Lights out for Edison bulb?

Stan Beer
Sunday, 04 February 2007 15:08

Science - Energy

The incandescent light bulb, perfected by Edison and a number of other researchers in the late 19th Century, may soon be a thing of the past if a California State congressman has his way.

Lloyd Levine, a Democrat from the California Lower House, plans to introduce legislation which would outlaw incandescent bulbs in the state by 2012. Assemblyman Levine wants to force consumers to use only the more energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps or other alternatives such as light emitting diodes (LEDs).

Incandescent bulbs, which generate light by heating up a tungsten filament until it glows almost white hot have long been recognized as being highly inefficient, losing a major proportion of their energy to heat.

In comparison, fluorescent lamps, which generate light through using electricity to excite gas, generate relatively little heat and are about four times as efficient as incandescent bulbs.

Naturally manufacturers of incandescent bulbs are resisting the planned legislation. However, there is little doubt that in an energy conscious state like California within an increasingly energy conscious world, the days of the nearly century and a half incandescent lighting technology are numbered.