Inefficient bulbs still in stock
Research shows they’re being sold in stores serving poorer areas amid slow US phaseout
Research has shown that lower-end retailers like dollar stores or convenience shops still extensively stock their shelves with traditional or halogen incandescent bulbs — the pear-shaped orbs with glowing wire centers — even as stores serving more affluent communities have shifted to selling far more efficient LEDs.
One Michigan study, for instance, found that not only were LED bulbs less available in poorer areas, they also tended to cost on average $2.50 more per bulb than in wealthier communities.
The continued prevalence of incandescent bulbs in the United States is one result of a successful effort during the Trump presidency, by an industry group representing the world’s biggest light-bulb makers, to stall energy efficiency standards in the country. By contrast, in the European Union, those same companies have adhered to a phaseout of incandescent bulbs.
The delay has enabled manufacturers to prolong profits from an inefficient technology, often at the expense of lower-income households, which end up having to replace the short-lived bulbs more frequently, while also paying more to power them.
For the world’s biggest manufacturers — like Signify, the Dutch multinational that makes Phillips light bulbs — that is a lucrative strategy. Signify’s financial reports show that profit margins for conventional lighting are significantly higher than for its LED business. In its corporate reports, Signify has called extracting value from its conventional lighting a “cash engine” for the company.
That is partly because investment in manufacturing equipment has long been paid off (incandescent bulbs have been around for more than a century) and there is relatively little competition. The LED market, on the other hand, has attracted new manufacturers and has become far more competitive.
Incandescent bulbs were supposed to be phased out in the United States beginning a decade ago. While the older types of incandescent bulbs have mostly disappeared, the halogen-filled types, which are not much better though they are often marketed as environmentally friendly, are still easy to find everywhere from dollar stores to big-box hardware chains.
About 30% of standard bulbs sold in the
United States in 2020 — excluding California, which phased out most halogen and incandescent light bulbs in 2020 — were still incandescent or halogen bulbs, according to the most recent data available. In the European Union, that percentage has been close to zero since 2018.
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the industry group that represents more than 300 corporations including Signify and GE Lighting, said that the industry had already contributed greatly to trimming electricity use by investing in energy-saving LED technology in the first place. Signify said LEDs represent more than 80% of its sales. It also said that prices for energy-efficient light bulbs had continued to fall, making them available to a broadening audience.
A typical 60-watt incandescent bulb uses as much as 12 times the electricity as a 5-watt LED that provides nearly the same amount of light. And LED bulbs typically last far longer. According to the manufacturers’ own ratings, at three hours of use per day, an incandescent bulb would be good for one to three years, while a typical LED would last at least 10 years.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, the environmental group, calculates that over the longer life of an LED, savings can range from $50 to more than $150 per bulb.