First U.S. Retailer to Phase Out the Bulb

Starting August 1st, 2010, IKEA will start phasing out incandescent bulbs from its U.S. stores, with the goal of completely eliminating them by January 1st, 2011. As we know, incandescent bulbs actually are more efficient at producing heat than the light they give off thus much of the electricity used is spent producing this by-product.  However IKEA isn’t only doing this out of concern for the environment: “The IKEA phase out will come in advance of the federal legislation that will begin to phase out incandescent light bulbs in 2012.” Why are they doing this and what will replace incandescents? Well for one it saves them money in energy costs by installing LED lighting and saves them money by having less cooling costs as well. Doing it sooner than required gets them not only saving money faster but gives them a marketing edge. Also as most retailers delay to do this it could create a temporary shortage driving up the price by the time they need to comply.  Many kudos for IKEA for being the first to make the big jump.

Cree one of the leading manufacturers of LED lighting for home and businesses unveiled this cute video just in time for Easter and the impending heat from Summer to prove a point – incandescents throw off unnecessary heat!  This may be good in the winter months however there are way less expensive methods to heat your home. A whopping 90% of the energy used by an incandescent bulb generates heat with a mere 10% used for the actual lighting! So change out your lights today to save the Easter Bunny from getting it! If not by using LEDs, then by using CFLs which also throw off  less heat, using either will save you BIG $$ with your lighting bill while also using less energy  to cool your home or business. See Cree at Creelighting.com or see the SAVING $ tab for more energy savings tips.