The famous ball dropped in Times Square on New Year's Eve, but was lit up with 32,256 energy efficient LED lightbulbs, hailing in a change in the law now and over the next 12 months for the U.S. The bulbs Philips Luxeon in this masterpiece are available for residential and commercial consumers.
The bulbs used in the Times Square ball consume 80 percent less energy compared to traditional incandescent lightbulbs - highlighting the amount of energy available to be saved when replacing bulbs. This fact led to the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), with the full legislation due to take effect on January 1, 2012.
The law was written to help improve American energy independence and boost product efficiency. The new efficiency standards aim for 25 to 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency.
The EISA did go into partial effect, as from January 1 any bulb that uses 100 watts to produce a certain amount of light, now may only use 72 watts to produce that same amount of light. Similar restrictions go into place for 75 watt bulbs in 2013 and 60 and 40 watt bulbs in 2014.
Philips light business CEO Ed Crawford said, ”We are proud that our award-winning Philips LED’s will again light the spectacular Times Square Ball.” Philips states that, “We are equally proud that our line of Philips AmbientLED bulbs continues to expand, enabling consumers to use energy-efficient, cost-friendly, long-lasting, and aesthetically-pleasing lighting throughout their homes.”
