Incandescents fading and but options shine

It's lights out for some of the most popular bulbs on the market.

To help cut the amount of energy Americans consume, federal laws will soon prohibit the sale of some incandescent bulbs. California began the process early, starting its phase-out last month. The rest of the country will begin next year.

There's no need to hoard bulbs, though.

It's not an outright ban. Some incandescent bulbs like aquarium lights and specialty bulbs for appliances aren't affected. Essentially, most new bulbs must use 25 percent to 30 percent less energy, beginning in 2012 with the 100-watt bulb, which manufacturers soon will stop making. By 2014, traditional 75-watt, 60-watt and 40-watt bulbs also will be phased out.

The changes were part of the federal Energy Independence and Security Act, which President George W. Bush signed in 2007 as a step to reduce energy use. California was allowed to adopt the national standard a year early. Many other countries already have adopted similar standards.

The issue is that incandescent bulbs, which create light by passing electric current through a wire filament, waste the bulk of that energy producing heat instead of light. So the law is nudging us toward alternatives that use slightly different technology.

But this doesn't mean replacing all your fixtures or enduring the cold tones of early-generation fluorescents. Consumers have their choice of a number of alternatives such as halogen lights, compact fluorescent bulbs and light-emitting diodes known as LEDs.