House Adopts Measure to Halt Light-Bulb Efficiency Law

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Bloomberg

Republicans in the U.S. House adopted a provision designed to save traditional incandescent light bulbs by blocking what one lawmaker called the “energy police” from enforcing an efficiency standard.

Even if the House language approved last night survives in the Democratic-led Senate, the impact for consumers probably will be limited because manufacturers such as Royal Philips Electronics NV (PHIA) and General Electric Co. (GE) have revamped manufacturing to comply with the law, making bulbs that use less electricity to generate the same amount of light.

The first phase of the federal efficiency standard, which was passed in 2007 during President George W. Bush’s administration, went into effect this year. It has become a symbol of government excess to Tea Party-aligned lawmakers, who say consumers should be able to buy the bulbs they want.

“People are sick of the government treading where it just doesn’t belong,” said Representative Michael Burgess, a Texas Republican who sponsored the light-bulb amendment, which was added to a broader energy-spending bill.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-06/house-adopts-measure-to-halt-light-bulb-efficiency-law.html

[babylonsister]

1. As usual, concentrating on what really matters. nt

[pinto]

2. Shortsighted...

and hyperbole from the teabagger contingent.

[Blue_Tires]

6. He's just a muppet paid by whoever still makes a buck with the old technology...

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Queue the I can't live without my incandescent bulb crowd in 3, 2, 1 ...

[naaman fletcher]

4. you know...

I have this conversation all the time with people who complain about CFL's, and there seems to be gross misinformation. People always say "I don't want the lights to flicker when they go on, etc.".

I have been using CFL's for the past three years and I simply don't know what everyone is talking about. I buy the ones in the green package from home depot. They don't flicker, and the light is as "normal" as from an incandescent.

The whole thing is bizarre to me.

[MADem]

18. I was an early adapter to CFLs--I used them when I lived in Europe, and continued on when I came to

USA.

I am starting to use LEDs here and there--I won't be the earliest adapter to those; but I will get on that bandwagon soon enough.

I don't have any trouble with the CFLs either--I don't especially like the big huge tube fluorescents, but the 'bulb' ones are fine. Hell, use a nice lampshade and no one can tell!

[Ter]

34. No, you are just lucky to have good electric voltage

Some houses, especially older ones, have outlets/switches that still put out a tiny amount of power when turned off. With the older bulbs, it doesn't matter. It is not enough to turn them on. However, CFL's only take a tiny amount of power to work. That tiny voltage isn't enough to completely power them on, but is enough to cause flicker. This is especially common when one installs a remote inside something. I put one in my ceiling fan. When turned off with CFL's, I got flicker. Very small, but enough to see in the dark.

[sendero]

40. I agree..

.... my house is 95% CFL. My only complaint with them is the cheap ones don't last very long.

I think using CFL or LED lights is a non-brainer, but I'm with the "limited govt" crowd on this one, this is just none of the Fed's business.

If they want to do something useful, funding public service ads to educate the public about the energy saving capabilities of some bulbs, and even things most people don't think of (example, if you are running air conditioning for cooling incandescent bulbs are throwing off a lot of heat and so just comparing wattage the bulbs use does not tell the whole story) - that would be fine

[xxqqqzme]

13. The ony time I can understand using

incandescent bulbs is if you live in the tropics. When I lived in he tropics all the closets had light sockets. The heat from the bulbs - left on 24/7 - kept your clothes, towels, sheets from mildewing and green mold from growing on leather goods. You also had to be certain none of those objects touched any of the bulbs.

[Coyote_Bandit]

15. They are also good to use

here in the US to add warmth (during brief cold snaps in more temperate areas of the country) to outdoor housing for animals, buildings housing well water pumps, garages, etc. Leaving a llight bulb on can add several degrees of warmth and is generally safer than using a space heater.

[xxqqqzme]

16. Good point.

[MADem]

19. When I was a small child we lived on an estate for a while.

It was not our family home, it was as a consequence of my father's employment.

The estate came with a fine dog house, that our dog used during the day (he came in at night, though). The dog house (which was grand enough for children to play in--and we did) had a light bulb in it for that very purpose. Of course, we thought it was so the dog could see in the evening to read comic books. What did we know?

[Robb]

37. You have no way of knowing

...that he didn't do exactly that.

[NickB79]

38. There are exemptions for heat-lamp bulbs in the current bill

We also used large heatl-lamps to keep newborn piglets warm in the first few days after birth. Those suckers can get HOT!

[Blue_Tires]

5. $$$$ trumps science yet again...

[uwep]

7. Republicans want government out of individual decision making

as long as it is not a woman's privacy concern. Smaller government that does not interfere with business. The fundie repubs want a "CHRISTIAN" nation that denigrate women, demonizes the poor, Latinos, Blacks and casts off the elderly. There are names for them and it isn't Christian. Jesus was inclusive. Jesus told the rich man that refused to give up his wealth, He felt sorrow for him that he lost Heaven.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Yes, another brilliant, high-priority move by the GOP House.

[KurtNYC]

9. The lightbulb regulations are a mirror of laws enacted in other countries

The push for home consumers to use less or the same amount of energy is being led by power producers who don't want to invest in more power plants. Energy Star and other entities were created by BUSINESSES -- just like this measure to pretend to un-do the death sentence for incandescent was.

Incandescent has already been consigned to history, not by big government but rather by the businesses who own the government.

[4_TN_TITANS]

10. Let the fools pay for more electricity...

Personally, I like having to change a bulb only once every 6 years or so. Better yet, offer a free crank phone with every case of incandescents.

[LibertyLover]

11. I've got a couple of right wing friends who will be cheering this

A couple I know shares their house with another friend. It's an old beach house and the only bathrooms are the two right off each of the bedrooms, which are on either sides of the house and each reached by its own staircase. If you go up to either one, there are boxes upon boxes of incandescent light bulbs that they are storing away because they 'don't want government telling me what to use'. The last time I was there, one of them was ranting about Obama and the light bulbs. I pointed out that the law had been passed under W's presidency. They shut up.

[xxqqqzme]

12. "...“People are sick of the government treading

where it just doesn’t belong,” said Representative Michael Burgess, a Texas Republican..." Replace 'people' with 'women' and we can have an understanding.

[Coyote_Bandit]

14. I would LOVE to have more energy efficient lighting

However, what is currently avalable is both inadequate and cost prohibitive for many.

I am both vision impaired and poor and live in a small older house.

The blue light spectrum emitted by most CFL's make it noticably more difficult of me to sometimes read even large print items. I have a sofa in my den that has a floor lamp at each end. One lamp has a CFL and the other has an incandescent bulb. Comparable lumens. But only one is functional for me with my vision impairment to use to read. It is not the CFL. Reading in blue spectrum light causes me significant eye strain.

Most of the CFL's do not fit the existing lighting fixtures in my home. I bought some mini CFL's just a couple of weeks ago with hopes of putting them in an entryway and hallway. Not happening. Why? Because I can't install the bulbs and then replace the glass globes on the fixtures. I have the same issue in bedroom and bathroom fixtures. Because the house and its fixtures are old, they are a non-standard size. I can't just run down to the nearest big box home store and buy a cheap larger replacement globe for my fixtures to make it possible to use the CFL's. I suppose I could have a glass worker custom make some new glass for my fixtures that would accomodate the CFL's. But that's more expensive than replacing the fixtures with new ones. Not happening. I prefer to use my limited funds to keep a roof over my head and food on my table. Same thing goes with respect to those $40 a bulb LED bulbs.

The cost of energy efficient lighting is a factor for the poor. I can buy incandescent bulbs for fifty cents apiece or less. Excluding lamps, there are about 25 light bulbs in the fixtures in my home. For the grand total of $12.50 (about $13.75 with tax) I can replace all the bulbs with incandescent bulbs. Meanwhile, the mini CFL's comparable to a 60W incandesent are running about $3 a bulb here. The cost of replacing those bulbs with CFL's comes to $75 (about $82.50 with tax). In other words, I can replace all the incandescent bulbs six times for the same cost as replacing the bulbs with CFL's once. Sure, the CFL's last longer and cost less over the life of the bulb. But one has to stay in the home for the life of the bulb to personally realize those savings. Most poor folks are not confident they will remain in their home for that period of time. Being mandated to use energy efficient lighting represents an additional increased cost to the poor.

I think it is reasonable for most people to try to incorporate energy efficient lighting in their home. But some of us have some real challenges with the products currently available. Those with significant vision impairments ought to be able to use whatever lighting thy require. The poor and those with older homes requiring new fixtures ought to be able to choose if and when to assume the costs of adopting energy efficient lighting.

[snooper2]

17. I'm sure there will be a thriving black market for your old school bulbs

Or you can go to Walmart, buy 10 packs of these and be stocked up for the next 30 years

[MADem]

20. Home Depot sells real "old school" bulbs--the clear ones, that are large, that you see in 1930s

movies hanging down from the ceiling in a cold water flat! They look like Edison made 'em!

[may3rd]

26. That's the " made in China " store

but then again, most people can only afford to shop there now a days

[Coyote_Bandit]

30. Ummmm......I have

switched to using CFL's where they fit the available fixtures and are not required for me to see to read.

FWIW, those 60 watters are too dim for many of us visually impaired folks to use for reading.

[happyslug]

21. Contact your Utility and Blind association for bulbs that address your problems

Last edited Wed Jun 6, 2012, 07:19 PM - Edit history (1)

First things first, the cost of CFL's bulbs. Most utilities will provide free CFL bulbs for anyone who asks them. This is part of the push to replace incandescent bulbs. Thus cost is not much of an issue, Size can be, but most of the newer bulbs take up the same space as ncandescent bulbs, thus not a problem. Some problems remain, but size is rarely an issue. Please contact your local utility provider for more details on such programs

The bigger issue is the light CFL emit. The key is what is referred to as the "Temperature" of the light:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#Spectrum_of_light:

Color temperature can be indicated in kelvins or mireds (1 million divided by the color temperature in kelvins). The color temperature of a light source is the temperature of a black body that has the same chromaticity (i.e. color) of the light source. A notional temperature, the correlated color temperature, the temperature of a black body which emits light of a hue which to human color perception most closely matches the light from the lamp, is assigned.
As color temperature increases, the shading of the white light changes from red to yellow to white to blue. Color names used for modern CFLs and other tri-phosphor lamps vary between manufacturers, unlike the standardized names used with older halophosphate fluorescent lamps. For example, Sylvania's Daylight CFLs have a color temperature of 3,500 K, while most other lamps called daylight have color temperatures of at least 5,000 K.

Thus the key is to get a "high Temperture" CFL (remember the temperature is "notional" i.e. not the actual temperature, but what light is produced at that temperature as perceived by the human eye

This has been a known problems with CFL and the best place to get information on CFL that is more like Sunlight is your local blind association. Most have information on what CFL provides the most light for people with eye problems.

Study on Vision loss and lack of sunlight:
http://www.uab.edu/news/latest/item/2412-future-treatment-for-nearsightedness-compact-fluorescent-light-bulbs

[Coyote_Bandit]

32. Ummmm......thanks

I use CFL's where they fit my fixtures and are not required for reading.

I have a family member who works for the local electric utility. Neither of us are aware of them making CFL's available for no cost. I will check into that.

I have had issues with CFL's fitting my fixtures - but the fixtures in my home are old and not today's standard size. The most common issue is length. I have several fixtures where CFL's protrude or touch the globes. Yes, I've tried the miniatures.

Nearsightedness isn't my problem but I found the information you linked quite interesting. Technology and information have advanced such that I suspect a child diagnosed today with vision problems like mine would have a much better outcome. When I was first diagnosed the only thing I could see on the eye chart with my bad eye was the equivalent (they used pictures since I was very young and did not yet know the alphabet) of the Big "E" at the top of the chart.

[happyslug]

39. So did I, but survived till Sixth grade before I had to use glasses.

Now, I was NOT as good as my sister, her eyes were worse, but she saw what the other children were doing and saying and faked her way through the test given at school with flying colors. When she went to the eye doctor, they was no one to copy so she had to admit she did not see the chart. IT shocked her teacher when she went to school with fairly thick glasses.

On the other hand I have NEVER had problems with florescent lighting, neither has my sister. I had another sister who ever do many years fails the color blind test. Given she is working with electrical wires with the US Navy that is a problem, but she learned to take the chart test, and if she fails it to ask for the yarn test. The yarn test is more accurate but takes a lot more time to take (Thus not liked when you want to test a whole lot of people). She fails the Chart test do to her eyesight and due to her eyesight she often sees BOTH numbers on the chart as the person giving the exam flips to the next chart and if she names the "wrong" number she fails the chart test. It is a issue of visual spectrum not color blindness and the yarn test points that out for she always passes the yarn test. The chart test is intended to remove most people who are NOT color blinded and then the people who fail gets to take the yarn test (at least that is how it is SUPPOSE to work, but most such exam sites only have the chart test and then proceed to kick out even people who are NOT color blinded but failed the test for other reasons).

Thus I can see that some people will have problems with lighting do to their nearsightedness, AND we have to be careful about lighting for that reason alone. Efforts have been made to make indoor lighting more and more like Sunlight, but even incandescent lighting fails in that regard. It is something we should all try to work around and be careful of.

One last comment, when I went to Grade school without glasses the lighting in the school was still incandescent lighting before and after I started to were glasses. When I went to the Junior-Senior High school was the first time in my schooling, that I went under florescent lighting. Again no change in my vision. In fact the inside of the High school looked brighter then the grade school.

My point is what may look correct for one person, is not always correct for everyone, a point a lot of people miss.

[Thegonagle]

22. Why would you leave your property behind? When I left my last rental, I took my CFLs with me.

I had to clean and dust everything before I left anyway, so while I was dusting the light fixtures, I changed out MY expensive CFLs for the same incandescents I had removed years before.

[Uncle Joe]

23. I'm anticipating the House bringing up the "Restore the telegraph" bill next.

Thanks for the thread, dipsydoodle.

[awoke_in_2003]

31. .-. .. --. .... - / --- -.

[Uncle Joe]

33. .--. . .- -.-. . / - --- / -.-- --- ..- --..-- / .- .-- --- -.- . .-.-.-

[awoke_in_2003]

42. .- -. -.. - --- -.-- --- ..- --..-- .--- --- .

[Solly Mack]

24. Well, won't that just save America!

How brave.

[may3rd]

25. These are not the mercury filled bulbs they are trying to protect

some people say the mercury filled bulbs are more dangerous when broken open,
I don't know, I only heard

[padruig]

27. Conflaltion (verb)

Conflation (verb)

When Republicans take a common sense, environmentally sound idea and turn it into Marxist, Leninist, Fascist Government Control of your personal right to burn as much energy as possible.


A couple of fine points I'd like to mention for the DU "Gallery of Rogues"

1) Compact Florescent bulbs do contain a trace levels of mercury so their disposal should be treated with some respect. Most land fill operators handle them in a manner compliant with Federal Hazardous Waste disposal regulations.

2) You can get VERY BRIGHT compact florescent bulbs, I've seen them up to 500W in visual brightness so for individuals with vision impairment, they can be a blessing, bright continuous light without the power consumption.

3) I'm switching to LED lighting, it is more expensive but much lower power usage and a very long life.

[Megahurtz]

28. That's fine with me,

you won't catch me using those nasty mercury filled fluorescents that emit radiation. As if we don't have enough radiation ruining the environment already.

[Nihil]

36. Brilliant!

> you won't catch me using those nasty mercury filled fluorescents that emit radiation.
> As if we don't have enough radiation ruining the environment already.



Sadly, there will (no doubt) be some moron who thinks you were being serious!

[nanabugg]

29. We are fast becoming a "second-rate" nation thanks to the selfishness of the 1% and the bigotry of

the 99%.

[sudopod]

41. Selfishness is right up there,

but I suspect it may be ignorance that does us in.

[Scootaloo]

35. The most important thing to remember when Republicans talk about markets

Is that they don't understand markets.

They insist that the fewer the regulations, the fitter the market. Okay, in some cases that may be true - when we're talking about bad regulations, like the pro-Monsanto regulation that you can't advertise your milk as hormone-free. But somehow, that's never the regulation htey mean. They always mean regulations like this one that mandate tighter efficiency.

Efficiency is the cornerstone of a market. It's what drives competition. Yes, it's possible to fly fast and loose and make a profit with gross inefficiency - for a short time. But your own costs are going to catch up with you and mire you down when more efficient alternatives are taking your market. And the surest way to spur a race for efficiency - that is, the surest way to promote competition in the market - is regulations. Rules. Standards. Raise the bar and someone's going to leap it, improving the market at the end of the day.

The republican argument that fewer regulations make a stronger market is like the lazy man who says lack of exercise burns flab.