Freedonia Lighting Analyst Discusses Lighting Efficiency Standards & the Proposed Rollback of the Second Phase of EISA Due to Take Effect in 2020

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Nov 07, 2019, 12:24 ET

CLEVELAND, Nov. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 5, environmental groups and 18 state attorneys general sued the US Department of Energy over its decision to keep certain incandescent light bulbs on the market.

Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), passed in 2007, established increased efficiency standards for light sources.

Phase one, which began in 2012, phased out the production and import of most general purpose incandescent bulbs and certain less efficient fluorescent lamps.
Phase two, which was due to be implemented on January 1, 2020, would bar the sale of any remaining stocks of substandard lamps and extend EISA's minimum efficiency standards to several lamp types that were initially exempted (e.g., reflector lamps and three-way incandescents).
However, in September 2019 the US Department of Energy announced plans to permanently exempt the specialty lamps which were due to be subject to efficiency standards in phase two.

One of the stated reasons for keeping incandescent bulbs on the market is price. However, Jennifer Mapes-Christ, Freedonia's Consumer & Commercial Group Manager, noted "The price of LEDs and other high efficiency bulbs have fallen so far that it's not as much of an issue as it used to be, particularly as the performance and light quality of the high-efficiency types has improved to levels that consumers expect and prefer."

The lighting industry has largely moved beyond the inefficient incandescents and consumers have come to agree. Freedonia Group consumer research shows that the vast majority of consumers – 85% – feel that it is important to conserve energy, and a majority of those feel strongly about the issue. In fact, more than two-thirds of consumers are willing to pay extra up front for lighting that will reduce their energy costs in the long run.

Additionally, the shapes of the light sources is not the reason to hang on to incandescent lamps that it used to be. Although the look is important when the bulb is exposed, as it is in chandeliers, make-up lighting and a number of other decorative fixtures, LED versions are available in the most of the same shapes that consumers demand for their fixtures. Mapes-Christ pointed out "The flexibility of the LED technology allows the diodes to be arranged in arrays and modules of countless shapes, from conventional looks to unique panels, bars, and other configurations. So ultimately, the only limit for LED technology is the imagination of the lighting designers."

Additional analysis of the lighting industry can be found in the following Freedonia reports: Smart Lighting in the US, General Purpose LEDs & Other High-Efficiency Lighting, and General Purpose Lighting Fixtures.

About The Freedonia Group – The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985 we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Each study includes product and market analyses and forecasts, in-depth discussions of important industry trends, and market share information. Studies can be purchased at www.freedoniagroup.com and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

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SOURCE The Freedonia Group