A new law which takes effect August 1, 2023 will ban certain styles of incandescent and halogen bulbs (or “lamps” as our industry calls them).
This has some of our customers asking “should I worry about the new ban?”
The short answer is “probably not.”
Inefficient lamps that pull only 45 lumens per watt (or less) are the target of the new ban.
Some examples of the inefficient lamps being banned are:
- A19 lamps (like the traditional lightbulb you screw into your lamps or fixtures at home)
- PAR30 lamps (smaller-sized par lamps used as small flood lights around homes or businesses)
- Décor lamps (lamps that look like candle flames or chandelier-style lamps)
For most of our clients (theatres, house of worship, schools, universities, convention centers, arenas), these types of lamps are not widely-utilized and, therefore, the ban is not a point of concern.
The ban will mostly target lamps used for residential lighting. Don’t worry – if you have a closet-full of these newly-banned lamps, you can still use them (they just have to be purchased before August 2023).
Most retail stores like Target, Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s carry plenty of LED options that will work in place of the newly banned lamps. They’re a little more costly, but will also last longer and lower your energy bill.
Don’t love LED’s? Here are some tips to make them more palatable:
- If you are dimming your LEDs, make sure to visit the manufacturer’s website. Not every LED dims smoothly with every dimmer. Most residential dimming manufacturers like Leviton and Lutron will have a cross-reference on the best LEDs to use with their residential dimmers.
- An LED’s color-temperature can be toned down with LED corrective gel sheets. For example, if your light is too “blue-white” and you’d like it to be more “warm-yellow,” you can use a Lee 806 to warm-up the color.
The Department of Energy estimates that this new law will save each American family approximately $100 annually and $3 billion dollars collectively. Carbon emissions will be reduced by 222 million metric tons over 30 years.1
If your organization needs help switching to LED, contact the friendly techsperts at Knight Sound & Lighting. Although we don’t work with residential lighting, we do specialize in retrofitting the lighting controls found in institutions like churches, theatres, schools and more – especially those systems tied to older “legacy” lighting control systems.
We also recommend checking out our Blog Library to learn more about choosing the right LED (color temperature, CRI and more!)
1.https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/11/2022-28072/energy-conservation-program-energy-conservation-standards-for-general-service-lamps#p-25