The Biden administration announced on Tuesday two new rules that affect the energy efficiency standards for light bulbs, which will phase out incandescent bulbs.
Rules finalized by the Energy Department will require manufacturers to sell energy-efficient light bulbs -- such as LED bulbs.
Those bulbs last 25 to 50 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
“The lighting industry is already embracing more energy efficient products, and this measure will accelerate progress,” Jennifer M. Granholm, the energy secretary, said in a statement.
The phaseout had been on track to begin earlier but was postponed during the Trump administration.
According to the Energy Department, Americans will save $3 billion a year on their utility bills.
The stricter standards on bulbs will also cut emissions of carbon dioxide by an estimated 222 million metric tons over the next 30 years, an amount equivalent to the emissions generated by 28 million homes in one year, the department added.
The Energy Department’s rules will ban the sale of light bulbs that produce less than 45 lumens per watt and raise energy efficiency standards for various types of lamps.
The new standards “will finally phase out energy-wasting bulbs across the country.”
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