On Tuesday, President Donald Trump revealed that he's rolling back efficiency standards on plumbing and light bulbs. The lightbulb has been through a roller coaster of regulation changes over the years.
It began in the mid-2000s when several states, including California and New York, started to consider their own energy efficiency standards for lightbulbs. In response, Congress passed the bipartisan Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, which established the first national lightbulb efficiency standards.
These standards required a two-stage transition to more energy-efficient lightbulbs. The first stage, which took effect from 2012 to 2014, targeted "A-type" incandescent light bulbs, requiring them to use 25-30% less energy. The second stage, set by the Department of Energy, aimed for even higher efficiency standards and included a broader range of bulb types.
In 2017, the DOE implemented a "backstop" standard, which automatically triggered if the DOE missed deadlines or failed to meet the minimum efficiency threshold of 45 lumens per watt. This led to the phase-out of traditional incandescent bulbs in favor of more efficient alternatives like LED bulbs, which use significantly less energy and last much longer.
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