U.S. tungsten light bulb ban takes effect

The U.S. federal government's ban on incandescent light bulbs (tungsten filament light bulbs) will officially take effect on August 1, making the manufacture and sale of incandescent light bulbs illegal. It is expected that after the entire population switches to LED light bulbs, it will save nearly US$3 billion (HK$23.4 billion) in electricity bills every year and reduce 222 million metric tons of carbon emissions in the next 30 years, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 28 million households.

According to the New York Times, according to the latest regulations, qualified light bulbs must produce at least 45 lumens of luminous flux per watt of electricity. In other words, the tungsten filament light bulb invented by Thomas Edison in the 19th century will become history and will be replaced by newer ones. Energy-saving, lower-cost, longer-life LED bulbs. According to CNN, traditional incandescent light bulbs produce only 15 lumens of light per watt of electricity, compared with 75 lumens or more of most LED lights.

Lucas Davis, an energy economist at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkley), said that energy-saving lighting is a big progress. Although there is not enough discussion in society, the situation is just like the mileage per gallon of gasoline consumed by cars. 25 miles increased to 130 miles."

LED bulbs are brighter and more durable

In addition to the advantages of energy saving, the life of LED bulbs is 25 to 50 times longer than that of tungsten bulbs, which can avoid the trouble of frequent replacement. In fact, most retailers have stopped selling inefficient tungsten bulbs as a precaution. In the past, although LED bulbs The price is more expensive, but the situation has changed recently, and the retail price is roughly similar to that of tungsten filament bulbs.

The U.S. Congress established the country's first light bulb efficiency standards as early as 2007. After then-President George W. Bush signed the bill, the country was required to increase the power of light bulbs by 28% compared with incandescent lamps starting in 2012. However, during the Obama years, Republican Representative Bach Michele Bachmann proposed the "Light Bulb Free Choice Act" in 2012, questioning the government's right to interfere with people's decisions to buy light bulbs.

Europe phased out tungsten light bulbs as early as 2012, and the European Union will ban all fluorescent lamps starting next month. Environmental groups and experts have long criticized fluorescent lights as not only less efficient than LED lights but also containing the toxic metal mercury.