Last July, the Federal Trade Commission made an important announcement that changed the meaning of the words “Lighting Facts” forever.
They created new consumer packaging requirements for all medium screw base light bulbs. The new labels, called “Lighting Facts,” would educate consumers on brightness, energy cost, life expectancy, light appearance, wattage and mercury content, making it easier to buy energy efficient light bulbs. The labels emphasize lumens rather than watts as a way to measure light output.
Originally, the label requirements were set to take effect in July 2011. However, the FTC just extended the deadline by six months to provide manufacturers more time to incorporate the label on packaging. Apparently, this deadline extension was in response to a petition submitted by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.
It’ll be a little while longer before you see these labels in stores. The new deadline is January 1, 2012, coinciding with the start date for the incandescent light bulb phase out.