The bill, which moved to the House Tuesday after passage by the U.S. Senate, phases-out the use of incandescent light bulbs in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.
The primary replacement bulb technology, at least for next half-decade, would be fluorescent light bulbs, which typically use only 25-30% of the energy of comparable incandescent bulbs. Philips, the largest light bulb maker in the world with sector leadership in Europe, is expected to be a major beneficiary of the law change, along with No. 2 bulb maker General Electric, the leader in U.S. light bulb sales.
A spokesman for President Bush said the president will sign the legislation. Opposed to the original bill, President Bush reversed his stance after lawmakers revised the bill and dropped both a tax increase for oil and gas companies and a requirement that some utilities get 15% of their power from renewable sources.
Energy savings
If passed, the new law is expected to save consumers $40 billion in energy and related costs from 2012-2030, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
Shares of Philips gained 83 cents to $43.15, while GE rose 5 cents to $36.53 in Tuesday midday trading.
Under the bill, all light bulbs must use 25% to 30% less energy than today's products by 2012 to 2014. The phase-in will start with 100-watt bulbs in 2012 and end with 40-watt bulbs in 2014. By 2020, bulbs must be 70% more efficient, thegreendaily.com reported Tuesday. Compact fluorescent bulbs already meet that 70% efficiency standard.
Stock Analysis: The legislation is decidedly bullish for both GE and Philips, and one that benefits the environment as well. Light bulb margins may decline as additional manufacturers enter the space, but look for GE's and Philips' economies of scale, established sales networks and marketing advantages to enable the pair to retain substantial market shares on their respective continents.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-18-2007 @ 5:48PM
reddy kilowatt said...
These new lamps can't be dimmed and can't be used in three way lamps. I've saved energy a lot of years with those two types of lamps. I suppose the answer is to stock up on a lifetime supply of incandescent lamps for those types of fixtures. The next step will be LED lighting, and GE is putting research into that technology. It would eliminate the need for new powerplants for a long, long time.
12-18-2007 @ 7:31PM
Glen said...
There are dimable and 3way cfl bulbs on hte market now.
12-19-2007 @ 12:55PM
thinkformyself said...
Most high school physics students used to be able to tell you that all of the electric energy consumed by any light bulb is ultimately converted into heat energy that is absorbed in its surrounding environment. The only energy loss in lighting a room is the trivial amount of energy that escapes as light through the windows and that is the same regardless of the light source.
Therefore, essentially all of the energy used by interior lighting ends up heating the inside of a home; and where most people live, most of the time, that reduces the amount of heat required from the central heating system by the amount supplied by the lights. I will leave the math to you, but the answer is zero energy savings indoors and we get to deal with mercury every time we break a CFB.
12-20-2007 @ 11:32AM
buckaroo4u said...
Thank you thinkformyself for an honest thought, instead of this PC-enviro babble. I like to point out that incandescent lighting is dependent on where you live latitude wise and that in the summer we have daylight till about 9pm. Plus you need to note the kids are out of school and they're not burning the midnight oil doing their homework.