Happy 164th Birthday Edison, but Bye Bye Incandescent Bulbs

Did you know that if every home in the country replaced a 100-watt light bulb with a CFL, we would save enough energy to light enough more than three million homes for a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency? Imagine the energy - and money - we could save if we did even more.

Thomas Edison was born 164 years ago tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 11), and in honor of his legacy, let's take a moment to pause and consider the many contributions he brought to our society: the phonograph, the telegraph, the motion-picture camera and the incandescent light bulb.

In 1880, Edison introduced the light bulb, which dominates as the leading choice for illuminating American homes today. While the phonograph has been replaced by sleek digital music devices, the telegraph by texting and the motion-picture camera by advanced, hi-definition and 3D technologies, we're still using the incandescent light bulb today.

But this practice will slowly begin to change. In 2012, more than 130 years after the light bulb was first introduced to the marketplace, federal legislation will go into place to slowly phase out incandescent light bulbs nationwide, starting with the 100-watt incandescent.

Lowe's and our vendor partners are already bringing the next level of innovation and technology to our consumers in advance of the federal regulations, with expanded lines of CFLs, energy-efficient halogens and LEDs, to our store shelves.

In fact, Lowe's was the first home improvement retailer to offer consumers the industry's first and only ENERGY STAR(R) qualified A-line LED light: the GE Energy Smart(R) 9-watt LED bulb, which is rated to last more than 22 years. Just long enough to see a baby graduate college.

Lowe's plans to educate its consumers about the upcoming legislation and the benefits of more energy-efficient light bulbs - not only to showcase the energy savings, but the cost savings over time. The following video provides a great preview on the future of light bulbs and where we go from here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQDqB4uCt9Y.

Thanks for the light and the legacy, Edison, but now, we're looking forward to a brighter planet.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6607250&lang=en

    Source: Lowe's Companies, Inc.