Bulbs, brands, lumens, and labels—oh my!
If you have been gradually making the switch to the
new energy efficient lighting choices, you’ve noticed that more changes have come
to the light bulb aisle. Remember when the odd looking corkscrew compact
fluorescent (CFL) bulb was introduced to consumers a few years ago? It’s still
there and so are most of the classic pear-shaped incandescent bulbs. But
today’s lighting choices have expanded and gotten serious makeovers—their packaging
labels and lingo included. There are LEDs, CFLs, halogen, lumens, CRI, and more,
and there is a host of lighting brands. But in recent years, the focus has been
on making all bulbs more energy
efficient and cost effective.
End of an Era
We’ve basked in the golden glow of Thomas Edison’s
incandescent bulb since the 1800s, but this January marked the end of its run. That’s
when the federal government finalized its mandated phase out of selected
general-purpose light bulbs and Edison’s less energy efficient incandescent ones.
While you still may find 100- and 75-watt bulbs on store shelves, manufacturers
in the U.S. stopped producing them. The old 40- and 60-watt bulbs, which
represented over half the market, are following suit. What brought about the
lighting change? In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that home and
commercial lighting was consuming more electricity annually–about 300 billion
kilowatt-hours of lighting or the equivalent of about 100 power plants—but most
of it was wasted. Old-fashioned incandescent bulbs used plenty of energy to produce
only 10 percent light, with 90 percent of the energy given off as heat. In
comparison, today’s more energy-saving incandescent light bulbs use 25 percent
less energy to do the job of lighting the same spaces in your home.
Look on the Bright Side
Prime replacements for the traditional incandescent
light bulb are the higher-efficiency CFL and LED or light emitting diode bulbs.
But be prepared to pay more upfront for some of the bulbs you choose. Lighting
experts say that LEDs are the best choice for energy efficiency and if price is
not a concern—they can last for up to two decades, save you 75 percent or more
in energy costs, and offer superior color and brightness. However, they can
cost an estimated $10 to $60 per bulb.
The Energy Department assures consumers that there
is a bright side—lower electricity bills over the longer term. These are their
estimates: using a traditional incandescent bulb adds about $4.80 per year to
the average household electric bill, but a CFL bulb adds just $1.20 a year and
an LED about $1 per year. That means that a typical household could potentially
save about $50 per year by replacing 15 old incandescent bulbs.
Lighting the Way
Since lighting accounts for
nearly 20 percent of the average home’s electricity use, don’t stay in the dark
when shopping for new bulbs that save on energy and your electric bill. Things to know before you go:
·
Lumens are the new watts. It’s all about the lumens or
the amount of light a light bulb emits. Remember this formula: The higher the
lumens, the brighter the light—to replace a 100-watt incandescent bulb, choose
a bulb that offers about 1,600 lumens. There are handy charts at www.energystar.gov/ that help you
compare the old measure of watts to lumens.
·
Three-steps to your new bulbs. STEP 1: Choose the amount of
lumens you need based on how bright you want a room; STEP 2: Determine which
bulb has the lowest estimated energy cost per year. This will save you the most
money; and STEP 3: Choose bulbs based on your needs—how long it will last and
light appearance.
·
Read the label. Always check the package,
making sure that it carries the U.S. Department of Energy’s ENERGY STAR® logo.
New Lighting Facts labels on boxes will also help consumers understand what
they are purchasing—amount of lumens, estimated annual operating cost, and light
color.
