The U.S. Congress has enacted various legislation and regulations intended to encourage energy savings. Some of the better known programs are the EPA’s Energy Star program, and the DoE’s Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products. In some cases, though, poorly thought out legislation or regulations may backfire.
Last night I decided to buy a new lamp for my bedroom. I went to one of the major chain discount stores, and found a “incandescent torchiere with reading lamp”. I intended to use compact fluorescent bulbs rather than incandescents, and assumed that the reference to incandescents on the labeling served to distinguish it from the halogen torchieres. The label further indicated:
This lighting fixture complies with the US Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products. LAMPS MUST TOTAL NO MORE THAN 190 WATTS. TORCHIERE IS NON_COMPLIANT IF IT IS ABLE TO DRAW MORE THAN 190 WATTS.
That didn’t sound problematic; after all, I was only planning to use one 42 watt CF for the main lamp, and one 26 watt CF for the reading lamp. Last I checked, 68 watts was no more than 190 watts.
I took it home and assembled it. There was a plastic box in the line cord with a button or knob; at first I thought it might be a dimmer, which would be unfortunate as normal CFs won’t work with dimmers. However, upon reading the brief instruction sheet, I found that the box is designed to sense the power drawn by the fixture, and shut it off if 190 watts is exceeded.
Unfortunately when I plugged it in, I discovered that the CFs would light momentarily, then the limiter would trip. Pressing the reset button on the limiter would simply cause the same thing to happen again. Incandescent bulbs are nearly 100% resistive loads, so they don’t have much inrush current. A CF, on the other hand, draws a surge current at initial powerup, then reduced current once it is operating. I believe it is this initial surge that is tripping the limiter.
A bit of searching uncovered the cause of this problem: Congress in their infinite wisdom passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public law 109-058), which provides in 42 U.S.C. 6295(x):
(x) TORCHIERES.—A torchiere manufactured on or after
January 1, 2006—
‘‘(1) shall consume not more than 190 watts of power;
and
‘‘(2) shall not be capable of operating with lamps that
total more than 190 watts.
Despite the package label, this is not part of the Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products program. The Department of Energy promulgated regulations to enforce the law, and has information on their Appliances & Commercial Equipment Standards page.
Although there are several ways for lamp manufacturers to comply, using an electronic limiter appears to be very common. This is more expensive than a fuse, but perhaps the manufacturers view it has causing fewer product returns or support calls. However, the end result is that the lamp as provided can only be used with incandescent bulbs, and not with energy-saving CF bulbs. And we have to pay extra for the privilege (those limiters cost money, raising the price of the lamp), and pay again in taxes to support the DoE’s compliance monitoring and enforcement.
I unplugged the lamp, cut the line cord to remove the limiter, and put on a new line plug. Now it works fine. But had I not been inclined to modify the lamp, my response would have been to install one each 100W and 60W incandescent bulbs, thus using more than 2.3 times as much energy. I expect most people that buy one of these lamps will not want to modify them, so the effect of the legislation will be to increase energy usage.
Since U.S. Representative Joe Barton (R, TX) introduced this legislation, I propose that anyone that encounters this problem and removess a limiter from a torchiere lamp in order to save energy by using CF bulbs should send the limiter to him with our compliments. Maybe he can find a use for the limiters around his own home or office. The address of his Washington office is
The Honorable Joe Barton
2109 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Even if it didn’t affect the use of CF bulbs, this legislation is incredibly stupid. If I need 300W of lighting in a room, and want to use incandescent bulbs, I’ll simply buy two lamps. This is the same stupid law that changed daylight savings time in 2007 for no good reason and to no measurable benefit.
THERECORD.COM
Myth busting: The truth about energy efficiency at home
October 20, 2007
Ontarians have become increasingly savvy about their energy consumption patterns at home and have been taking steps to become more energy efficient. But with all the conservation information available these days, it is difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction.
Peter Love, Ontario’s Chief Electricity Conservation Officer, reveals the truth behind some of the most common energy myths.
Armed with this knowledge, look for ways you can make the lighting in your home energy efficient. Love points to the Ontario Power Authority’s fall Every Kilowatt Counts program.
Consumers can redeem coupons in-store at a wide variety of retailers across Ontario for savings on ENERGY STAR-qualified residential light fixtures, and appliance and light control products such as motion sensors, dimmers and timers.
To help demystify some of the most common energy myths Love helps shed some light on the facts about energy efficiency at home:
Myth: I can’t use CFL bulbs with dimmer switches or motion sensors
Fact: The selection of CFL bulbs are increasing. There are special CFL bulbs that are designed to work with a variety of lighting controls such as dimmer switches, motion sensors and timers, and some can even be used outdoors. CFL packaging tells you where and how the CFL can be used.
Myth: By dimming the lights, all dimmer switches allow you to reduce the amount of electricity and energy being used
Fact: Only new electronic dimmer switches actually reduce the amount of energy being used. Old rheostatic dimmer switches simply give the extra electricity off as heat, instead of light. If the dimmer is warm to the touch, it’s not saving electricity.
Myth: All fluorescent tube lights are energy efficient
Fact: Smaller (2.5 cm or 1 inch diameter) T8 bulbs are 35 per cent more efficient than regular T12 (3.75 cm or 1.5 inch diameter) fluorescent tube lights.
For a list of participating retailers, more energy saving tips and to download Every Kilowatt Counts coupons, visit
http://www.everykilowattcounts.com.
Thanks for the rant, Eric. I had the same experience and solved the problem the same way. As for Peter’s post, a couple of points of clarification: First, though some fluorescents are more efficient than others, all are more efficient than incandescents. And there;s nothing new about electronic dimmers–they’ve been around since the sixties and are the only type commonly available.
John