The Light Side of Texas

versus versus

Trip the light? Fantastic, as long as it is of the incandescent variety if you live in the Lone Star State. In 2007, federal legislation began requiring a phase out of power-sucking incandescent bulbs in favor of the twisty, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or any other shiny bulb (LED anyone?) that was stingy on electricity. Texans, and particularly their feisty Governor, Rick Perry, don’t like being told what kind of light bulbs they can use. So they figured out a way to pass legislation that avoids federal jurisdiction: “Texas hopes to get around the law with a measure recently signed by Republican Gov. Rick Perry declaring that incandescent bulbs — if made and sold only in Texas — do not involve interstate commerce and therefore are not subject to federal regulation.” Los Angeles Times, July 9, 2011. Yee haaaaaaaa! He’d rather fight than switch! Oooooh!

Hey, according to Wikipedia, those CFLs last 8-15 times longer than standard incandescent and use between 20% and 33 1/3% of the power needed to power those “old world bulbs.” An average U.S. household could save $85 a year with these new-fangled lights!

Electrical power equivalents for differing lamps
Electrical power consumption Watts (W)		Minimum light output lumens (lm)
Compact fluorescent	Incandescent
9–13	40	450
13–15	60	800
18–25	75	1,100
23–30	100	1,600
30–52	150	2,600

But to a Texan, the light jes’ ain’t as purdy, so they want to be able use those inefficient bulbs for aesthetic reasons. Besides, they produce all this oil anyway, which can power what they use, they reckon. OK, OK (corral?), the CFLs cost three to ten times more, but on a mass basis, they really score big: “CFLs are extremely cost-effective in commercial buildings when used to replace incandescent lamps. Using average U.S. commercial electricity and gas rates for 2006, a 2008 article found that replacing each 75 W incandescent lamp with a CFL resulted in yearly savings of $22 in energy usage, reduced HVAC cost, and reduced labor to change lamps. The incremental capital investment of $2 per fixture is typically paid back in about one month. Savings are greater and payback periods shorter in regions with higher electric rates and, to a lesser extent, also in regions with higher than U.S. average cooling requirements.” Wikipedia

LEDs (light emitting diodes)? Forgitaboutit! OK, they do last seemingly forever; “LEDs can have a relatively long useful life. One report estimates 35,000 to 50,000 hours of useful life, though time to complete failure may be longer.” Wikipedia. A whole lot longer even than CFLs, and according to Consumer Reports, “They use 1 to 3 kilowatt hours of energy, compared with 12 to 105 kWh for the incandescent.” Yeah, but at $40 a bulb… or more?

“‘I just believe that we should be able to buy what we want,’ [George] Lavender [the sponsoring legislator] said of the Texas law. ‘I've had calls from people in every state, and even in foreign countries, saying how much they appreciate this bill.’… ‘This is about more than just energy consumption, it is about personal freedom,’ said Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas.), who's leading the repeal effort in the House. He recently cheered his state’s action, declaring on Fox News: ‘I do thank the Lord that I live in Texas.’” LA Times. Them tree-huggers in California moved the application of the federal legislation ahead a year, but legislators in South Carolina and Pennsylvania are lookin’ at Texas with envy in their hearts!

“The Texas law is unlikely to withstand a court challenge, said supporters of the new regulations, citing a far-reaching Supreme Court ruling in 2005 that upheld federal restrictions on home-grown marijuana in California. The court ruled that because marijuana moved in a national market, the federal government could regulate its use, even if it were grown and used only in California… The Natural Resources Defense Council, in a letter to the Texas governor, said ‘the sale of inefficient bulbs in Texas … could lead to an interstate black market in light bulbs that do not meet federal energy efficiency standards.’” LA Times. Light bulb cartels and crime syndicates! Bulb pirates! Yeah! Tune in, turn on, and light up!

I’m Peter Dekom, and sometimes, I just gotta go there!