US bans incandescent light bulbs
Say bye bye to the light bulb that's been around for over 100 years. A government ban on incandescent light bulbs went into effect Tuesday, Aug. 1.
"Everything was all in here. In the old days this whole aisle would've been incandescent bulbs," said Mike Caplinger, Elliott's Ace Hardware store manager.
The corporate office alerted Elliott's Ace Hardware in West Allis to stop selling incandescent light bulbs.
"We actually were able to have them out on the shelf until July 31. Whatever was left over we gave them away to our employees," said Caplinger.
You can still have incandescent light bulbs in your home, but when they run out, you won't be able to buy any more. The Department of Energy ban prevents them from being sold or made, but there are exceptions.
There's a list of incandescent bulbs the government isn't banning like flood lights and bug lights.
CLICK HERE for the list of allowable incandescent bulbs. The rules are in an effort to be more energy efficient.
"Incandescent bulbs are only about five percent efficient, so 95 percent of the power that you pump into the bulb goes off as radiant heat -19 so you're heating something more than you're lighting it up," said William Dussault, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor of electrical engineering.
When you make the switch to LED, expect to see savings on your energy bill.
"Lighting accounts for around 15% of an average home's electricity use. So the average household could save about $225 in energy costs per year by using LED lighting," said Chris Schultz-Buechner, with Focus on Energy.
However, like everything -- change can be hard.
"I had one call this morning thinking we might have some left and they could sneak in and buy some and I'm like, 'No, they've all been given away,'" Caplinger said.
"The things you may miss about incandescent bulbs that you don't like about LED bulbs will probably all be solved in good time now," Dussault said.
Later this year, compact fluorescent bulbs will also be on the chopping block.