Incandescent Bulbs Will Be Phased Out By New Efficiency Rule
The Department of Energy finalized a new rule which will phase out incandescent bulbs. This is a complete 180 from the previous administration that was trying to repopularize incandescent bulbs, which never made much sense.
Incandescent bulbs simply cannot compete with fluorescent and LED lighting. For example, a regular incandescent bulb will last for about one thousand hours. Whereas an LED bulb will last between 30,000 and 50,000 hours.
Not only do these bulbs last longer, but they use less energy. And it’s not a small amount either. A typical LED bulb uses 75% less energy than its incandescent counterpart. Thus, it can save you some serious money on the electric bill.
And when you put saving money and lowering emissions together, it’s a pretty hard thing to pass up.
How Much Money Can I Save By Switching from Incandescent Bulbs?
Let’s say you replaced every bulb in your home with a new LED bulb. Well, that would save the average American household $600 a year.
Why so much you ask? Well, for most households, lighting is one of the biggest factors. Not to call anyone out, but lights really do get left on a lot, and while it’s easy to ignore that, it can really add up.
Of course, these savings also apply to businesses and many are taking the initiative.
For example, Walmart opened up its first LED-powered store in 2016. By doing so, it saved the equivalent of 59,000 kWh per year, which is enough to power five single-family homes!
It really just makes sense to switch to LED lights.
These savings on electricity also mean that your household or business’s carbon footprint is much lower. After all, odds are your lighting is powered by a fossil fuel, which is a huge emitter. Thus not only do you save money, but you cut emissions.
Overall, the Department of Energy expects Americans to save $3 billion on their utility bills over the next 10 years.
It Was Inevitable That LED Bulbs Would Take Over
Due to all of the advantages LED lighting offered homes and businesses, it has been rapidly increasing in popularity. And this is despite the previous administration trying to promote a less efficient light bulb.
This can be seen quite easily by taking a look at American homes.
In 2015, only 4% of households used LED bulbs according to a survey. In 2020, that percentage grew to 47%, or about half of the entire country. The word got out that you could save a lot of money on the electricity bill, and people jumped on it.
Not to mention that LED bulbs have a much longer lifespan, which also means buying fewer bulbs.
Thus, regardless of what any administration plans to do, LED bulbs will become the new norm. Phasing out less efficient bulbs helps uninformed consumers make better choices. Having some extra spending money is always a good thing.
This is no different than when we transitioned from flip phones to smartphones. They are just better in every regard.
Robert has been following and writing about environmental stories for years at GreenGeeks. He believes that highlighting environmentally friendly practices can help promote change in every household.
