Ok, so this whole business about the legislation that will take effect starting next year regarding incandescent bulbs has me more than curious. If you need to get caught up you can read my previous blog on the subject:
http://catherineschager.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/indecent-incandescents/
The basic overview is this- beginning next year (and actually many stores are participating now) you will no longer be able to find your favorite 100 watt incandescent bulb. Why? Because they’re being phased out by manufacturers in order to comply with the new energy regulations for light bulbs. Congress figures that we can save billions of energy dollars by replacing our incandescent bulbs with bulbs that use less energy to create the same amount of light.
I know, I know, this isn’t a sexy “designer” topic. However, it is a topic that you’re going to have to face up to and very, very soon, and I’d like to at least keep you somewhat up to date on the alternatives that are available.
My recent readings have introduced me to two interesting possibilities. The first is GE’s new LED replacement for a standard 40 watt bulb (these and the 60 watt ones are being phased out by 2014). This new bulb, model # 62180 looks similar to an incandescent. According to GE, it uses only 9 watts of electricity to produce the same amount of light as a 40 watt incandescent and it lasts about 13 years based on a 4 hour/day usage. Wow, that’s a long time! (But not as long as that incandescent that lasted for around 100 years in a firehouse in New York). The cost of this baby is reportedly around $50, which sounds like a lot of money, but averages out to about $4/year – as long as you don’t break it!
The next bulb is called the Plumen and this cool little CFL looks like a piece of funky sculpture! They’re not yet available in the U.S. but are coming soon.
So, what are your thoughts on the bulb brouhaha? Have you used any CFL’s in your home? How about LED’s? Do you like them? To read more check out www.led.com and www.plumen.com