Thursday, December 15, 2011

Does the Light Bulb Stand a Chance?

Have you heard about the energy efficiency standards that are scheduled to take effect in 2012?  In a nutshell, a few years ago Congress passed an energy bill that required the traditional light bulbs to become 30% more efficient.  This will force the removal of incandescent bulbs from the market, leaving consumers with those alternative light bulbs (CFL's).

Personally, I don't like the new "efficient" bulbs.  They take too much time to "warm up" to full light.  And, with the presence of mercury in these bulbs, cleaning up a broken bulb is a time-consuming hassle.  The EPA recommends a 9-step clean up process.  The process includes shutting off the central air as well as all air to the room for several hours, shooing everyone out of the room, putting the broken shards into a sealable container, and NO vacuuming. 

Right.

It turns out that one of the issues at play in the end-of-year Omnibus negotiations has to do with the light bulb standards.  The House Republicans are supporting a rider to the Omnibus that would repeal the light bulb efficiency standards.  Meaning, if this makes it through the process, we can keep using the good old fashioned, tried and true, incandescants. 

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