Non-Frugal Light Bulbs May Soon Be Illegalby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 31 Jan 2007 11:44 AM
The CFL bulbs are known for their spiral shape. If you live in California, you may be forced to give up your traditional light bulbs and made to use the CFL bulbs exclusively. Currently on the agenda for a California law maker is a law, that if passed, would ban the use of any other type of incandescent bulbs. This law would take effect in just five years from now, in 2012. California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine is the lawmaker who is trying to push this law through. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), only about 5 percent for the light-bulbs purchased in 2006 were CFL bulbs. They aren't taking a stand on Levine's law, but they do recommend the use of CFL bulbs to save energy. Known as the "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb Act," this potential law is seen by some as a groundbreaking step to cut back on energy usage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Other view the potential law as an act against their rights to choose how to light their homes. In my home, we do have CFLs in some places, such as the basements, but we haven't converted over to all CFL light bulbs. I really enjoy to soft light of a traditional bulb in the evenings when we are having family time. And some of our fixtures, such as our over the counter lighting simply won't take CFL bulbs. What do you think? Is this law a good idea? While you may not currently live in California, the passing of this law could make other states enact similar laws about energy efficiency. Related Articles: One Simple Way to Lower Your Heating Cost Save Money on Home Heating: Install a Dryer Diverter Save on Heating: Fireplace Tips Save on Water Heating: Insulate! Earn $500 to Improve Your Home Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments Oonie (65) 31 Jan 2007 11:03 AMMary Ann (or other readers), have you found any low-energy bulbs that can be dimmed? Previous owners of our house put dimmer switches in almost every room, and we use them a lot (especially in kids' bedrooms). I'm eager to switch, and use the low energy bulbs wherever I can, but the undimmable piece is a dealbreaker for us in many rooms.  Mary Ann Romans (26886) 31 Jan 2007 11:42 AMOnnie, thanks for the advice. We do have dimmers on some of our lights in our current house. When we move to our new home in April, dimmers are one of the first things we will be installing (along with the lighting itself--those people look like they lived in the dark).  babydawn (7008) 31 Jan 2007 11:58 AMAs far as I know you can't use the low-energy bulbs on dimming lights. I think this law is really stupid. I understand the need for people to try to conserve energy, and I am slowly changing out most of the lights in my house to these types of light bulbs, but do we really want the government involved in telling us how we can and can not light our own homes? It just seems silly. Aren't there more important things on the agenda then banning a certain kind of light bulb.... it just seems like they are thinking up ways to pass more laws. Mary Ann Romans (26886) 31 Jan 2007 12:10 PMPersonally, I think they are trying to address the environmental problem, but I think that the government may be able to make a bigger impact with other more globabl initiatives. I wonder about legislation regarding industrial pollution--but then again, California is a definite pioneer in environmental concerns. jzhang (5) 01 Feb 2007 01:14 PMI think you can get dimmers at Walmart, but if not, they are available on this site: http://www.energyfederation.org/consumer/finder_bulb.php  Julie Gentry (5915) 02 Feb 2007 01:51 AMif you live in Western Washington, Walgreens has the swirly lights FREE. Well, you have to pay the tax. They're $2, but the power company has $2 coupons on them making them free. We have a whole stockpile of them (you can only get 8 at a time). Mary Ann Romans (26886) 02 Feb 2007 12:35 PMThanks for the tip. I'm going to see if there are any programs like that here. Community Tags conservation, energy, light bulbs, lightbulbs, lighting law, lighting Discuss this article
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For anyone concerned with lighting their home, fluorescent light-bulbs are the way to go. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL) use about 25 percent of the energy that traditional, incandescent light bulbs use. They also generate much less heat than a conventional light bulb, as much as 70 percent less heat. 
