Momentum is building in the U.S. Congress for a bill that would require phasing out regular incandescent light bulbs in favor of compact fluorescents and other, more efficient lighting technologies. The bill now in the works would require bulbs to be three times more efficient by 2020 and would require the phase out of 40-, 60-, 75-, and 100-watt incandescent light bulbs by 2014. Ye olde incandescents typically convert only 5 percent of the electricity they consume into visible light, and proponents say that installing more-efficient bulbs, including CFLs, next-generation incandescents, LEDs, and other lighting alternatives could save U.S. consumers some $6 billion a year in energy costs and effectively cancel demand for 80 coal-fired power plants. The legislation may be lumped in with the pending energy bill that’s expected to be voted on in October. The United States is the largest single market for incandescent light bulbs accounting for nearly one-third of the global market.
