91ÊÓƵ

Imagine forking over $20 to $50 for a light bulb, turning it on, going off to grad school to get a masters, and coming back to see that it’s still on. Well, that’s what an LED light bulb can do. They can stay on for over two years.

Lightbulb manufacturers were mandated in 2007 to produce more efficient lightbulbs, a move some saw as a boon to investment in LED technology. Others saw the mandate, spelled out in the , as onerous and something that removes choice from the consumer. Regardless, economies of scale and improvements in construction are making long-lasting bulbs cheaper in the long term for the consumer. In light of all of this (heh), a recent bill that aimed to get rid of these lightbulb regulations was voted down Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives.

As today by Umair Irfan for The New York Times, the so-called , proposed by Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, failed on Tuesday to repeal the lighting standards of the EISA.

Those who praise efficiency mandates were elated with the news. Jeffrey Harris, senior vice president for programs at the energy efficiency non-profit Alliance to Save Energy, said in the Times article that efficiency mandates “take away from the market the cheapest to buy, but most expensive to use [light source]. That is the incandescent bulb.”

Others disagreed. Brett Sharenow is the chief strategy officer and chief financial officer of Switch Lighting, a venture capital-funded start-up that produces American-made LED light bulbs. Speaking to regulation, he said “We don’t need it, and we don’t want it.”

– Peter Beland

Photo by via Flickr