Saving Incandescents

I remember California's electricity crisis of 2001, and how I panicked and installed compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in virtually every socket of my house. I was astounded and pleased how my electricity bill fell 45% overnight. I was certain that other people would be similarly-pleased when they did the same, and anticipated a quick turn to CFLs.

The quick turn has been slower in coming than I thought. Consumers can be conservative in their choices, and not everyone was happy with the 'warmth' of CFL light. I thought this might be one of those situations where consumer preference as expressed in the marketplace might be handy. Some people prefer 'warm' lighting. Some people prefer cheap electricity bills. Surely consumers could decide for themselves where to draw that line.

Governments have nevertheless tried to jump-start the shift. For example, Australia, under the gun from the drought earlier this decade, and quickly-losing hydropower as part of its electricity-generation capability, mandated the use of CFLs. In contrast, the U.S. has used a regulatory approach to slowly phase incandescent lights out.

Interestingly, the GOP now wants to save incandescents as part of industrial protectionism. Protectionism doesn't work well over the long term, however. It didn't seem to help those Democrats that embraced it with regards to the auto industry, for example, but here it is again!:

Three House Republicans, Joe Barton and Michael Burgess of Texas and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, have introduced the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, which would repeal the section of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that sets minimum energy efficiency standards for light bulbs and would effectively phase out most ordinary incandescents.

While the new standards won’t take effect until 2012, the authors argue that they are having a negative impact. Specifically, they say the standards have led lighting companies to close several incandescent light bulb factories in the United States and send jobs overseas — particularly to China, where most compact fluorescent light bulbs, which are more efficient than incandescents, are manufactured.

Compact fluorescents are likely to be the cheapest bulbs on store shelves after retailers stop selling ordinary incandescents.

“The unanticipated consequences of the ’07 act — Washington-mandated layoffs in the middle of a desperate recession — is one of the many examples of what happens when politicians and activists think they know better than consumers and workers,” Mr. Barton, the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement. “Washington is making too many decisions that are better left to people who work for their own paychecks and earn their own living.”