With talk of LEDs (light emitting diodes) and CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) being so much in vogue these days, it's a bit hard to remember that only a few short years ago these terms were not a part of the national vocabulary.
In fact, if we wanted to purchase a light bulb, our biggest concern was not what type. It was how many watts we can afford to buy. It was common then to greedily eye the 75 or 100W bulbs as we sought more light output, being blissfully unaware of how much these items added to our power bills, not to mention the heat it added to the room. However, consumer awareness, improved alternate technologies and not to mention a bill signed in the U.S. in 2007 that begins phasing out the production and import of 100W incandescent bulbs starting this year, can and will irreversibly change the way we in The Bahamas light our homes and businesses forever I believe.
The enduring invention by Edison and his team of experts over 130 years ago has been synonymous with bright ideas, but the time of the traditional incandescent bulb seems to be coming to an end. The U.S. banning the production and import of the 75W bulb by 2013, followed by the 40 and 60W bulbs in 2014, seems to signify this change.
Similar initiatives have already been implemented by the European Union with countries like Argentina, Australia, Mexico and China passing similar laws with the expectation that the phasing out of these bulbs will reduce the national demand for power, eventually impacting the load on local utilities.
However, don't expect to see these bulbs disappear off of store shelves overnight, as it will take some time for all the existing stock to be consumed and indeed some persons have begun stockpiling these bulbs with the hope of cashing in big when they no longer become readily available. I don't expect to see most enlightened persons hunting down inefficient bulbs on eBay considering the current trend of skyrocketing energy costs but the more efficient halogen form of the incandescent bulb will remain available.
For bulbs purchased from the U.S., we will also need to become aware of new labeling standards. Typically, if we wanted a brighter light, we would select one with more watts such as 60W over 40W. Labels will now refer to how many Lumens or light output we can expect from a bulb as CFLs and LEDs will provide the same amount of light output while consuming much less watts. The back of the package will also inform how each product might impact your bill over a day or year, the expected life span, the light appearance from warm to cool, the actual energy rating in watts and if the bulb contains mercury.
These changes are expected to impact us here in The Bahamas for the better I believe, as product availability and more informative labeling will help to drive consumption towards products that will assist in lowering our energy use.
It is also evident that more clarity is needed on duty concessions for LEDs for example that unlike traditional bulbs are sometimes sold as complete lighting systems and this has led to some frustrations for local importers recently.
I continue to look forward to the day though, when we make more aggressive steps as a nation to shape our energy profile, as opposed to waiting for change to be thrust upon us.

oSend questions or comments to sbrown@graphitebahamas.com. Sonia Brown is principal of Graphite Engineering Ltd. and is a registered professional engineer.

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