Big Government Is Taking Your Incandescent Bulbs Away Today

It's August 1, which means there is an official ban on the light bulbs you have known and loved.  Big government is taking your incandescent bulbs away today.

The ban on incandescent bulbs has been in the works for quite some time, but President Donald Trump blocked the bipartisan effort during his administration.  The Biden administration restarted the program to eradicate incandescent bulbs in 2021.  Beginning today, it is illegal to sell or produce incandescent bulbs, but it is not illegal to own or use them.  Instead, the government hopes you will use LED or compact fluorescent bulbs.

The regulations are centered around higher efficiency standards for light bulbs.  According to Forbes, the Department of Energy is calling for a brightness standard of 45 lumens per watt.  That's nearly three times the efficiency of an incandescent bulb (which averages 12-18 lumens per watt).

The incandescent bulb ban also includes halogen bulbs.  Frankly, I'm okay with seeing halogens go, because they have never done anything but burn my fingers.  That heat is literally the bulb's inefficiency at work.  But what about situations where the incandescent bulb's inefficiency is what makes it useful?  I'm thinking about my friends who heat their chicken houses with incandescent bulbs in the winter.