For many years, Deborah Turner bought her light bulbs at a dollar store in Columbus, Ohio.
Mrs. Turner would spend hundreds of dollars more on electrical bills because the bulbs for sale were highly inefficient, shorter lasting, and had glowing wire centers.
It is a pattern that is repeated nationwide. Dollar stores and convenience shops still stock traditional or halogen incandescent bulbs even though stores serving more affluent communities have shifted to selling far more efficient LEDs. One Michigan study found that the cost of LEDs was more expensive in wealthier areas than in poorer ones.
Mrs. Turner said that they don't see them in Dollar General.
A successful effort by an industry group representing the world's biggest light-bulb makers to stall energy efficiency standards in the United States resulted in the continued prevalence of the old style bulbs. In the European Union, those same companies have phased out the use of incandescent bulbs.
The delay has enabled manufacturers to prolong profits from an inefficient technology, often at the expense of lower-income households, which end up having to replace the short-lived bulbs more frequently, while also paying more to power them.
Signify, the Dutch multinational that makesPhillips light bulbs, is one of the biggest manufacturers in the world. According to Signify's financial reports, the profit margins for conventional lighting are higher than for itsLED business. Signify calls the value from its conventional lighting a "cash engine" in its corporate reports.
Investment in manufacturing equipment has paid off and there is little competition. The market for light emitting devices has attracted new manufacturers and has become more competitive.
In the United States, Incandescent bulbs were supposed to be phased out a decade ago. While the older types of bulbs have mostly disappeared, the halogen-filled ones are still easy to find in dollar stores and big box hardware chains.
In 2020, 30 percent of standard bulbs sold in the United States were still incandescent or halogen, according to the most recent data available. In the European Union, that percentage has been close to zero.
The industry group that represents more than 300 corporations, including Signify and GE Lighting, said that the industry had already contributed greatly to trimming electricity use by investing in energy-saving LED technology. The group said in an email that they supported speeding up the transition to more efficient LEDs in a way that continued to drive energy savings while offering a range of choices for consumers.
Signify said that LEDs make up more than 80% of its sales. The price of energy-efficient light bulbs has continued to fall, making them available to a broadening audience. Dollar General said its offerings reflected local community and customer demand, and that many stores carried options that allowed customers to choose what best fit their budget and preference.
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The New York Times reported that manufacturers sometimes label their bulbs as energy efficient, even though they use more power.
A 60- watt bulb uses 12 times the electricity as a 5- watt one, and provides the same amount of light. The bulbs are usually last far longer. The ratings from the manufacturers show that an incandescent bulb can be used for up to 3 hours per day, while a typical LEDs can be used for up to 10 years.
The Natural Resources Defense Council calculates that over the long run, savings can range from $50 to more than $150 per bulb. According to the Department of Energy, the average American household has 52 light bulbs.
Though they use more energy than other lights and have a shorter life span, incandescent bulbs have been marketed as offering "energy savings" or "longer life." Signify said it had updated its products, but some may still be on sale from third-party resellrs. Savant Systems did not respond to requests for comment.
A coalition of environmental and consumer advocacy groups and businesses focused on energy have calculated that every month that the bulbs are sold, American consumers will lose $300 million in energy savings and 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. It is equivalent to emissions from almost 200,000 passenger cars.
One of the researchers involved in the Michigan study said that the profit margins of the manufacturers shouldn't be taken into account. Building more power plants can be more effective than being energy efficient.
Even as an energy efficiency revolution sweeps the United States, its benefits aren't being shared equally.
Electricity use by American households has fallen in recent years, thanks to energy-saving refrigerators, light bulbs and more. That is a promising step towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Many households risk being left behind, missing out on the simplest ways to cut home energy use.
Lower-income households spend more on utilities than wealthier ones, even as they use less energy overall, and lighting accounts for as much as a fifth of the average American household's electricity bill.
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An old bulb is in Ms. Turner's home.
The first national light bulb efficiency standards were signed into law by President George W. Bush. In 2012 the law required new light bulbs to use 28 percent less power than the old ones, which ended the sale of some older bulbs.
The second phase of the lighting efficiency rules was supposed to take effect in 2020, but it was delayed. The industry sued in order to set up a settlement with the Trump administration that would lead to a reduction of standards. The rule to phase out older incandescent bulbs was blocked by the Trump administration.
With the move, the administration listened to both industry demands and free market proponents who have long railed against tougher efficiency regulations for consumer appliances and goods, like energy-saving bulbs or water-saving dishwashers, as governmental overreach.
Donald J. Trump joked at a White House meeting in 2019: "The new bulb is many times more expensive, and I hate to say it, it doesn't make you look as good." He told a rally in Michigan that they were bringing back the old light bulb.
The standards have been restored by the Biden administration. In a letter to the Department of Energy last year, the industry group called for federal rules to allow companies to manufacture and import inefficient bulbs for at least another year. Signify asked for more time to manufacture and import wasteful bulbs, and the ability to sell them for a period yet to be determined.
National laws make it hard to find alternative markets to sell restricted products. It is likely that most stranded inventory will need to be thrown away.
Even if the bulbs were used, they would end up in the trash. The industry group said that any abrupt transition raised concerns of a wasteful mass disposal of bulbs.
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A local energy-efficiency program helped Ms. Turner upgrade the light in her home.
The good news is that it is easy to make a full transition to more efficient lighting. New bulbs fit the same sockets as older ones, and households can simply replace old bulbs one-by-one, as they burn out, with minimum disruptions.
Some states are leading. Had Trump not acted, the standards that would have taken effect in California and Nevada would not have happened.
Mrs. Turner was able to upgrade her lighting with the help of an energy efficiency program for low-income households. A lot of people don't know they're paying more in the long run
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