General service lamps are prohibited starting end of July

Since 2007 when President Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), we’ve known that incandescent and halogen technologies were being phased out to encourage more energy-efficient options. This act required manufacturers to stop producing certain types of bulbs, however, it still allowed retailers to sell their existing inventory. This changes by prohibiting the sale of general service lamps after July 31, 2023.

The rule of general service lamps must produce a minimum of 45 lumens per watt expands on the discontinuation of incandescent and halogen technologies and can include certain CFL, fluorescent and even LED bulbs. Lumens measure the brightness of a bulb and watts measure how much electricity is used to achieve that brightness. The amount of lumens per watt is the amount of light produced for every watt of energy consumed. A 60-watt incandescent bulb gives off 800 lumens and a 9-watt LED bulb gives off 852 lumens, meaning these bulbs produce around the same amount of light. That is just one example that demonstrates how the requirement of 45 lumens per watt will result in exceptional energy savings across the wide range of lighting products used daily in the United States.