Kiss your 100-watt lightbulb goodbye [View All]

[Newsjock]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Californians can start saying goodbye to traditional 100-watt incandescent light bulbs now that the state has become the first in the country to require a new standard for the screw-base bulbs.

... As of Saturday, what used to be a 100-watt light bulb manufactured and sold in California will have to use 72 watts or less. The 72-watt replacement bulb, also called an energy-saving halogen light, will provide the same amount of light, called lumens, for lower energy cost.

Similar new standards for traditional 75-watt, 60-watt and 40-watt incandescent bulbs will go into effect in California over the next few years, with wattages reduced to 53, 43 and 29 respectively.

... The new standard, passed in 2007 by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush, becomes effective nationwide on Jan. 1, 2012. But California and Nevada, which already had energy-efficiency standards in place for lighting products, were able to adopt the law earlier. Gottlieb said Nevada legislators could have voted to do so before Dec. 31, 2008, but they let the deadline expire.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_16989501