By Patricia Daukantas
The comprehensive energy bill that President Bush signed into law yesterday contains two major provisions concerning lighting technology.
The first clause requires that federal civilian buildings change over to more energy-efficient lighting, such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and other bulbs with the Energy Star designation. Based on legislation submitted earlier this year by Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), the provision affects the 1,800 buildings managed by the General Services Administration. The government will be replacing up to 3 million light bulbs with more efficient models as the old bulbs burn out.
“If you’re the landlord and have the opportunity to save $74 per light bulb, it really isn’t a very hard decision,” Inglis said at a press conference yesterday after the House of Representatives approved the final version of the legislation. “We’re the landlord in a lot of properties.”
Lipinski noted that the House changed over to CFLs earlier this year. A similar provision in the Defense Department appropriations bill will cover military buildings.
The other lighting-related portion of the bill effectively phases out the use of low-efficiency incandescent bulbs over the coming decade. It doesn’t explicitly outlaw incandescents; it just mandates a high lumens-per-watt rating for certain types of light bulbs starting in 2012. The efficiency requirements will be phased in gradually through 2014.
U.S. News & World Report has already posted a Q&A on “the end of the light bulb as we know it.” Watch OPN for an upcoming article on the new light-bulb efficiency regulations and what they mean for the lighting industry.