Joe Biden gets stuff done. Since the Bush administration, Presidents have been making small moves to make sure light bulbs (which can use an enormous amount of energy as a group) are more efficient. Biden is the one to finally get it done.
DOE Moves Toward Ensuring Light Bulbs Save Energy
The Appliance Standards Awareness Project reported on early progress in December 2021:
The Biden administration took a major step late Friday toward ensuring most new light bulbs do not waste the bulk of the energy they use, but it is unclear how long inefficient bulbs will remain on the market. The Department of Energy (DOE) proposed to require that everyday light bulbs meet an efficiency standard—easily achieved by today’s LEDs—that had been set to take effect last year before the Trump administration prevented it from doing so.
Each additional month that light bulb standards are delayed costs consumers nearly $300 million in needless energy bills and causes 800,000 tons of preventable carbon dioxide emissions over the lifetime of the inefficient bulbs sold in that month.
The rule is now in effect!
As CNBC explains, the phase-out of inefficient bulbs began in stages starting April 2022, with “the final nail in the coffin for incandescent light bulb” taking place last summer.
Full enforcement of the ban for retailers took effect in July 2023.
The DOE does not disclose its techniques for enforcing these step-wise implementations of the rule. However, the agency’s new regulations will be enforced in “a fair and equitable manner,” and smaller retailers are advised to reach out to the DOE to speak about existing inventory they may still have on hand, a spokesperson told CNBC.
Enforcing the sale of the more energy-efficient light bulbs will save consumers nearly $3 billion per year on their utility bills, according to DOE estimates, and cut carbon emissions by 222 million metric tons over the next 30 years. That’s about the quantity of emissions that 28 million homes generate in a year,
the Department of Energy said.
“By raising energy efficiency standards for lightbulbs, we’re putting $3 billion back in the pockets of American consumers every year and substantially reducing domestic carbon emissions,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a
written statement back in April 2022 when the rules were reinstated. “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.”
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden did more than many people guessed could be done. He deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
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