3 On Your Side: Stocking Up On Light Bulbs
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - What kind of light bulbs do you have in your home? Old fashioned incandescent bulbs are being fazed out, replaced by new more energy efficient light bulbs.
While it's not happening overnight. Some people are nonetheless stocking up!
3 On Your Side's Jim Donovan sheds some light on what's in store for us next.
At Bob Schroeder's hardware store people are buying 100 watt incandescent light bulbs in bulk.
"The average person buys 2 four packs of hundred watt bulbs and now they are buying 12 four packs so yeah, they are keeping them in a cupboard somewhere," said Schroeder.
They're stocking up since the 100 watt incandescent bulb is on it's way out.
"Once the warehouse runs out, that's it. The warehouse is out, and we can't get them any more," said Schroeder.
Supplies are dwindling because in 2007 Congress made it illegal to manufacture or import 100 watt bulbs after January 1st of this year.
"By a wide margin. People just aren't ready to switch over. As long as they can get the hundred watt bulbs they are going to get the hundred watt bulb," said Schroeder.
And in January add the 75 watt incandescent to the soon-to-be extinct list. As manufacturers make way for more lower wattage curly CFL bulbs.
"That's going to be the new norm. When you look at the bulbs now, you are going to see, you know, 9 watts, 13 watt, 18 watt, 23 watt," said Schroeder.
CFL's use a fraction of the energy and last much longer, but only some of them are dimmable and many don't like their tell-tale bright white glow.
Pricier than incandescent bulbs, at four to six dollars a piece. They're a bargain compared to another option, the LED, which often cost triple that.
LED bulbs come in many different styles. They seemingly last forever, as in decades and there's another big advantage.
"But now the casing has gotten a lot better. It's a frosted glass around it. It is not hot at all. There is no heat coming off this bulb at all, so right there you are going to save a lot of energy," said Schroeder.
While 75 watt incandescent bulbs won't be manufactured anymore beginning in January, they will continue to be sold until supplies run out.
