Lights Out In California?

New Bill Calls For Banning The Common Light Bulb

(AP)  How many people does it take to change a light bulb? In California, the answer could be a majority of the Legislature.

The electricity-wasting incandescent bulb would be banned — replaced by energy-efficient compact fluorescents — under a bill that Assemblyman Lloyd Levine plans to introduce.

He says the spiral light sources are so efficient that consumers should be forced to use them. The compact bulbs use one-fourth the electricity spent in an equivalent incandescent.

"Incandescent light bulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications," Levine, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said in a news release Tuesday. "It's time to take a step forward."

The bulb bill was not yet on the legislative calendar. Last year, the Legislature passed a Levine bill that requires large supermarkets to recycle plastic bags. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed that bill but has not taken a position on the light bulb proposal.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, who represents San Rafael, is working on a similar bill.

Critics say people should be allowed to make their own choices about which bulbs they buy, but Levine, who heads the Assembly's Utilities and Commerce Committee, points out that electric utilities give them away.

[bildooreilly]

So now they're going to FORCE you to buy their more expensive light bulbs lol.. or they'll "Charge" you with a crime, and stick you in a "CELL" and the "Circuit" court will extract your energy from you.

Welcome to communism.

[bildooreilly]

When incandescent bulbs are outlawed only outlaws will have incandescent bulbs.

[bildooreilly]

Really, I've never gotten any free light bulbs from the electric company.... that's news to me... Maybe I'll call them up and ask for some free incandescent bulbs.





Critics say people should be allowed to make their own choices about which bulbs they buy, but Levine, who heads the Assembly's Utilities and Commerce Committee, points out that electric utilities give them away.

[susanhelit]

First - florescent lightbulbs are actually cheaper - each bulb costs slightly more, but lasts several times longer. You just never need to replace them! And they use a ton less energy. Anyone paying any attention to where their money goes already buys the florescents - it's a 'duh' type of question - hmmm, should I buy 4 bulb A or just one bulb B?

Second, for those who don't read the whole article before commenting - did you miss that the utility companies give these bulbs away, free? Hard to beat 'free' as a price, even if you are unaware of how much cheaper a florescent bulb really is.

[susanhelit]

Oops - make that 10 to one - just looked on SDG&E's website. You'll need to buy 10 incadescents, waste 4 times the power, to replace just one florescent bulb. Hmm - wonder what I should do - waste my money and power (putting more money into oil producer's hands, by the way - something I don't like to do, since too much of that does get to Al Queda and madrassa funders), or buy the more efficient, longer lasting, and not much more expensive bulb?

I'm not dumb - I get florescents!

[bks59]

If CA really wants the most energy efficient lamps, then it wold be the LPS, you know the lamps that produce only one color, amber yellow, though LED technolgy is improving quite well and 100,000 hour + lamp life is achieved from LED's. Legislatures need to talk with electrical and illuminating engineers to better understand the impact the color of light has on people. Generally incandescent light makes flesh tones look better.

[bildooreilly]

What about photographers? Will they be breaking the law? I use 3 250W incandescent floods usually when I take product photos.

[bildooreilly]

Land of the free as long as you don't use the wrong lightbulb... or smoke the wrong plant.

Thanks for the tip susan, i never knew the electrical company gave light bulbs away, I've been buying electricity and light bulbs for decades and nobody I know has ever lucked out and got free bulbs...

[legendary240]

Gosh, Thomas Edison didn't realize that he invented "contraband" did he? California ought to outlaw free-thinking. That way the legislators can just morph the whole population into mindless drones and fleece them at will without any fear of reprisals. It would speed up the process is all.

[ukang]

Great idea! Enough efficiency is the way to go. It makes us more completive in the global market, and is good for the environment and health. That is the smart country should do.

[legendary240]

What company "gives" away anything free? NONE. That's just a form of forced industrial socialism - something totally agreeable to most Californians I'm sure. The funny thing is that the poor, middle and elite classes all pay for it and the poor think they are "free" and the liberal elites think the poor are getting a benefit. They are all wrong.

[cantshutup]

dildooreilly, you are a moron...if you buy regular light bulbs you have to replace them often, they don't last that long...florescent bulbs last for years...I spent $40 replacing all my bulbs with flourescents 4 yrs ago and have never had to replace one...looks like you aren't as smart as you think you are...

[legendary240]

These florescents are not good for the environment. They require more material to produce, more time and energy to produce - it's exponentially more expensive. Why do you people never consider what goes into these "green" products outside of your own usage of them?

[erasmus6]

You know I can't believe how many ignorant people are out there. You don't realize it till you read some of these people's comments! HELLO!! The whole point to changing from incandescent bulbs to fluorescent bulbs is so our children and grandchildren have a world to live in in the future! You would think you would want to change them. If people are that stupid then maybe they need to ban the incandescent bulbs and force people to use fluorescent bulbs! Wake up!!

[tomjohn9]

The scariest thing to me is that no one seems to care that the color temperature of fluorescent lamps gives rooms a ghastly blue tint and causes everyone to look corpse-like. I'll just keep buying incandescents in Nevada, I guess.

[erasmus6]

tomjohn9, it ain't about what you look like it's about saving this world! If you want to talk about scary? It's scary that we have people in this world that think like you. Imagine being more concerned about what you look like than saving this world for our children!

[jimc52]

This is a case of "look this way but not that way." I have read that the energy efficient light bulbs contain toxic mercury and pose an as-yet, un-addressed environmental and human hazard.
Let's hear what GE and other manufacturer's who make these "efficient bulbs" have to say about their responsibiity in manufacturing hazardous waste for all of us to figure out how to dispose of. If you don't think that this will not result in an environmental issue, just wait and see for yourselves. Once again, it's a matter of only looking at HALF the problem while not even facing ALL of the problem. Let's see the manufacturer's and the politicians find an answer that not only saves energy, BUT also saves the environment and our human health.

[foranc]

what's that sound? is it something chipping away at our personal freedoms? the government already tells us what to eat, now they're going tell you what you can use in your light sockets. will they tell us what to wear next? how often and where to bathe? and, oh, yes, they are attempting to tell us what words we can use, except of course the press and their first amendment rights (regular citzens evidently don't have that anymore). Come make me use your friggin' light bulbs!!

[bildooreilly]

Good for you can'tshutup, I usually only run a couple lightbulbs, most of the time only one, I'm not really worried about the extra expense. I can buy a package of incandescent bulbs for peanuts and they last me forever too and they give out a better spectrum than fluorescent lights, you'll have this place looking like korea before long, that's the kind of lights they use, and they suck. So you use whatever you want, and I'll use whatever I want, stop trying to tell people how to live their life.

[bildooreilly]

I'm going to get some laws passed so all you idiots have to buy my widgets too.

[sierrapac]

If they want to outlaw the SALE of them, thats one thing. But to outlaw the PURCHASE of the item is just stupid.

[tomjohn9]

erasmus6:

If you truly believe that switching light bulbs is goint to "save your children" then you probably shouldn't be reproducing. (What arrogance!)

[suiteo1]

"Incandescent light bulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications," Levine, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said in a news release Tuesday.

1. Typical democrat! I think Mr. Levine better do some research as there have been MANY modifications made over the decades from energy efficient to plant lights.

2. Florescent lights will actually fade colors in material! That can't be a good thing.

3. White LED technology will be the way to go. By the time they get done playing this florescent war game that all-mighty white tube will be long outdated.

4. To erasmus6 %u2013 ARE YOU FOR REAL? You%u2019re saying there won%u2019t be a future unless we change to fluorescent bulbs? Seems like you survived all these years with incandescent bulbs long enough to write all that gibberish. How do you explain that?

[bluewindow-2009]

"Color rendition" is a term used by lighting folks to define the type of light that is emitted by a light source. Another indicator is the degree Kelvin rating assigned to the light. The bottom line is that modern fluorescent bulbs can be found that aren't as harsh as the earlier versions.

The Northern California utility PGE has a rebate program which offers the newer bulbs for $1.00. So it's worth at least trying one.

What I like is the longer life! It seems I'm forever stretching just beyond my reach to change bulbs in the house!

[red1530]

Doesn't the legislature realize some fixture only accept old fashion light bulbs like dome lamps.

[nothappyatall]

I use these bulbs, electric HERE is cheap- 5 cents a kwh so I don't care about that, but the compact florescents have come down so far in price they are almost at the price the other bulbs are- under $4

Some drawbacks;

I had one of these start to smoke and get hot inside it's electronic capsule, I don't know if there have been any reports of one causing a fire but they are all PLASTIC, so if a fire gets started in one your house burns down.

You can't use them in ENCLOSED fixtures or outdoors below certain temperatures.

If you have a brownout these bulbs will not indicate this, meanwhile your computer etc is being fried. incandescent lights drop their output dramatically and show the power has dropped from 120 volts to maybe 60- murder on TV's, computers, electronics, motors, refrigerators.

The compact bulbs DO produce a nice more or less natural yellowish glow like the incandescent bulbs do, and in a lamp with a shade you can't tell the difference, they don't look like factory light silve-grey!

[nothappyatall]

I might add that lights represent a tiny FRACTION of electric bills, it is heating, dishwashers, dryers, A/C humidifiers, freezers, fridges etc that use the most power.

For 1500 watts (1-1/2 KW per hour) you can run a little space heater OR FIFTEEN of the incandescent 100 watt bulbs.
I pay 5 cents a KW here, so that would cost me 7-1/2 cents an hour, I could run THIRTY 100 watt light bulbs all over the house for just 15 cents an hour- it's peanuts! If I kept them all on 24/7 or wo of those space heaters the bill would be about $3.60 a day or $108 for the entire month.

[sheree56]

Before they go passing this law maybe they better find out how florescent bulbs can hurt some people. People with photosensitivity cannot be under florescent lighting, it will harm them. I know because I am one of them. I have Lupus and scleroderma and my Doctor said I couldn't be in this lighting for a extended period of time. But, I'm sure they don't think of things like that. Only their pockets. And what they can order us to do next.

[bildooreilly]

This is like something you'd read about in China but sadly it's in america, or California anyways... lol

[sam12341234-2009]

Tax and Win

Instead of banning the bulbs, there is a better alternative, where the government can make money and also induce people to start using more efficient light sources.

Tax them differently, just like tobacco or gas, taxing differently will make more money to government in short term and help consumers decide the bubs they want to buy in future.

[getserious1]

Why not simply inform the public of the facts about the different bulbs, their total costs to the consumer and let folks make their own decisions. This stuff of trying to legislate morality of any type is pathetic and belongs in some other country, not ours.

[arashigarou]

It seems the legislators in Cali have not looked at all the issues. Just from reading these comments, it's obvious that forcing the people to use a certain type (and I'd bet a million dollars a certain BRAND) of light bulbs will be harmful to the health of some, and possibly harmful to the environment. Doing a little research has bolstered these claims.

Personally I use a mixture of incandescent and fluorescent lighting in my home. I've learned the hard way that fluorescent lighting tends to disrupt some electronic devices. I've had to remove the fluorescents from my home office because they were interfering with my DSL modem and causing dropouts.

As for banning the old technology, well look what happened in the 1920s when they banned alcohol. It didn't take long for that to be repealed. Banning is not the answer; education and possibly a different tax schedule would be a more positive and less intrusive approach. I dare say that the health hazards and interference issues with fluorescents far outweigh the energy inefficiency of incandescents. As others have said, LEDs may be the best solution, perhaps with tax breaks for those who move to LED light sources.

[rikedoid]

Generally speaking cfls are a good idea. It's only a matter of time before LED technology becomes viable also. Legislating something like this is ridiculous. Use incentives instead. Also make sure the facts are available to people.
hxxp://members.misty.com/don/cfbest.html

[eggy1620]

In addition to the drawbacks stated by newster1, the new bulbs do not work well on variable voltage, i.e. dimmer, switches. They flicker and humm. I have not tried them in 3-way lamps yet, but they probably don%u2019t work in those either. This CA legislator needs to put his jerking knee back under his desk and do some research.

[mdc76082]

I have the spiral bulbs here throughout my Texas home and I haven't seen a significant savings by consumption difference in energy use. Usage is still the same as when we used incadescent bulbs and our kilowatt usage is still the same. They don't work period! I even use the outdoor spot light spiral bulbs. It takes them at least 3-5 minutes to burn at peak lumes. All I get is complaints at how "dark" it is in the rooms. And they do not work with dimmer switches. Also, the spirals emit considerable interference noise when trying to use Wifi, Bluetooth, AM, etc., electrical devices. So, you are actually polluting the airwaves with NOISE! This coming from California, doesn't surprise me in the least. Well California, there's your government telling you what to do...AGAIN. They must love to be under the crack of a whip and told what they can & cannot do, have, say, drive, drink, eat, smoke, sell, buy, Wow! let's move to communist California!!!! Yea. This is just a STUPID idea from a VERY STUPID Levin. Oh well what do you expect from the land of fruits & nuts???

[gangesdak]

I have used the spiral bulb too. They were the gift from the State Government. Enthusiastically I installed them in my home. But they were too dark. I took them down.

[suiteo1]

It should be obvious by now that the only reason anybody, like the uninformed Levine, would mandate legislation to use fluorescent lighting would be, um let%u2019s see, what's the word I'm looking for, %u201Ceconomy%u201D? No, no that's not it. %u201CEnvironment%u201D? No, hmmmmmm, ah yes; KICKBACK! Now it all makes sense!

[edjohn66]

The other option for encouraging conservation would be to let the energy prices in California float. So the next time there is a shortage, consumers would pay 2, 3, or even 10 times or more for power. The California government kept a cap on prices during the last major shortage and broke their budget doing it.

My question to people who are aginst this proposed law: would you rather have uncapped energy prices? (Although I'm sure those who make a millon dollars a year would answer yes, the rest of us might see a problem.)

This bill may not be the best idea, but I think California needs to do something to promote conservation.

[suiteo1]

For those that wish to be, "en-lightened", you can read for yourself at this interesting web site where it states:

"PHOLED technology and materials present the potential to combine the power efficiencies of fluorescent tubes with the pleasing color quality associated with incandescent bulbs in a thoroughly new flat form factor."
http://www.universaldisplay.com/white.htm

Mr. Levine, please read!

[slclark0029]

We have replaced all our old lightbulbs in our house with the spiral bulbs, and In the last 3 months, our electric bill has not changed one bit.
Never again will I waste that much money on lightbulbs, especially the ones that claim to be "energy efficient".

[dogband]

Brilliant...force all folks,rich and poor to use the light bulbs of your choosing, while allowing what may be the largest number of Hummers and huge personal SUVs [with horrible gas mileage]per capita to drive your freeways. You guys are absolutely brilliant.

[consciousnes]

Ya gotta start somewhere.

[bigwhtpony]

As an electrical engineer, I think it would be an interesting "thought experiment." Those incandescent bulbs are not that efficient. In a 1 house scenario, it might not make much of a difference.

Multiply it over a few million homes and you might be on to something. If everyone used them in CA, I estimate on overall reduction in demand of approx. 5% - 10%.

Not enough to trade an acceptable form of light for an artificial looking light - IMO. It would be interesting.

[WatchDog45]

This sounds on the surface like a wonderful thing. My concern with these bulbs and legislating their use is the dramatic increase in numbers could potentially cause environmental problems and we all know how much Californians love the enviornment. The extremely low usage of these bulbs by consumers has very little environmental impact. These bulbs go out with the regular trash and end up in the landfill. With mandated use, every fixture in California and eventually America will have this bulb. With the increased usage will come increased refuse, the small amount of mercury in each bulb might leach into our water supply and food chain. Has an environmental impact study been considered?

ALL these fluorescent bulbs are made in communist China

[WatchDog45]

Speaqking of Legislation in California.

Is this also where there has recenlty been talk of making it illegal to spank your children?

[cmp271]

I am thinking of switching to them anyway as they do last longer than the regular bulbs. If it cuts down on my energy bill at least a dollar or two it would be good news.

Is there more mercury in them?

[warblitz4]

I have several compact fluorescent bulbs in use at my home. They seem a little bulky and need a minute or so to reach their maximum brightness; if you need bright light quickly, they're not as good as incandescents. I'm more impressed with LED lighting as I've seen in flashlights and nite lites.

[legendary240]

I am thinking of going to all-natural candles. Also, I am going to rearrange my schedaule so that I am only active during daylight. Maybe we could all go back to the six hour a day electricity cycle where one block gets the morning today and tomorrow they get the afternoon. That's what they did here about a hundred years ago. AND they used incandescent bulbs too. LED seems to be the front-runner to economically replace the dependable bulb.