The Department of Energy has released a new standard for efficient lighting to be implemented by July 2023. Manufacturers will be required to produce lighting that emits a minimum of 45 lumens per watt. According to CNN, the new efficiency standard is “effectively the nail in the coffin” for inefficient incandescent lighting, and represents the culmination of a decades-long bipartisan effort to improve lighting efficiency standards. The new lighting standard reverses a Trump-era rule that had slowed the phase out of incandescent lighting.
The new efficiency standard will save users more than $3 billion per year on energy costs, DOE says. The standard will also prevent the release of 222 million metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere over the next 30 years. Incandescent lighting represents only about 30 percent of lighting sold in the U.S.
Industry experts applauded the new standards. “This is a victory for consumers and for the climate — one that’s been a long time coming,” said Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) called the ongoing adoption of LEDs an “unqualified success,” and applauded how the new rule will be adopted, saying in a statement that NEMA “appreciates the administration’s recognition of the challenges industry faces in complying” with the new standards.
Greg Zimmerman is editor, FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management.
