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Source: Tulsa World, Okla.儲存Jan. 04--Energy-wasting incandescent light bulbs will soon join other technology relics like telephone answering machines and cassette tapes.Some who are resisting the change have hoarded the bulbs. Yet lighting experts say consumers should embrace the change because they will save money in the long run.With the start of the new year on Wednesday, it became illegal to manufacture or import 60- and 40-watt incandescent bulbs because of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007."Basically, what you are going to lose is the word incandescent, but you don't lose anything in the actual light bulb," said Dennis Cooper of Garbes Lighting and Home Accessories. "Incandescent is what we have had for 200 years, and it was a great thing because it was the only thing we had."The Jan. 1 phaseout of old-style 40- and 60-watt bulbs is the third step in the change to more efficient forms of lighting. The first step, in 2012, targeted 100-watt bulbs and was followed in 2013 by the elimination of traditional 75-watt bulbs."An enormous amount of energy is wasted by incandescent bulbs," Cooper said. "And all of the problems we have with the environment are mainly because we have wasted so much energy."The new lighting standards "have led to more lighting innovation over the past five years than we saw during the 100-plus years since Edison invented the light bulb," Noah Horowitz, director of the National Resources Defense Council's Center for Energy Efficiency, wrote in his blog.Cooper noted that now there are essentially three choices: compact fluorescent light bulbs, LED bulbs and halogen bulbs. But he has his favorite lighting choice and called LED the "wave of the future" due to the enormous amount of energy saved."If every household in America changed one light bulb from incandescent to fluorescent, we would save enough energy every day to power 30,000 new homes," Cooper said. "Can you imagine what would happen if everyone changed all of them?"Changing from an incandescent bulb to an LED bulb results in an 80 percent savings."Halogen is the step in between because some people are not ready to spend up to $30 for the LED, even if it lasts for many more years," Cooper said.Cooper has become skilled at explaining the incandescent phaseout to customers and the benefits of the bulb alternatives. Yet there is still a bit of a panic concerning the changeover."It is our nature as Americans that we get upset when we can't do something that we used to do," Cooper said.First, Cooper assures customers that they will not have to buy new light fixtures: "There will always be a light bulb to fit an Edison-based lamp. Your sockets are not going to change. There is just goin迷你倉 to be a better bulb."There have been customers who are hoarding the incandescent bulbs, he said."We had five to 10 customers come in this week buying cases of 60-watt bulbs," Cooper said.And because manufacturers have stockpiled the bulbs, Cooper expects that they will still be on the shelves of stores for many months to come.Shoppers will have a lot of bulbs to choose from, and Cooper said he can help them find the right light -- whether warm or cool -- that they want in their home. He estimated that there are about 50 different companies that manufacture bulbs.Phillips, Silvania and GE are some of the big names in the bulb business. And Cree is another popular player in the lighting aisle at Home Depot.CNET recently reviewed Cree and listed it as "the bulb to beat," and Home Depot awarded Cree the 2013 Innovation Award across all categories. Cree makes an LED light bulb that looks just like a normal light bulb and gives off a soft, warm light, according to the company. Cree LED bulbs come in 40-watt and 60-watt varieties, both about $10."Everyone needs to realize that incandescent bulbs are fossils," Cooper said. "It is so much of the past. We need to move forward. The next step is halogen and then LEDs are the future because they waste less energy."Nicole Marshall Middleton 918-581-8459nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.comCFLsCompact fluorescent light bulbs are the spiral-shaped bulbs. The earliest bulbs turned people off with their little light and slowness to come on, but they now come on instantly and produce a light quality equal to incandescent.Pluses: They're fairly cheap, about $1.25 to $2.50 each for a 60-watt-equivalent bulb. They last about nine years with normal use. They burn cooler than traditional incandescent bulbs and use much less energy.Minuses: They can take a minute or more to reach full brightness, so they're not the best choice for stairways, etc. Some CFLs can't be used outdoors, in enclosed fixtures or with dimmers. CFLs contain a tiny amount of mercury.LEDThese bulbs with light-emitting diodes were fairly limited until recently, when improvements in price and quality make them worth a look.Pluses: They last so long you may never have to replace them. Energy Star LED lights are guaranteed to last 25,000 hours, which translates to almost 23 years with normal use. They're slightly more energy-efficient than CFLs, using 10 watts of electricity to produce the light of an old 60-watt bulb. They're also cool to the touch.Minuses: They're still fairly expensive. You can find some for $10, but most are $30 to $40.Copyright: ___ (c)2014 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) 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