this will be, though a check of my local Home Depot earlier today showed there are still plenty on the shelves.
Of course, the point of the incandescent phase out is to encourage Americans to use more efficient bulbs like halogens, LEDs and compact fluorescents (CFL). One 7-watt CFL bulb can produce the same amount of light as a 40-watt incandescent, saving you $33 in electricity on average over the life of the bulb. These new bulbs last about 10 times longer than the older tech, too.
Don’t let the ugly, harsh, flickering CFLs of yesteryear cloud your opinion on the tech – energy-efficient light bulbs have drastically improved in quality since. Inexpensive new dimmer switches work perfectly with CFLs and bulbs now come in warmer shades of white. Look for bulbs labeled "warm white" or "soft white" and have a color temperature of 2700K, the same as incandescent bulbs. If you want full control of your lighting, check out the Philips hue. It’s a WiFi-enabled, color-changing bulb you can set to the exact shade you want with your smartphone.
[Broken light bulb via Shutterstock]
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Incandescent Light Bulb Ban Goes Into Effect
Though fluorescent lights reduce energy consumption, (they also are very bad for human eyes and plants will die with only fluorescent light) (which also means that they aren't healthy for humans either.
So, as a direct result people who make glasses and contacts and people going blind from trying to read under pulsing fluorescents will be something we all see including people getting sicker and sicker without full spectrum incandescents which are more like the sun. (An indoor plant can survive with only incandescent light but will die in fluorescent light alone).
Since I live in California where you could no longer buy incandescents starting in 2011, before the ban I went to my hardware store and bought about $300 worth or various kinds of incandescent lights. Though my wife has replaced most lights in the house with fluorescents, I make sure I have an incandescent wherever in the house I want to read. This keeps me from getting eye ticks where muscles around my eyes go off without warning from the harm fluorescents do to human eyes and plants. (When people and plants don't get enough direct sunlight or exposure to incandescent lights).
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