Move is afoot to ban bulbs, switch to fluorescents to save energy

EDISON - One of the inventions that put this central New Jersey township on the map is in danger of going the way of the Edsel car and the horse and buggy. The incandescent light bulb, perfected for mass use by Thomas A. Edison in the late 19th century, is fast being supplanted by fluorescent lighting that is more efficient and longer lasting. The issue made national news last month when California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine announced he would propose a bill to ban the use of the products in his state.

If the bulb's demise is on the horizon, Jack Stanley isn't ready to flip the "off" switch just yet.

"It's a convenient target. It's easy to see and easy to critique," said Stanley, curator of a museum that celebrates Edison's numerous inventions in the township that has borne his name since the 1950s.

Levine is not a lone voice in the wilderness. Many other states encourage replacement of incandescent bulbs through a federal program supported by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.

In New Jersey, the state where Edison acquired more than 400 patents, nostalgia clearly is being trumped by utility. The state recommends switching to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) as part of its Clean Energy Program.

More than 1.2 million of the lamps and fixtures were distributed in 2005 through the program, according to the state Board of Public Utilities.

A bill introduced Thursday by Assemblyman Larry Chatzidakis, R-Burlington, calls for the state to switch to fluorescent lighting in government buildings over the next three years.

"The light bulb was invented a long time ago, and a lot of things have changed since then," Chatzidakis said. "I obviously respect the memory of Thomas Edison, but what we're looking at here is using less energy."

Fluorescents, which create light by heating gases inside a glass tube, were developed in the early 20th century and sold publicly by the 1940s. They are generally considered to use more than 50 percent less energy and last several times longer than incandescent bulbs.

On the down side, the mercury vapor inside fluorescents can damage the environment if the bulbs are broken, leading some states to require businesses that use large quantities of fluorescent lights to recycle them.

More than 125 years after its invention, the day may be approaching when the incandescent bulb takes its place alongside Edison's original phonograph in the pantheon of revolutionary-but-outdated inventions.

"It's a 19th-century invention that was perfected in the 20th century. That's part of the evolution of all inventions," Stanley said. "I don't expect any invention to stay the same. Fluorescent lights will someday be in museum exhibits, as will the iPod."

Posted 02/9/07
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS