Bulb ban to kick in Jan 1st

Almost seven years after it was announced with great fanfare, a federal ban on incadescent light bulbs will be phased in starting January 1st.

That’s when it will become illegal to manufacture traditional 75 and 100 watt bulbs, with 40 and 60 watt bulbs to be banned at the end of 2014. The rules were originally supposed to take effect in 2012, but were delayed to allow more energy-efficient alternatives like LED bulbs to become more available.

The government is also proposing to continue allowing halogen bulbs.