Incandescent light bulbs now banned in the US per new energy efficiency rules
BALTIMORE -- Incandescent light bulbs are now banned in the US.
This initiative was first introduced in 2007. It was rolled back by the Trump Administration, but in April, President Biden flipped the switch on it.
Customers are now urged to start buying LED light bulbs because they conserve energy.
Some people have already made the switch.
They're much better," Elaine Yelverton of Waverly said. "They're much better. They stay on longer and last longer… It's a good investment."
The managers at the ACE Hardware store in Waverly in Baltimore City say they know their customers will have questions when they head to the shelves and cannot find incandescent lights.
They have put up signs to help educate them about LED lights.
"Some customers don't know the difference between an incandescent or an LED," ACE Hardware Assistant Manager Tajuan Randolph said. "It's just a bulb to them. So, we try to educate as much as we can when they come in."
LED bulbs are pricier than incandescent ones.
However, the Department of Energy estimates this switch will save U.S. consumers close to $3 billion on their utility bills and will cut planet-warming carbon emissions by more than 200 million metric tons over the next 30 years.
"It saves a lot more energy," Randolph said. "You'll have a longer life with this bulb and you'll probably never really have to change it."
The ban does not apply to all incandescent bulbs.
Here is a list of items not included:
- Appliance lamps, including fridge and oven lights
- Black lights
- Bug lamps
- Colored lamps
- Infrared lamps
- Left-handed thread lamps
- Plant lights
- Floodlights
- Reflector lamps
- Showcase lamps
- Traffic signals
- Some other specialty lights, including marine lamps and some odd-sized bulbs
