The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on June 29 announced tighter lighting efficiency rules for incandescent and fluorescent floor lamps. These rules will have significant cost implications for property owners and managers. The rules do not phase out incandescent lights, but require incandescent reflector lamps (IRLs) used in recessed and track lighting to be 25 percent more efficient by 2012. General-service fluorescent lamps must be 15 percent more efficient than current baseline models.
While the DOE asserts the new efficiency requirements will save money over the life of the lamp, they estimate that the upfront costs of fluorescent lamps will increase as much as 13-fold, and IRLs will cost up to 64 percent more than today’s lamps. Additional information is available at the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site.