David Laschinger
The February issue of the Pioneer Press contained a story, “Shedding Light on Light Bulbs.” In the story I stated, “Like it or not, recent federal legislation has forced the demise of the familiar [incandescent] light bulb, and the days of buying a four-pack of 60 watt bulbs for a buck are gone.”
Shortly after submitting the story, I was surprised to see bountiful quantities of incandescent bulb four-packs for less than three dollars at retailers in Denton. At first I assumed they were trying to “dump” their remaining stock. “Upon further review,” as an NFL referee says, I learned that Congress’ latest budget deal thwarted the federal phase-out of incandescent light bulbs by preventing the Department of Energy from spending money to enforce the federal rules on efficiency standards for light bulbs. This opened the door for the sale of more incandescent bulbs, at least for the time being.
Although lower in initial cost, incandescent bulbs use more electricity, making their operating cost higher. Some argue that the payback period for the more expensive LED and fluorescent bulbs is too long to justify the higher up-front cost. But depending on the duty cycle—how long it is lit each day—and the cost of electricity, CFL’s can typically pay for themselves in about four years, LED’s slightly longer.