Let there

lightsbe

Track and recessed lights

650 lumens Bright white 13. 5 watts Costco Item #598639

Available now

Recessed and security lights

For lamps, you’ll want at least

450 lumens if you’re replacing a 40-watt bulb,

800 lumens or more when replacing a 60-watt bulb, 1,100

lumens or higher for a 75-watt replacement, and at least 1,600

lumens for a 100-watt replacement. For ;ood-lights, look for lumens that are at least 10 times the wattage of the bulb you’re replacing.

That effectively rules out traditional bulbs.

The rules currently apply to 100-watt lamps. Recent federal legislation has postponed funding for enforcement of the rules until October 2012. However, the major light bulb manufacturers have indicated this will not stop their plans to manufacture next-generation lamps.

Starting in January 2013, 75-watt lamps can use only 56 watts to produce the same amount of light. And as of 2014, 40- and 60-watt lamps must fall into line. If you live in California, each year’s rules take effect one year earlier. Exempt from the regulations are a wide variety of specialized bulbs, such as appliance and heavy-duty lamps.

While some incandescent halogen lamps already meet the new requirements, the energy-efficiency rules provide a perfect opportunity for LED lamps to, well, shine.

LEDs are super-efficient, typically using just one-fourth the power of regular bulbs.

While their upfront costs are considerably higher, LED lamps pay for themselves in the long run, through reduced power usage and extraordinary lamp life. While they’re rated to last about 20,000 hours, that’s simply the point when the lamp will burn at 70 percent of its original brightness.

“I’m getting a tremendous energy savings, and the lamps emit much less heat than regular bulbs,” says Oppenheimer.

“The color of the light is an improvement, and because they last so long

CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

In a typical home
installation, you
won’t have to change
lamps more often
than every 10 years.

885 lumens Bright white 18 watts Costco Item #510666 Available now

By Eric Taub

WHEN YOU’RE faced with a $600 monthly lighting bill, you have a lot of motivation to look for ways to save money.

That was the situation confronting Chicago art gallery owner and Costco member Joel Oppenheimer, who was spending more than $7,000 annually to illuminate his offerings of original John James Audubon prints. Oppenheimer needed to find a more cost-effective solution.

Until recently, that would have meant using low-wattage compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. Now there’s an alternative. Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps produce a

Outdoor lanterns,
pendants, chandeliers,
ceiling fans

200 lumens Warm white 4 watts Costco Item #614661 Available in March

warm light similar to that offered by classic incandescent bulbs, while using a fraction of the energy of incandescents.

LEDs don’t contain the mercury found in CFLs. In addition, some LED lamps are dim-mable, and last more than 20,000 hours. In a typical home installation, you won’t have to change lamps more often than every 10 years.

LEDs are gaining in popularity thanks to federal energy efficiency legislation that took effect in January. Under the new rules, traditional incandescent light bulbs—invented by Thomas Edison and used virtually unchanged for more than 100 years—are not banned. Rather, over the next several years, all newly manufactured lamps will need to consume no more than 75 percent of the energy of today’s lamps, but produce the same amount of light.