Penates Design

"Coming in 2011: New Labels for Light Bulb Packaging Labels Will Emphasize Lumens, Not Watts, as a Measure of Bulb Brightness: Starting in mid-2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced, consumers shopping for light bulbs will notice new labeling on packaging designed to help them choose among the different types of bulbs on the market – traditional incandescent bulbs, and newer high-efficiency compact fluorescent (CFL) and light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. The new labels will enable consumers to save money by selecting the most efficient bulbs that best fit their lighting needs. Under the new rule, the back of each package of light bulbs will have a “Lighting Facts” label modeled after the “Nutrition Facts” label that is currently on food packages. The Lighting Facts label will provide information about: brightness; energy cost; the bulb’s life expectancy; light appearance (for example, if the bulb provides “warm” or “cool” light); wattage (the amount of energy the bulb uses); and whether the bulb contains mercury. The bulb’s brightness, measured in lumens, and a disclosure for bulbs containing mercury, also will be printed on each bulb." See FTC government website for more information. (The views expressed in this website are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Federal Trade Commission, nor any individual Commissioner).