Friday, March 18
Recently there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the effort to phase out the incandescent light bulb. Edison’s bulb has become a political symbol, much as it has long been a symbol of innovation and “aha” moments. There have even been bills introduced in Congress to protect the incandescent bulb.
Despite the attention being paid to the legislation in question – the Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 – however, the incandescent light bulb has not been banned. In order to promote energy efficiency and reduce America’s dependence on foreign fossil fuel reserves, the bill created mandatory minimum efficiency standards for a number of common electric appliance and devices, including the light bulb. The EISA mandates that, beginning on January 1, 2012, lighting manufacturers must begin to improve the efficiency of incandescent bulbs by 25%, compared to 2007 numbers, before the end of 2014.
While the mandate has driven demand for compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), which are up to 75% more efficient than their incandescent counterparts, there has also been an increase in production of more efficient incandescent that meet the EISA standard. New incandescent bulbs can use up to 30% less energy than traditional incandescent. While they still fall far short of CFLs in efficiency and lifespan, they do provide options for individuals that don’t like the light produced by CFLs or that have fixtures connected to dimmers. These newer, more efficient incandescent may provide a transition for individuals that cannot or do not want to use CFLs until the price of LEDs, which are even more efficient than CFLs and can last 25,000 hours, comes down further.
An additional concern that many have raised about CFLs involves mercury. Unlike incandescents, CFLs rely on a small quantity of mercury to produce their light source; this also helps the fixture to generate light more efficiently. According to the EPA, an average CFL contains around 4 milligrams of mercury. Compare that to a traditional mercury thermometer, which contained about 500 milligrams of mercury, on average. In addition, due to their greater efficiency, CFLs are responsible for releasing far less mercury into the environment during their lifespan. The electricity required to power an incandescent bulb for 8,000 will result 5.5 mg of mercury being released; a CFL, on the other hand, will only 1.6 mg of total emissions over that same timeframe.
Legislation that is more relevant for many businesses involves T12 fluorescent lights. T12s are fluorescent tube lights and among the most common lighting sources in many business environments. The fixtures get their name from their diameter – a T12 is twelve-eighths of an inch across. As a result of the 2005 Energy Policy Act (EPAct), T12s will effectively be banned after June 30, 2012. This mandate has also been phased in over time. Whereas more efficient fluorescent lights, such as T8s and T5s, use electronic ballasts to fire up the fixture, T12s rely on magnetic ballasts, an old technology that has been around since 1939. But as of July 2010, it is illegal to manufacture magnetic ballasts in the US. While there are still magnetic ballasts available, at a point in the near future they will become impossible to find. So it will become increasingly important in the next two years for businesses to consider upgrading from their existing T12 fixtures to more efficient options, like T8s or T5s. Otherwise some businesses could find themselves literally left in the dark.
Fortunately lighting retrofits often account for the quickest payback and highest return on investment of any energy efficient upgrades a business can make. They typically have payback periods of less than three years and can reduce electric consumption by more than one-third. Upgrading from incandescents to CFLs typically has an even quicker payback – often as short as just 3-4 months.
Ultimately, it is important to note a few things about the changing nature of lighting in the US:
- Incandescent bulbs have not been banned, they simply need to become more efficient.
- T12s will be phased out next year, so it is important for businesses to survey their lighting systems now and prepare for this change.
- Switching from inefficient lighting to more efficient technologies will likely have a positive effect – the United Nations Environment Program estimates that phasing out inefficient fixtures could save the US $9 billion annually.
Posted by:Nicole Stika