Light bulb ban in Europe coming to the United states in 2012

Finding ways to save energy and cut costs generally is a good thing, but it’s tricky determining when those cuts are affecting people’s lives too much. The light bulb ban in Europe is a good example of something that’s on the fringe of what’s acceptable because light is something humans depend on at night to function in modern day life.

Compact fluorescent bulbs provide lots of light at a low cost and it’s possible to use shade filters to change their tone of light somewhat, but incandescent bulbs naturally generate warm illumination more comparable to the light of a candle. Though it may be news to many a similar light bulb ban is coming to the U.S. The government passed a law in 2007 under George W. Bush, which will begin phasing out incandescent light bulbs in 2012 and ban them by 2014.

The kicker in this situation is that manufacturers were already promoting compact fluorescent bulbs almost a decade before the U.S. Government decided to instigate its plan for a light bulb ban. Beyond quality of light, compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury which is hazardous to the environment. There are recycling centers available, Earth911 may point you toward one but the fact is many consumers won’t put forth the effort and those mercury-containing bulbs will end up in our land fills.

And what if one breaks in your home? The surface and air nearby will absorb some of it so it’s important to keep the area ventilated. Also, don’t use a vacuum.

So if compact fluorescent bulbs are more efficient but possess nascent difficulties for ubiquitous use, where is the industry looking next? Primarily LED bulbs. Most of the U.S. public is unaware of the light bulb ban coming in 2012 and companies are increasingly looking at LED bulbs as a better replacement for incandescent. They’re more adaptable to different shapes and sizes, cold weather doesn’t affect them, and they don’t contain mercury. They also may last longer than compact fluorescent bulbs and use even less energy.

The government doesn’t care so much which technology we move toward, only that we realize an efficiency gain by 2014.