Under new energy efficiency rules that went into effect last Tuesday,  you won’t be able to buy most incandescent bulbs.  New LED lights will replace the banned incandescent lights, other than those used in ovens and bug lights.  The new standard for lighting efficiency requires light bulbs to have a minimum of 45 lumens per watt which will be difficult for either incandescent or halogen lights to meet.  Sturgeon Bay Utilities General Manager Jim Stawicki says the LED lights have become much more common and affordable through better technology and subsidies.  He says LED lighting is much more efficiently engineered because it does not generate heat like incandescent bulbs.

Stawicki believes most businesses and households have already switched to LED lighting, which can last 25 to 50 times longer than its incandescent counterparts.  According to National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), about 20 percent of light bulb sales in the first quarter of last year were incandescent.