Biden Wants Thomas Edison’s Incandescent Light Bulbs Gone By 2023

President Biden and his Department of Energy want the traditional incandescent light bulbs popularized by Thomas Edison gone, and they want sales of those bulbs extinguished by next year.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) adopted two new rules; one revises the definition of general service lamps while the second “implements the minimum standard of 45 lumens per watt for light bulbs that meet the revised definition,” DOE stated.

“The Department of Energy estimates last as much as 50 times as long as incandescent bulbs,” The New York Times reported, admitting, “One Michigan study, for instance, found that not only were LED bulbs less available in poorer areas, they also tended to cost on average $2.50 more per bulb than in wealthier communities.”

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm bragged, “The lighting industry is already embracing more energy efficient products, and this measure will accelerate progress to deliver the best products to American consumers and build a better and brighter future.”

“The new definition issued today will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, while the implementation of the Congressional efficacy standard will become effective 75 days after publication in the Federal Register,” DOE declared, adding that enforcement policy will included “a period of enforcement leniency and a period of progressive enforcement with an emphasis on transitioning production first.”

The DOE under the Trump administration, which slowed the move toward eliminating incandescent light bulbs, noted in 2019:

When evaluating and establishing energy conservation standards, DOE divides covered products into product classes by the type of energy used or by capacity or other performance-related features that justify differing standards. In making a determination whether a performance-related feature justifies a different standard, DOE must consider such factors as the utility of the feature to the consumer and other factors that DOE determines are appropriate.

…

In determining whether amended standards are needed, DOE must consider whether such action would result in significant energy savings.  … EPCA requires DOE to consider the savings in operating costs throughout the estimated average life of the covered product compared to any increase in the price of the covered product that is likely to result from a standard…. EPCA creates a rebuttable presumption that an energy conservation standard is economically justified if the additional cost to the consumer of a product that meets the standard is less than three times the value of the first year’s energy savings resulting from the standard, as calculated under the applicable DOE test procedure.

The Trump DOE cited individuals who stated that compared with CFLs and LED lamps, the incandescent lamp required much fewer raw materials, that they had 100 percent CRI, and were easy to use in control systems, while claiming LEDs might cause flicker, mercury, and electromagnetic wave radiation issues (e.g., UV light).

The Trump DOE cited several individuals who concurred in their opinion that the LED lamps exuded brightness, flicker, and emittance of blue light wavelengths that could cause eye damage, loss of sleep, and headaches among other health issues.

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