The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will require you to purchase a more energy efficient light bulb to replace your old incandescent light bulb. The act has already made the manufacture and importation of the standard 100 watt incandescent bulb illegal in the United States on Jan 1st, 2012.
When shopping for new energy efficient light bulbs you will need to think about Lumens, color temperature, and Color Rendering Index (CRI). An easy way to determine the light appearance of a light bulb is to look for the Lighting Facts Label on the package. The Lighting Facts Label will give you all the information you’ll need to compare different bulbs and will appear on most everyday household light bulbs starting in 2012.
Lumens – Lumens measure brightness. People have chosen light bulbs by the watt and over time they learned to tell how bright a typical 60-watt light bulb was. The problem with that is wattage only tells you how much energy a bulb uses, not how bright it is. A standard 60-watt incandescent bulb produces about 800 lumens of light. By comparison, a CFL bulb produces those same 800 lumens using less than 15 watts. Newer light bulbs are designed to use less energy making wattage an unreliable way to gauge a light bulb’s brightness. That takes lumens.
Color Temperature- Color temperature is a characteristic of visible light that has a very important application in lighting. Color Temperature is conventionally stated in the unit of absolute temperature, the Kelvin, having the unit symbol K. Color temperatures between 3,500 – 5,000K are referred to as cool colors (blueish white), while lower color temperatures 2,700 – 3,500 K are referred to as warm colors (yellowish white through red.) A traditional 60watt incandescent light bulb has a color temperature of 2,700 Kelvin.
Color Rendering Index- The color rendering index (CRI) is the measurement of the ability of a light source to reproduce the colors of various objects faithfully in comparison with an ideal or natural light source. Light sources with a high CRI are desirable in color-critical applications such as art galleries, photography studios, retail spaces, and doctor’s offices.
• Energy efficient halogen bulbs provide a 25% energy savings.
• Energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL) provide a 70% energy
savings.
• Energy Efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) light bulbs provide an 80% energy
savings.
To learn more about available lighting solutions, visit Metro Lighting’s web site at www.metrolightingcenters.com or stop into one of their eight locations. You can also learn more about LED lighting technologies at Metro Lighting’s Show Me LED event on April 17th from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Brentwood Metro Lighting location, 929 Hanley Industrial CRT, Brentwood, MO 63144. Please RSVP to Marsha at @ 314-963-7722 by April 13th for this event.