Our View: In search of the ideal light bulb

Searching for more ways to save energy in our ever-more energy conscious Golden State? Try turning on the lights, it might be easier to find.

The California Energy Commission is in the final stages of implementing 2007 legislation that compels a 50 percent reduction in residential energy consumption used by lights by 2018 by making LED bulbs the standard. An analysis by legislative staff reports the energy saving target “should be easy to meet.”

We can only hope that’s right.

After all, back in 2000 and 2001, state officials promised us that we would fall in love with compact fluorescent bulbs, and we’re still waiting. They gave us rebates and told us we might not need to buy a new bulb for 10 or 15 years. So many of us bought the corkscrew-shaped bulbs, convinced that we would recover the extra cost for the bulbs in our electricity bulls.

So we have waited as they warmed up, tried to read in their dim light, and discovered that they didn’t respond to dimmer switches. And they never lasted as long as manufacturers promised. Worse, we found there is no convenient way to safely throw them away. Experts failed to tell us that they contain toxic mercury. Oops.

Now we’re going to get something much, much better, officials are telling us. Blue LEDs, the invention of UC Santa Barbara professor Shuji Nakamura, have come to light the night. You’ve seen his handiwork in those little hand-held flashlights that are prefect for stocking stuffers.

Once that technology has been adapted to lamps and overhead lighting, the energy commission estimates Californians would reduce electricity demand by 3,144 gigawatts per year – roughly equivalent to the power generated by a large coal or natural-gas powered plant.

The commission predicts the new lights will save consumers $4.3 billion during the first 10 years. Power plant emissions of smog-causing nitrous oxides will decline by 6,500 tons, and climate-changing carbon dioxide by 10.3 million metric tons from 2017 to 2029.

It all sounds great, except that people who make light-emitting diode bulbs say the standards will be exceedingly tough to meet by that 2017 deadline. Philips Lighting, General Electric and other manufacturers say they can make very good bulbs, but not the ideal bulbs – at least not at a price many consumers would be willing to pay.

Among the many issues, California bulbs would differ from bulbs sold in the rest of the country.

It wouldn’t be the first time that California officials blaze their own path on issues affecting our air and environment. And that is not necessarily bad.

Energy commission officials say the new standards are attainable and will add no more than 50 cents to the cost of an LED bulb. If that’s true, few consumers will even blink.

But in the pursuit of the perfect, the commission should be careful not to require bulbs that cost too much and are tough to find. If conservation is priced too high, people won’t use it. Commissioners need to understand there are alternatives. Energy-sucking incandescent bulbs are banned from store shelves in California. But on Amazon, a four-pack of old-style bulbs is a click away, for a mere $5.97 – a fraction of the cost of existing LEDs.

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Our View: In search of the ideal light bulb."