New Light Bulb Label Proposed by FTC

With a lot of new lighting products hitting the stores – from compact fluorescent to light-emitting diodes – the act of buying a light bulb can become a difficult task.

This is why the US Federal Trade Commission (F.T.C) proposed updated labeling requirements for light bulbs last week. Of course the aim is to make choosing the right product for the consumer easier.

The label proposal requires that performance related information is put on all common household light bulbs in the same format. This means that all light bulbs types will get the same label, which in turn will make comparing products much easier.

The proposed new label requires manufactures to note the light output, energy use and bulb life.
Also the yearly cost of using the bulbs (given three hours a day of use and standard electricity rates) should be put on the label.

Especially the energy use and yearly cost is where we are interested in, because those two can be used to save us money. (Saving energy = saving money.) Because each light bulb will get the same label, you can easily choose the right type of light bulb and the one that will save you money.