3-On Your Side: Phasing Out Incandescent Light Bulbs
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Beginning next year the incandescent light bulb will start being phased out. Does that mean you'll be left in the dark? 3-On Your Side's Jim Donovan sheds some light on what's in store for us next.
The old fashioned light bulb is being phased out as a result of what is known as The Energy Independence and Security Act. It is a federal law that raises efficiency standards for light bulbs. Old energy inefficient incandescent bulbs won't meet those standards.
So at the beginning of next year 100 watt incandescents will be phased out followed in 2013 by 75 watt bulbs and then finally in 2014 we'll be saying goodbye to the 40 watt bulb.
Homeowner John Codman isn't crazy about having to switch light bulbs, but he really hates the government telling him how to light up his life. He says, "I've looked at the Constitution and I can't see that they have any authority to tell us what kind of light bulbs we're using." Codman is getting prepared for the change by stocking up on incandescents.
A lot of people aren't happy with curly style CFL bulbs. They don't light up instantly and if you break them you have Mercury to clean up. So what other options exist? Well Sylvania has come out with LED's, light emitting diode bulbs for home use.
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Dr. Makarand Chipalkatti of Sylvania says, "LED equivalent is eighty percent more efficient and will last twenty-five times longer." While there's no Mercury with an LED bulb and they turn on instantly and are dimmable, they're expensive. Currently priced about $20 a piece, their prices are dropping.
As for John Codman, he's no light bulb snob. He has a couple of CFL's and is even trying out an LED. But the incandescent is still number one to him.
By the way, another alternative could be Halogen bulbs. They're already on the market but they're not as efficient as CFL's and they're expensive.
Reported by Jim Donovan, CBS 3
