If you haven’t been paying attention, old lighting technology is being phased out and the hits keep coming! In August 2023, the incandescent and halogen ban went live, catching many by surprise. Theaters, schools and churches that relied on the consistent dimming of halogen PARs and MRs contacted Premier Lighting scrambling to find LED options that could match the dimming performance. It can be uncomfortable and overwhelming to think about moving on from legacy lighting but waiting until the last minute to switch over led to panic for many.

The next shoe to fall will be fluorescent lighting, which includes CFL screw-ins, CFL pin-base lamps, and linear fluorescents. These have all been popular lamps to retrofit to LED over the last several years but at the same time there are still countless fluorescents out there in use!

Why Fluorescents Are Being Banned?

Several states have passed laws to phase fluorescent lights out, from Hawaii to California, Vermont, Colorado, Rhode Island and Maine. Fluorescents were once the energy-saving darling of the early 21st century yet now their time in the marketplace is dwindling. Legislations to ban fluorescents that have passed are expected to resulting in saving nearly $2 billion in energy savings by 2050 as well as greatly reduce the impact of mercury exposure. Mercury has been a potent neurotoxin that has environmental and societal risks, as unfortunately 3/4 of fluorescent bulbs are not disposed of properly, resulting in contaminated lakes, rivers and oceans.

The biggest reason for the ensuing banishment of fluorescent tubes is the advancements in LED technology as well as lowered costs. They also do not contain mercury like fluorescents, so they aren’t putting these toxic materials in landfills. Thanks to LED using a fraction of the energy use and lasting over twice the lifespan of a fluorescent, states passing this legislation are estimated to save nearly 5,675 gigawatt hours of electricity by 2030. This equates to 11.6 million metric tons by 2050, the equivalent in yearly emissions to about 2.5 million gasoline powered vehicles!

When Will the Fluorescent Phase-Out Legislation Take Place?

In some states, the fluorescent ban is right around the corner heading into 2024, while others are waiting until 2025. In the coming years, one can expect other states to follow these templates in banning the sale of fluorescents.

The fluorescent phase-out has already been taking place in the marketplace for some time. We have seen many vendors significantly roll back their fluorescent offerings. For example, former fluorescent giant GE only produces about 5% of their fluorescents SKUs. This has made it difficult to source the lights for those who still rely on it, as lighting distributors like us now have to search around for stock on specific fluorescent lights that previously were once easily attainable.

The Fluorescent Phase-Out Is Coming; Don’t Wait!

Even if your state is not on the fluorescent ban list, the writing is on the wall regarding the long-term future of fluorescents. If you are still utilizing them to light your facility, now is the time to begin looking at LED options. Part of the benefit of doing business with Premier Lighting is having a knowledgeable staff that can assess your current lights and provide good/better/best LED options that make sense for your facility and available budget. There will be options to keep your existing fixtures and retrofit them to LED tubes, or if the space needs to be reconfigured it may make more sense to consider LED fixtures.

Premier also for many years has been a leader in facilitating lighting rebates with utilities like Xcel Energy. Navigating the rebate process is part of our turn-key approach to lighting, finding you the best rebates to maximize your return on investment. Depending on where you are located, rebates can cover a significant chunk of your lighting retrofit project. You might be surprised to find out that just by putting in basic sensors during your LED upgrade will often times yield you huge rebates as well as energy savings! Let us provide insight into the lighting options available so that you can make an informed decision and transform your facility both in terms of energy savings as well as upgrading the quality of light. Contact Premier Lighting today to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation lighting audit at your facility.