Lights out for old bulbs

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Say goodbye to the old-style light bulbs that date back to the days of Thomas Edison.

On Wednesday, it became illegal to manufacture the 40-and 60-watt incandescent light bulb in the United States. In 2007, then-President George W. Bush signed a law to replace the standard incandescents with more efficient ones, like halogen, LED and compact fluorescent bulbs.

Bruce Furrow, a project specialist at the Indian Harbour Lowe's, says he's on board with the move.

"I would much rather have an LED bulb that I can change every 20 years, as opposed to an incandescent that I have to change every year," said Furrow.

75-and 100-watt incandescent bulbs were phased out at the beginning of 2013, but Furrow says this ban will have a greater impact on his customers because of the bulb's popularity.

He said, "We have a current existing supply of these bulbs on hand. So, we have people who are in a last minute panic buying, but the majority of our customers are saying, "OK, what's next?" and getting in the right mindset for the next bulb."

Forcing consumers to abandon the old-fashioned glass bulb will be more expensive, but Furrow says in the long run it will save them money and the environment.

"On a regular incandescent bulb you'll spend $125 over the life of an LED bulb which will cost you about $20 in electricity," said Furrow.

There are exceptions for lights that can't be replaced by alternatives, such as, specialty or 3-way incandescent bulbs.

According to a study, 30 percent of consumers plan to load up on incandescent bulbs  while they're still available.


About the Author:

Justin Warmoth joined News 6 in 2013 and is now a morning news anchor.

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