July 6, 2009—President Barack Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced new energy efficiency standards for lighting. The new standards apply to general service fluorescent lamps, used in most offices and commercial buildings, and incandescent reflector lamps, which are used for recessed lighting and track lighting.
It will result in a 15 percent lower electricity use for general service fluorescent lamps, while decreasing the electricity use of incandescent reflector lamps by 25 percent, according to the DOE.
The rule will apply to lamps manufactured for sale in the United States or imported into the United States starting in mid-2012, and in the 30 years following that, they will save consumers up to $4 billion per year, avoid the emission of up to 594 million tons of carbon dioxide, and eliminate the need for as many as 14 500-megawatt power plants.
For more information, see the Web site of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
