A federal ban on incandescent light bulbs is set to begin on August 1.
The ban will make it illegal for stores to sell the 140-year-old technology, although Americans can still legally own the item.
Moving forward, Americans will have to purchase LED or compact fluorescent light bulbs.
According to the government, the ban will help Americans save money and benefit the environment.
The Department of Energy (DOE) said in a news release that the ban will help Americans “save nearly $3 billion per year on their utility bills,” as well as advance Biden’s “climate goals.”
Republicans view the move as government overreach, with Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) saying in a hearing, “I’m happy the Department of Energy is out here, making sure that we can all save money because we’re too dumb to figure out how to do it ourselves.”
One lawyer expressed similar concerns about government overreach, explaining that the federal government “can go after you if you’re a brick-and-mortar store, an online retailer, a distributor, an importer. They can go after anyone in the [supply] chain they want.”
Reporting from The Epoch Times:
In 2019, Mr. Trump said that LED bulbs “that we’re being forced to use” are “no good,” joking: “I always look orange. And so do you. The light is the worst.” When the rule was killed by the Trump administration, the DOE said that it would “ensure that the choice of how to light homes and businesses is left to the American people, not the federal government.” The average cost of an LED bulb ranges from $5–7 each while an incandescent light bulb normally costs from $2–3, according to a LifeHacker report. Officials have stressed that LED bulbs can save people money in the long term because they last longer and require less energy than incandescent ones.
