Recently California’s Governor, Gavin Newsome, signed AB-2208 into law, which will prohibit the selling and distribution of certain fluorescent bulbs. The bill states screw, or bayonet type compact fluorescent lamps and pin-base type compact fluorescent lamps are prohibited from being sold or distributed as a new manufactured product in the state of California on or after January 1, 2024. Linear fluorescent lamps will be prohibited on or after January 1, 2025.
Why are these fixtures being banned?
There is active legislation working to eliminate non-essential, mercury containing products. Mercury is detrimental to the environment. Exposure to it can result in serious, life-threatening health issues. Fluorescent fixtures containing mercury not only pose these threats but are antiquated lighting solutions.
Mercury-free lighting solutions were introduced into the commercial space in the 60s. They weren’t ready to be widely used in various applications until the early 90s. Now, LED fixtures use less wattage to produce an equal or greater amount of light, when compared to their fluorescent counterparts. LEDs also offer longer product life span, making them superior to fluorescent bulbs. Fluorescent bulbs have essentially become obsolete due to the wide acceptance and availability of LEDs.
“This is a step in the right direction for energy saving efforts. We have the necessary technology and LED solutions to completely phase out mercury containing fluorescents,” said Vincent Alonzi, FSC Lighting’s President and CEO. “FSC Lighting strives to reduce our carbon footprint while manufacturing LED products that are safer for our environment. We no longer manufacture or distribute fluorescent fixtures and have a large selection of indoor and outdoor commercial LED alternatives in stock already.”
FSC Lighting had an early history with fluorescent fixtures, however, we Go Beyond Efficiency each day and seek to provide our clients with reliable, durable, quality LED solutions. On many occasions, we have saved clients hundreds of thousands of kWh annual energy savings and tens of thousands of annual cost savings by upgrading their fixtures to LEDs. These case studies are shared on our website.
If you are looking to learn about specific LED fixtures, please reach out to our team via email: info@fsclighting.com or give us a call at 909-948-8878 or toll free at 800-255-8990.
