(Credit: Pixabay)The Biden Administration has proposed stronger efficiency standards for light bulbs, essentially calling for the end of compact fluorescent light bulbs, a move that is estimated to cut energy costs and significantly reduce emissions.
The proposed rule will raise the minimum lightbulb efficiency level from 45 lumens per watt to more than 120 lumens per watt. The rule is expected to accelerate the complete transition to more efficient and longer-lasting LED bulbs.
The standards would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2.4 billion metric tons and cut energy costs in the US by $570 billion over the next 30 years, the Department of Energy says. The DOE estimates the proposed rules would conserver nearly 4 quadrillion British thermal units of energy over that period if implemented.
The new rule is not the first time the federal government has taken on light bulbs in 2022 as it strives to achieve net zero by 2050. In April the DOE implemented rules that revised the definition of general service lamps and also set minimum efficiency standards to 45 lumens per watt.
Those standards were originally proposed at the end of 2021, and the DOE expects them to cut 222 million metric tons of emissions and save $3 billion over 30 years. The DOE hopes to have the newly proposed more stringent standards in place by 2025.
LED light bulbs use up to 90% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, according to the DOE. They also release very little heat, whereas incandescent bulbs release 90% of their energy from heat and compact fluorescent bulbs release 80% of their energy as heat. LEDs also last 30 % longer than incandescent bulbs.
According to the Energy Information Administration, standard fluorescent lighting is still the most common in commercial buildings. However, LEDs are becoming more common and 44% of commercial buildings used them as of 2018 up from 9% in 2009, the EIA says. In households, 47% use LEDs for most or all of their indoor lighting as of 2020, according to the EIA.
The light bulb effort is just one of many the Biden Administration has taken on to make energy more efficient in the US as the president strives to reach net zero. The DOE says Biden has taken more than 110 energy efficiency measures.
The Inflation Reduction Act allocates nearly $370 billion toward energy incentives and programs. The DOE also recently started distributing $225 million to state and local governments to improve building energy efficiency standards. Additionally, Biden has called for the government to be carbon neutral by 2050 and use 100% renewable energy by 2030.
