New regulation: The ban on incandescent lamps in the United States takes effect this week

2023-10-09 21:39:48 287

According to FOX News on August 2nd, the Biden administration began banning the use of various commonly used light bulbs nationwide on August 1st, as part of its active energy efficiency agenda.

According to regulations from the US Department of Energy (DOE), manufacturers and retailers will be prohibited from selling incandescent and similar halogen bulbs, which account for a significant share of the current bulb supply. Instead, manufacturers and retailers must sell LED bulb substitutes or face high federal fines.

Before the ban was implemented, someone posted on Twitter saying, "Democrats will not let us go. States must fight back

Kentucky Republican Representative Andy Barr said, "President Biden promotes liberal fantasies through his federal agencies." "The Department of Energy should focus on energy independence in the United States, not on what bulbs you can or cannot buy for your family or business

In April 2022, a few months after the first proposal for rulemaking, the US Department of Energy finalized regulations prohibiting certain low-efficiency light bulbs. The US Department of Energy announced that these regulations are expected to save consumers about $3 billion in electricity bills and reduce carbon emissions by 222 million tons annually over the next 30 years.

The US Department of Energy has been warning retailers to enforce the light bulb ban in the past few months to ensure compliance across the entire industry.

Jennifer Granholm, the US Secretary of Energy, said last year: "The lighting industry has started adopting more energy-efficient products, and this measure will accelerate the process of providing the best products to American consumers and pave the way for a better and brighter future

According to the latest results of the residential energy consumption survey, although American households have increasingly switched to LED bulbs since 2015, less than half of households report primarily or completely using LEDs.

Federal data shows that overall, 47% of people mainly or only use LEDs, 15% mainly use incandescent or halogen lamps, 12% mainly or entirely use compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and 26% do not have a major bulb type. Last December, the US Department of Energy issued a separate regulation prohibiting CFL bulbs, paving the way for LED to become the only legally purchased bulb.

According to survey data, LEDs are more popular among high-income households, which means energy regulations will particularly affect low-income Americans. 54% of households with an annual income of over $100000 use LEDs, while only 39% of households with an annual income of $20000 or less use LEDs.

Last year, a coalition of free market and consumer groups opposing the ban on incandescent bulbs wrote in a comment letter to the US Department of Energy: "We believe that considering more energy-efficient lighting options, such as LED bulbs, has provided more choices for consumers who prefer them over incandescent bulbs, and we believe that further regulatory intervention in the market is unfounded

These organizations add that the estimation of the benefits of energy efficiency rules on climate is "speculative, hypothesis driven, and prone to bias in the hands of institutions with regulatory agendas".

At the same time, the US Department of Energy overturned a regulation of the Trump government in April 2022, which aims to protect incandescent bulbs and allow consumers to choose the products they want to buy. Former President Trump personally opposed the use of LED bulbs. He said in 2019 that LED bulbs tend to be more expensive.

Environmental groups welcome the Biden government's crackdown on incandescent light bulbs. Energy efficiency of the Natural Resources Defense Council