FLYNN: Light-bulb labeling is the FTC's latest mission

The Federal Trade Commission is as busy as ever these days trying to protect us from the perils of the marketplace. It does this by limiting merger and acquisition transactions that might lead to monopolistic pricing; tracking down and prosecuting companies engaged in deceptive advertising; and putting in place and enforcing regulations that help to make us better shoppers. On the latter front, the FTC just released for comment draft regulations intended to help us buy “lamps — commonly referred to as ‘light bulbs’.”

The focus of the proposed new regulations is on labeling, and this will soon become important because of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This act, among other things, is going to cause the incandescent light bulbs we have used all our lives to go the way of the stegosaurus. Instead, we will find on the shelves of our local light bulb vendor only compact fluorescent lights, bulbs using light emitting diode technology, and high efficiency incandescent bulbs.

You might think coming up with uniform labeling requirements for light bulbs would be a simple matter, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The FTC’s announcement of its bulb labeling proposal goes on for 72 pages and contains 92 footnotes. The proposal is based on extensive studies of how consumers respond to various types of labeling. (My favorite was a study where participants were asked, based on certain disclosed information, to pick the bulb that was the brightest. A significant number of the participants — who apparently were brightness-challenged generally — got it exactly wrong, and picked the dimmest bulb.)

A significant change in the new labeling rules will be the reduction of emphasis on wattage. For old inefficient incandescent bulbs (the kind we mostly now buy), wattage provides a reasonably reliable correlation to brightness. So, if we want a bright light by which to read, we buy a 100 watt bulb. If we want just enough light to avoid bumping into things in the night, we buy a 25 watt bulb. For new technology bulbs, however, wattage does not necessarily translate to brightness. A better measure is lumens, and that’s what will be used, meaning we’ll now have to figure out how many lumens we need to read a book.

Under the FTC proposal, light bulb packages will have a label on the front and a label on the back. The front label will tell us just two things — brightness in lumens and estimated energy cost per year in dollars. The back label will be more detailed. It will have a heading called “Lighting Facts” and will tell us brightness in lumens, yearly energy cost in dollars, bulb life in years, and color appearance—from warm to cold using a line graph with a pointer.  Toward the bottom of the label, we will be told energy used in watts.  If the bulb contains mercury, which all compact fluorescent lights do, a statement to that effect will be added, along with a reminder to dispose of the bulb as required by law, and a web address and phone number where disposal information can be obtained.

Finally under the FTC proposal, the bulbs themselves will state their brightness in lumens.  And, a bulb containing mercury will disclose this fact and again give a web address and a phone number where information about proper disposal can be found.

Expect to see the new light bulb labels during the second half of 2010.
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Jim Flynn is a private attorney at Flynn Wright & Fredman LLC in Colorado Springs. The firm primarily represents clients in the real estate, financial services and small-business sectors. Reach him at jtflynn@fwflegal.com.