The U.S. Has Banned the Sale of Common Incandescent Light Bulbs

It’s the end of an era: The sale of common incandescent light bulbs has been banned in the U.S. But it’s been a long time coming. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Incandescent bulbs have been phased out in favor of LEDs for YEARS because incandescent bulbs are inefficient . . . both for your pocket and the environment.

The Department of Energy says the average American family will save $100 a year, or $3 billion collectively, as a result of the rules. It will also reduce energy costs for schools and businesses.

The rules are also projected to reduce carbon emissions by 222 million metric tons over 30 years, which . . . let’s just say . . . is significant.

2. LEDs last at least 30,000 to 50,000 hours versus the about 1,000 hours for incandescent bulbs . . . so most families, businesses, and manufacturers have already made the switch.

An energy economist put it this way, “Going from an incandescent to an LED is like replacing a car that gets 25 miles per gallon with another that gets 130 miles per gallon.”

3. The move to ban incandescent bulbs has been a bipartisan effort for DECADES. The ball really got rolling during the Bush administration, and it was continued during Obama’s presidency.

The effort was halted during the Trump years. There’s a famous Trump quote where he claimed that LEDs made him “always look orange.” (Here’s video.)

Bidenre-launched the movement, and about a year ago retailers were told that a ban was coming, and that they should start phasing incandescents out.

4. The basic idea is that bulbs will now have to emit a minimum of 45 lumens . . . or brightness . . . per watt. Most LEDs do far better, with at least 75 lumens per watt. Traditional incandescent bulbs provide just 15 lumens per watt.

But not ALL incandescent bulbs are gone. So this is for the common incandescents that have readily available LED equivalents.

There are specialized incandescent bulbs, which will remain available, like: Appliance lamps, including fridge and oven lights . . . black lights . . . infrared lamps . . . bug lamps . . . plant lights . . . traffic signals . . . reflector lamps . . . and other specialty lights, including marine lamps and some odd-sized bulbs.

5. You don’t have to throw out any of your old bulbs. You can continue to use whatever light bulbs you like, as long as they still work.

6. If you’re really interested in the evolution of the lighting industry, the next change that is coming is going to be a ban on compact fluorescent bulbs . . . likely by the end of NEXT year. In fact, they’re already being phased out.

7. America isn’t the first to do this. Other countries have already switched to more efficient lighting. Europe banned incandescent lights more than 10 years ago . . . and two years ago, the European Union announced that they were banning ALL fluorescent lighting. That will go into effect next month.

8. Of course, there are critics of the changes, who consider it government overreach. They argue that lawmakers should let Americans make their own decisions about the light bulbs in their houses.

(CNN / New York Times / The Hill)