Biden bans incandescent light bulbs

Joe Biden has implemented a plan to ban incandescent light bulbs from consumer purchase starting on August 1, 2023, a reversal of a Trump administration policy that allowed Americans to choose what kinds of light bulbs they wanted to buy.

According to Fox News Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said last year, "The lighting industry is already embracing more energy efficient products, and this measure will accelerate progress to deliver the best products to American consumers and build a better and brighter future."

Fox news reports that Biden's ban on bulbs his administration deems energy inefficient is part of his larger climate change policy. The mandate bans halogen bulbs leaving consumers to purchase more LED or light-emitting diode lamps.

In April 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) adopted the policy that aims to prohibit the retail sale and purchase of incandescent light bulbs and started discouraging the sale at that time. 

According to DOE statistics, 47 percent of American households predominantly used LEDs already and have increased LED consumption since 2015. 26 percent reported they had no main type of bulb in their home.

15 percent of households reported they used mostly halogens or incandescent and 12 percent said compact fluorescent (CFL), which were also banned.

According to the same survey information, 54 percent of households making more than $100,000 said they used LEDs and 30 percent of homes making less than $20,000 said they used the lamps, indicating that LEDs are favored by wealthier Americans who can afford the pricier bumps.

A free market consumer group wrote the DOE last year and said, "We believe that further regulatory interference in the marketplace is unwarranted given that more energy efficient lighting choices, namely light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, are already available for those consumers who prefer them over incandescent bulbs."

"While LEDs are more efficient and generally longer-lasting than incandescent bulbs, they currently cost more than incandescent bulbs and are inferior for certain functions such as dimming," they added.