Way back in October 2007, candidate Barack Obama pledged to "immediately sign a law that begins to phase out all incandescent light bulbs." About two months later, President George W. Bush signed a bill to do that -- the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
So for the purposes of this promise, we won't focus on whether Obama signed such a bill as president, but rather whether the goal was advanced.
While there has been some opposition to this transition -- particularly in some conservative circles, not always accurately presenting the details of the shift -- Obama, aided by some important advances in technology, has overseen some significant progress in pushing the country toward the goal.
Under Obama, the Energy Department "has moved forward with a few rules clarifying various aspects of how the law operates, working to update the requirements and close some loopholes," said Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. Nadel said that "the final rules are being prepared," though time is running out for the Obama administration to enact them.
Already, the administration enacted standards that, over a couple of years, effectively phased out old-fashioned 100-watt bulbs, followed by 75-watt bulbs and then lower varieties. This didn't lead to the elimination of incandescent bulbs entirely, but it did require such bulbs to be reconstituted so that they were more energy efficient.
Perhaps the most significant change since we last checked on this promise in July 2009 (and rated it Compromise) is the growing popularity of LED (or light-emitting diode) light bulbs.
The initial technology consumers were offered to replace incandescent bulbs were compact fluorescent bulbs, which are the residential equivalents of the long, rod-shaped bulbs widely used in offices. However, consumers never fell in love with compact fluorescents, for several reasons. Many consumers felt the light wasn't as warm as traditional incandescent bulbs, and they were irritated that compact fluorescents didn't reach full intensity immediately after being switched on. And because they contained mercury, disposal was more complicated.
The advent of LED bulbs solved most of these problems, and consumer response has been more positive.
In the first quarter of 2016, LED bulbs accounted for 26 percent of bulbs sold, according to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. That's a big increase from essentially zero in just a couple of years. The Energy Department projected back in 2014 that LEDs are expected to nearly double to 48 percent within the next four years, and will account for 84 percent by 2030.
The prices for LEDs remain higher than for incandescent bulbs, but prices are dropping, and they should fall further as the number of purchases grow. Already, when we prepared this update, it was possible to order a 16-pack of LED bulbs made by Philips from Amazon.com for less than $2.00 a bulb.
And the life-cycle costs can be substantial: LEDs are about four times more efficient and last up to 12 times longer than incandescent bulbs. "A typical household replacing inefficient bulbs with those meeting the proposed standards will save about $90 annually on its electric bill, which is like getting nearly a month of free electricity every year," according to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.
Obama certainly doesn't merit full credit for all of this happening -- the original law was signed under Bush, and much of the progress stems from the march of technology and consumer decisions. Still, Obama's administration pushed forward key regulations that gave the upstart technologies an edge over incandescent bulbs, and the transition away from incandescents seems well on its way. We rate this a Promise Kept.