New Energy Bill

[DarSax]

Compliments of Reuters, here.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The light bulb Thomas Edison invented 125 years ago is getting more than a make-over. The government is pulling the plug on it.

The landmark energy bill President George W. Bush signed into law on Wednesday will require lighting to use up to 30 percent less energy, which will basically phase out the traditional light bulb because it won't be able to meet the new efficiency standards.

The incandescent bulb won't become a collector's item right away, however.

The higher efficiency requirements under the new energy law kick in for the 100-watt bulb beginning in 2012, followed by the 75-watt bulb a year later and then 40- and 60-watt bulbs will be phased out in 2014.

Australia, Ireland and other countries are already getting rid of the incandescent bulb.

About two dozen categories of light bulbs are exempt from the U.S. law's efficiency requirements, including oven and refrigerator bulbs, candelabra lamps, plant lights, replacement traffic signal bulbs and the summer necessity -- the yellow bulb that doesn't attract insects.

I don't know if theatrical bulbs (lamps) are exempt under the bill, not having researched it further, but I figured I'd might as well post it for general information (I know that there was a lot of discussion on this topic in the California energy/bulb bill a while ago, linked here).

What I thought was most interesting was this:

"Consumers will save money in their pockets," said Randy Moorhead, vice president for government affairs at Philips Electronics, a major bulb maker.

Phillips just acquired Color Kinetics, right, and with it a lot of patents and technology for LED technology? Call my cynical, but I find it an interesting coincidence...trying to develop a stronger demand for LED tech now that they hold more of the cards?

just my declining 2 cents

[gafftapegreenia]

This light bulb ban thing is really starting to annoy me, and I'm a crazy liberal. CFL's are not a magic bullet, they are simply once piece of the solution. LED's, CFL's and yes the standard standard A-lamp all do certain things very well, and others not so. This is all just tactics to make the basic citizen feel like progress is being made. It's a well constructed ruse. Why not some actual reforms where the power comes from for these lamps? Why not actually do something about the larger sources of pollution than some homeowner who uses an 60W A-lamp in a table lamp? There's all these new coal fired power plants, and little willingness to actually invest in a substantial renewable energy infrastructure.

Those old enough,(not me) remember the last light bulb reform, with all the "watt-miser" and such items. Overall, how effective was that?

I'm sorry, I could rant more, but I think it'd be mostly preaching to the choir. Point is this "light bulb ban" is but a baby step towards a solution for much bigger problems.

[Jezza]

I am happy to see this bill passed. I only hope it is actually going to have a serious impact and significant executive backing to ensure these new standards are met, unlike previous measures under other administrations -- this administration certainly does not have a good track record either.

I think that the theatrical industry falls under a different umbrella of sorts than most consumers, as do other small industries, but I would not be surprised if you see a significant decrease in tungsten fixtures in our industry in the next 10 years. With LEDs becoming so common place, and their wattage ever increasing, manufactures like Philips are taking every advantage possible to further that part of the industry.

While Philips might be reaping the profits from this new energy bill as a result of their recent purchase of CK, I don't think their motives are purely economic. I have seen, and do see, a conscious effort on the part of Philips to improve efficiency and decrease the environmental impact of their products. They are in the energy business, and regardless of their politics or opinions, they recognize this is where they must steer the industry for not only the future of their company, but to go with the trends we see evolving in energy usage and consumption.

If you were not aware, Philips also recently purchase Genlyte (makers of VL, Strand, etc). I'm curious to see how Philips will have an impact on these companies from an energy efficiency standpoint. Perhaps a brighter, lower wattage VL3500 is in our future. Given the recent acquiring of the patents that CK held, I would not be surprised to see a serious effort put forth by Philips to create a competitive LED based ML. The issues are large with such a fixture, but I hope they'll try hard to make it a reality.

Edit: Just read gaffatapegreenia's comments and wanted to echo them. I am as well a crazy liberal and do feel that this new bill is not going to be the saving grace. It was just another political ploy to give the appearance that the government is behind the grassroots movement towards better efficiency and sustainable energy sources, where the only true impact is being made. CFLs and LEDs are excellent, they are much more efficient than any tungsten source could dream to be. But our energy is still being supplied by coal, oil, gas, etc. Its not until we move away from this legacy and love affair with oil and our SUVs that we will ever be able to start salvaging what's left of our environment. I encourage you all, especially those on this forum still in their younger years, to make a conscious effort to do what you can towards decreasing our impact as an industry. RANT OVER!

[avkid]

Yet again with the wattage thing.
Wattage is irrelevant in this argument.
Lumens

The watt is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one joule of energy per second.

The lumen is the SI unit of luminous flux, a measure of the perceived power of light.

[JD]

Call me a cynic, but in my opinion, it's all a game. The conversion to CFL's will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by .03%. We need to do things that will make a 20% or 50% difference!

GE, one of the bigger manufacturers of "alternative" light sources, also owns rights to billions of dollars of "carbon credits", which only become of value for them to resell if certain legislation is passed (this being one.) They are also the parent company of NBC, which just ran a full week promoting alternative lighting under the guise of "green week."

I am a die-hard conservationist, but this is 99.9% about money & profit, and .1% about the planet.

Oh, by the way, guess who funded most of the lobbying effort on getting the current bill passed?

GEeeee, I don't know!

[Jezza]

Totally agree JD. I knew the NBC week was too good to be true. Its unfortunate you know, I see this stuff on the news and I hear it on the radio about all these people and companies who seem to be heading in the right direction, its uplifting almost. Sometimes its hard to come to my senses and realize how much of it really is just about profit, and how corrupt and depressing that idea is. How immoral.

Anyways, so ok we need to make a 50% difference, we know that isn't going to come from the government or corporations. It needs to start with people like us making our own decisions about increasingly efficiency, using more sustainable energy sources, and changing our attitudes about energy usage.

So I pose this question to rest of CB, what can we do throughout our industry to decrease our impact? I'm talking in manufacturing and fixtures and such, but also in our day to day practices, our methods, our behavior. What are you doing already? What could you be doing better? Whose stopping you and why?

[Charc]

Originally Posted by Jezza

Totally agree JD. I knew the NBC week was too good to be true. Its unfortunate you know, I see this stuff on the news and I hear it on the radio about all these people and companies who seem to be heading in the right direction, its uplifting almost. Sometimes its hard to come to my senses and realize how much of it really is just about profit, and how corrupt and depressing that idea is. How immoral.
Anyways, so ok we need to make a 50% difference, we know that isn't going to come from the government or corporations. It needs to start with people like us making our own decisions about increasingly efficiency, using more sustainable energy sources, and changing our attitudes about energy usage.
So I pose this question to rest of CB, what can we do throughout our industry to decrease our impact? I'm talking in manufacturing and fixtures and such, but also in our day to day practices, our methods, our behavior. What are you doing already? What could you be doing better? Whose stopping you and why?

Don't "preheat", cut all intensities in half, and get rid of half your inventory. I can provide a "recycling center" here in Philly, just include lamps.

[gafftapegreenia]

Ban the FEL!

[Charc]

...but... I have like 25 in the air!

[icewolf08]

Originally Posted by JD

GE..... They are also the parent company of NBC.....

A small aside here, but for those who didn't know the NBC "chimes" that you hear before the news, and when they pop up the full screen NBC logos and such are what notes?

G E C

Why?

General Electric Corp.