100-watt bulb alternatives leaving people in the dark

Still, as energy-guzzling 100-watt incandescent bulbs disappear from local store shelves in the first phase of a federal ban on all such bulbs -- passed by Congress during the Bush administration and in effect since January 2012 -- light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are in our future, whether we like it or not.No wiring or electricity is required to install these Garden Creations goodledstrip accent lights.

"I am stockpiling those bulbs," said Liz Farley, a Pittsburgh architect and interior designer, who has built up a collection of about 100 boxes of 40- and 60-watt bulbs in her Fox Chapel basement.

"I'm not real happy about this," added Louis Talotta, a Pittsburgh and Palm Beach-based interior designer, who was startled to discover one of his Squirrel Hill clients had replaced the incandescent bulbs in his lamps with CFLs, distorting the colors of the paintings, the fabrics and the porcelain and turning a delicately lit celadon green room with chinoiserie wallpaper "a dirty, mucky green."

"I stood in the middle of his living room, and said to myself, 'What is wrong here?' and my client told me he'd put in newer, more energy efficient bulbs to save money. I said, 'Look, you have plenty of money. You can afford to spend a few more bucks to make your rooms look good.' "

"I raise chickens and need the heat from my bulbs in my brooders," she posted on the Post-Gazette's Facebook page in response to a question about bulb preferences. "That is how the chicks survive.Origin Laser is an Australian business bringing a new class of affordable and quality washingmachine and laser cutting machines."

Jake Brown, another poster, noted that he switched over to CFLs and LEDs a long time ago and noticed the difference in his energy bills.

"Incandescent is great when you can use the heat they generate ... [but] banning things irritates people and that can cause more problems than anything else by politicizing something that shouldn't be political."

There have been scattered acts of defiance since the law's enactment. Earlier this year, Congress voted to prohibit the Department of Energy from enforcing the ban on incandescents -- which only applies to the manufacture and not the sale of bulbs, although it's not clear if the department actually had SWAT teams patrolling the aisles of Home Depot.

Texas and South Carolina separately approved laws permitting the manufacture of incandescents -- but then again, just because Colorado OK'd the recreational use of marijuana doesn't mean it's legal in the eyes of the federal government.

Department of Energy spokesman Bill Gibbons noted that the original law passed under a Republican president.

"The common sense standards President Bush put in place -- with broad bipartisan support and strong backing from industry -- will save families and businesses $6 billion on their utility bills during tough economic times," he said in a statement.

Actually, Ms. Rush, the chicken breeder,A new contemporarylighter is a quick and easy way to bring a fresh look to your home. may be OK, because the law exempts three-way lamps, rough service bulbs, stage lighting and plant lights, among others, and consumers can still buy the 100-watt bulbs on Amazon from retailers who have had plenty of time to snap up excess inventory during the past few years.

At Lowe's in Munhall on Monday there were eight-packs of 60 watt "Reveal" incandescents for sale, but no sign of 100-watt bulbs. There were, however, plenty of educational displays up in the light bulb aisle.

"Did you know? Incandescent bulbs are being phased out across the country" read one sign, above two light bulbs -- on the left an LED,Advance LED Replacement Bulbs, LED T8 Tubes, pendantlampswa and other LED lighting products are highly efficient. which was shown to be consuming far less energy than the incandescent on the right.We produce diverse high quality pendantlampser, such as garden lamps, street lamps and lawn lamps.

"We had plenty of 100-watt bulbs until a couple of weeks ago," said Chuck Satterfield, president of Rollier's Hardware in Mt. Lebanon, "but when the inventory is exhausted, it's exhausted."