Staying Current on Fluorescent Product Bans for General Purpose Lighting

With more and more states enacting legislation related to fluorescent lighting, as well as Federal standards, and Global Initiatives, it can be difficult to keep apprised of the changes and timelines for fluorescent product bans.

In November of last year, the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme, (UNEP) was held in Geneva, Switzerland. There were 147 countries represented at the convention and they voted to phase out fluorescent lighting for general lighting purposes by 2027. The main impetus for the phase out was to reduce mercury pollution world wide, but other benefits will be realized as well. CO2 emissions will be greatly reduced as well as energy efficiency gains by converting to LED lighting sources.

Last year, the Federal Energy Efficiency regulations related to general lighting went into effect. New standards for bulbs used in homes as well as commercial properties were enacted. Products that don’t meet the efficiency standards can no longer be manufactured or sold. The minimum standard established was 45 lumens per watt. This specifically eliminated incandescent and halogen bulbs. The government is already considering raising the minimum significantly, which will impact more bulb types such as CFLs and LFLs.

Many states, however, aren’t waiting for federal regulations. Seven states, (Vermont, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Maine, and Oregon) have already passed legislation regulating the phase-out of fluorescent lamps. In addition, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington will likely pass legislation soon to ban fluorescents.

Each state has its own set of regulations and deadlines, which will be a challenge for multi-site businesses with a national and international footprint. Here is a chart of what has currently passed, and the effective dates per state.

Julie Lapacka
VP Sales
Priority, Inc.
jlapacka@priorityinc.com