October 25, 2021

States Rally to Reinstate Light Bulb Bans

2021 10 States Rally Light Bulb Bans.jpg

Photo Credit: © VanHope via Adobe Stock. Please recycle lighting products responsibly.

15 States plus Washington D.C. and NYC urge the Department of Energy to ban certain General Service Lamps

The Attorneys General from 15 states and two major cities have collaborated in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) proposal to strengthen energy efficiency requirements for certain light sources.

The states contend that, if adopted, the proposal could save billions of dollars in energy costs and avoid millions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

The DOE initially defined the proposed light bulb definitions through publication of two final rules on January 19, 2017. 82 Fed. However, on September 5, 2019, several months before the 2017 definitions were to take effect, DOE withdrew the 2017 final rules at the urging of the Trump administration.

DOE’s proposal would reinstate expanded product definitions, originally defined in 2017, to include a wide range of light sources commonly used in homes and businesses, such as 3-way bulbs, cone-shaped reflector bulbs used in recessed and track lighting, candle-shaped bulbs used in chandeliers and sconces, and round globe-shaped bulbs often used in bathroom lighting fixtures.

Specifically, the rules discontinued exemptions for reflector lamps; rough service lamps; shatter resistant lamps; 3-way incandescent lamps; vibration service lamps; T shape lamps of 40 watts (W) or less or length of 10 inches or more; B, BA, CA, F, G16-1/2, G25, G30, S, M-14 lamps of 40W or less; and incandescent reflector lamps. The definition also included high-lumen (2,601 and 3,300 lumens) incandescent lamps in the GSL and GSIL definitions.

The states and cities that filed the joint statement are: