Shedding Light On Bulbs

As of August 1, 2023, the department of energy has set new lighting efficiency standards. In this article, we’ll address what this means for the ReStore and our customers. First, it means we will not accept donations of incandescent, halogen, or fluorescent bulbs. The ReStore will no longer sell incandescent or halogen bulbs, as we are now prohibited from doing so by law. This policy change has been in the works since December 2007, when President George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). This law addresses sale of standard base screw-in bulbs. While many people think the EISA bans certain lighting technologies, it is actually neutral to technology. Rather it sets an efficiency threshold that light bulbs must meet. A bulb must produce 45 lumens (a measure of light) per watt (a rate of energy consumption). The issue is, that only current fluorescent and LED technology can exceed that threshold.

EISA does not say we cannot sell any incandescent or halogen bulbs. Specialty incandescent and halogen bulbs other than standard base can still be sold legally. Therefore you may occasionally still find three-way bulbs, chandelier base bulbs, appliance bulbs, and halogen work light bulbs at The ReStore. We have some customers who come specifically looking for incandescent bulbs. But if what you want is light, rather than heat, incandescent and halogen bulbs are frighteningly inefficient. Typical incandescent bulbs provide around 15 lumens per watt, which is an efficiency of only around 10%. In other words, 90% of those watts are emitted as heat. Halogen is a little better, coming in around 15% efficiency. Fluorescents can be up to 85% efficient, but many contain mercury, which is hazardous. LED lights are around 90% efficient and last longer on average than any other lighting technology. For those of us at The ReStore, that combination makes LEDs a winning technology!