Biden admin phasing out old-fashioned light bulbs to save energy

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The Biden administration is phasing out incandescent light bulbs in favor of more efficient lighting to conserve energy and save businesses and American consumers billions.  

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced new rules Tuesday that change the definition of general service lamps and set a minimum standard of 45 lumens for light bulbs that meet the revised definition. Once the new rules are in effect, manufacturers will be required to sell only energy-efficient light bulbs. 

FILE: General Electric light bulbs are displayed in a supermarket April 5, 2021 in New York.  (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File / AP Newsroom)

The Energy Department (DOE) said consumers should save nearly $3 billion per year on their utility bills once the new rules are fully in place next year. The department projected the new rules would cut planet-warming carbon emissions by 222 million metric tons over the next 30 years, an amount equivalent to emissions generated by 28 million homes in one year. 

"By raising energy efficiency standards for lightbulbs, we're putting $3 billion back in the pockets of American consumers every year and substantially reducing domestic carbon emissions," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. 

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The Trump administration had tried to slow a years-long push by Congress and past administrations to switch Americans to LED bulbs and other lighting that uses less electricity, saying it was unfairly burdening manufacturers.

FILE: Manager Nick Reynoza holds a 100-watt incandescent light bulb at Royal Lighting in Los Angeles, Jan. 21, 2011.  (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File / AP Newsroom)

In late 2019, former President Trump said that the DOE had canceled a pending phaseout of incandescent bulbs because "what's saved is not worth it."

Climate advocates hailed the DOE’s latest rule change, saying it would ensure that commonly used light bulbs meet an easily achieved efficiency standard.

"This is a victory for consumers and for the climate — one that's been a long time coming," said Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce energy waste and combat climate change.

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LED bulbs "have become so inexpensive that there's no good reason for manufacturers to keep selling 19th-century technology that just isn't very good at turning electrical energy into light,'' Nadel said. The new standards "will finally phase out energy-wasting bulbs across the country."

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association said in a statement that LED lighting, "spurred by research scientists and lighting manufacturers," has been fully embraced by consumers and is "an unqualified success.''

FILE: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Nov. 23, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File / AP Newsroom)

The manufacturers group "appreciates the administration's recognition of the challenges industry faces in complying" with the new rule and its "adoption of a more manageable compliance timeframe" than earlier proposals, said spokesman Spencer Pederson.

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In 2020, about 30% of light bulbs sold in the United States were incandescent or halogen incandescent bulbs, according to industry groups. The new rule bars the manufacture or importation of incandescent bulbs as of Jan. 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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