GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WXMI) — Some new rules dictating which types of light bulbs can be manufactured and sold began Tuesday, effectively banning incandescent and halogen bulbs in most cases.
The rules were officially adopted by the Biden administration in April 2022, with enforcement beginning Aug. 1, 2023.
They establish an energy efficiency requirement for every new bulb made and sold: 45 lumens per watt.
Because this is not possible with incandescent or halogen bulbs, LEDs are now the way to go.
Todd Yonkers, vice president of Grand Rapids Lighting Center on 29th Street, says they began seeing LEDs on their sales floor about 10 years ago.
He says they have really come in full force during the last three or four years though.
"The prices have been coming down to where they're getting a lot more reasonable,” he explained Tuesday. "We've been going through, replacing a lot of the bulbs with LED versions.”
While LEDs are still more expensive than a similar incandescent would have cost, they do have their benefits.
"You get a lot more light for a lot less energy, and the incandescents produced a lot of heat, where the LEDs don't produce hardly any heat at all,” Yonkers said.
The Department of Energy predicts Americans will save about $3 billion in energy costs a year due to the changes.
They estimate it will cut the country's carbon emissions by about 222 million tons over the next three decades.
You are, of course, still allowed to use whatever light bulbs you want at home or wherever else. The new rules apply only to manufacturing and sales of new bulbs.
Read more about the rule changes at the Department of Energy's website HERE.
