By Matt Harvey
Last updated 11/12/2024
Across the United States, a significant shift towards more sustainable lighting options is underway as an increasing number of states have either enacted or set to officially enact bans on the sale of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and linear fluorescent tubes (T8, T5, T12).
Below is an active list of U.S. states enacting bans, as well as their respective phase out dates for the sale, offer, or distribution of screw-base, bayonet-base, and pin-base CFLs, as well as linear fluorescent tubes.
*Click on a state to drop down for state-specific information!
State
General Service Lamps (GSL)
CFL: Screw-Base
CFL: Pin-Base
Linear Fluorescents
There are currently additional requirements for CFL and LED products, outlined in Title 20.
B, BA, F, & G shape lamps >=200
lumens, <=40W A & shaped lamps 200-310 lumens.
Incandescent lamps that are:
T shape rated >= 10 inches in length M-14 lamps rated <= 40W
Medium screw base lamps that are B, BA, CA, F, & G shape lamps >=200 lumens, <=40W a & C shaped lamps 200-310 lumens
Medium screw base lamps that are B, BA, CA, F, & G shape lamps >=200 lumens, <=40W a & C shaped lamps 200-310 lumens
No replacement lamps allowed.
Replacement lamps allowed until 12/31/2027
Replacement lamps allowed until 12/31/2027
Legislation source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
In September 2022, California lawmakers passed AB-2208, which sets the effective dates below prohibiting the sale or distribution of fluorescent lighting technologies:
Read more on the California ban on Inside Lighting »
Commercial customers in California may also qualify for On-Bill Financing (OBF), depending on their utility provider.
OBF is a fantastic option for eligible projects, allowing customers to make interest payments as low as 0% towards their project on their monthly utility bills.
The major benefit is that the payments are made with the energy savings captured from the LED upgrade, giving participants a state-of-the-art lighting system that provides long-term energy savings — without needing to allocate any capital.
Connect with our team to discuss if OBF programs are available in your service territory.
Legislation source: leg.colorado.gov
Colorado passed HB23-1161 in June 2023, setting the effective dates below that prohibit the sale or distribution of fluorescent lighting technologies. Here are the effective phase-out dates:
According to Inside Lighting, the new legislation outlines a comprehensive enforcement mechanism to oversee compliance. The executive director of the state Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) will conduct a verification at least once before January 1, 2026, and again before January 1, 2031, and deliver a report on the method and findings to the Energy and Environment Committee of the House of Representatives and the Transportation and Energy Committee of the Senate. The report will also be posted on the CDPHE’s website within a month after completion.
The penalties for businesses that fall out of compliance can be substantial:
Read more on the legislation on Inside Lighting »
Legislation source: energy.hawaii.gov (full bill text PDF)
Hawaii state lawmakers passed HB 192 / SB 690, which sets the effective dates below prohibiting the sale or distribution of fluorescent lighting technologies:
Hawaii also implemented a ban on high-CRI fluorescent lamps, which began January 1, 2021. Specifically, the state prohibited the sale of high-CRI fluorescents with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) greater than 87.
Legislation source: ilga.gov
The state of Illinois introduced the Clean Lighting Act (HB2363), which was approved by the governor in August 2024 to eliminate fluorescent lighting technology. Here are the effective phase-out dates:
Read more on the Illinois ban and HB2363 through Illinois PIRG »
Legislation source: mainelegislature.org (full bill text PDF)
On July 5, 2023, Maine enacted HP1160 to begin phasing out fluorescent lighting technology. Here are the effective dates for the fluorescent phase-out:
According to Inside Lighting, the ban targets two types of mercury-containing lamps: compact fluorescent mercury-added lamps and linear fluorescent mercury-added lamps.
Read more on the details of the ban, along with some specific exemptions in The Portland Press Herald.
In Title 38, Chapter 15-B, Maine legislators also enacted additional efficiency requirements for General Service Lamps that must be adhered to in addition to the fluorescent bans. Here are the requirements:
Legislation source: mgaleg.maryland.gov
The state of Maryland currently has a bill pending that will prohibit the sale or distribution of screw or bayonet-base CFLs beginning January 1, 2025, as well as pin-base CFLs and linear fluorescent tubes beginning July 1, 2026.
On October 1, 2024, the state of Maryland began enforcement of a sales ban on high-CRI lamps only — prohibiting linear fluorescents with a CRI greater than or equal to 87, according to Regency Supply.
Legislation source: malegislature.gov
Massachusetts currently has an active ban on high color rendering index (CRI) linear fluorescent tubes.
The high-CRI requirement is defined as “a fluorescent lamp with a color rendering index of 87 or greater that is not a compact fluorescent lamp.”
The state of Massachusetts has also enacted additional requirements for GSLs as part of its energy efficiency standards. These requirements apply to incandescent lamps that are:
Source: Regency Supply
Legislation source: revisor.mn.gov
On May 18, 2024, Minnesota officially enacted its Clean Lighting Bill (HF 3911) kicking off the state’s phase-out of fluorescent lighting lighting technology.
Here are the key effective dates:
According to Inside Lighting, the bill also cover mercury vapor lamps and ballasts, prohibiting clear, phosphor-coated, and self-ballasted screw base lamps. These restrictions take effect January 1, 2025.
According to Phillips, the state of Nevada began enforcing a statewide sales ban on high-CRI fluorescent lamps.
This ban covers linear fluorescent lamps that do not meet the Federal Department of Energy’s efficiency requirements — which is a CRI greater than or equal to 87.
New Jersey currently has an active ban on the sale of high-CRI linear fluorescent lamps. This includes 4-foot T8 & T12 lamps, T12 Ubent lamps, and 8-foot T12 lamps. High-CRI is defined as a CRI greater than or equal to 87.
This also includes cold-temperature linear fluorescent lamps, as well as impact-resistant linear fluorescent lamps.
Source: Phillips
In addition to the high-CRI restrictions, New Jersey has also enacted additional restrictions on GSLs. These restrictions prohibit the sale of medium screw-base lamps that are:
Source: Regency Supply
Legislation source: nysenate.gov
In June 2023, New York signed and enacted Assembly Bill A10439, enforcing a manufacturing ban on the sale of high CRI (color rendering index), cold temperature, and impact-resistant linear fluorescent lamps that do not meet the current Federal Department of Energy’s efficiency requirements.
According to Phillips, any covered lamps manufactured before June 26, 2023, can be sold in the state of New York. Any covered lamps manufactured on or after June 26, 2023, cannot be sold in the state of New York unless they meet the DOE efficiency requirements. A similar manufacturing ban (but only applying to high CRI lamps) began in Oregon on January 1, 2023.
In July of 2023, the New York Public Service Commission filed an order (Case 18-M-0084) that will eliminate all utility incentive programs for LED lighting upgrades starting in 2026.
Commercial customers of NYSEG and RG&E have the opportunity to capitalize on a Limited Time Year-End Bonus promotion for incentives to be applied towards energy efficiency projects.
Oregon joined that list in June 2023, as state lawmakers passed House Bill 2531, which sets the effective dates below prohibiting the sale or distribution of fluorescent lighting technologies:
Energy incentives have historically been an extremely valuable resource for LED lighting retrofits, allowing businesses to access funds that often cover substantial portions of the total project cost.
Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO), one of the top incentive program administrators in the state, has already announced that they will be discontinuing their incentives available for LED Lighting upgrades once bans take effect.
Current plans are to keep the incentive for the replacement of pin-base CFL and linear fluorescent tubes in place until July 1, 2025 (or until funds run out)!
Read more on Oregon ban through Energy Trust of Oregon »
Legislation text: rilegislature.gov
Rhode Island has passed HB 5550, which prohibits the sale or distribution of certain fluorescent lighting technologies. Here are the effective dates for the fluorescent phase-out:
According to FastDemocracy, the bill was introduced in February 2023 and was signed into law on June 22, 2023.
While exact penalties for non-compliance are unclear, the bill states that “Violations of this act would result in civil penalties as enforced by the Department of Environmental Management (DEM).”
Source: dec.vermont.gov
In November 2023, the state of Vermont enacted a new law that began prohibiting the sales of specific mercury-containing fluorescent lighting bulbs.
In November 2022, Vermont became the first US state to place bans on the sale or distribution of screw-base CFL bulbs, according to The Hill.
The legislation introduced in 2023, Act 120, introduced an additional ban specifically on 4-foot fluorescent lamps, bringing the state total bans and effective dates to the following:
All tube diameters are covered by the ban, including T2, T5, T8, T10, and T12.
Source: app.leg.wa.gov
On March 28, 2024, Washington legislators successfully passed their Clean Lighting Bill (HB 1185), which begins their elimination of fluorescent lighting technology.
The bill will prohibit the sale or distribution of all CFLs and linear fluorescent tubes beginning January 1, 2029.
These bans will accompany Washington’s existing ban on high color rendering index (CRI) linear fluorescent lamps. High-CRI linear fluorescent lamps are defined as any lamp with a CRI greater than or equal to 87, per the Department of Energy’s efficiency standards.
Read more on the Washington ban through Inside Lighting »
Source: Phillips
Washington D.C. currently has an active ban on high-CRI linear fluorescent lamps. High-CRI is defined as a linear fluorescent lamp with a CRI that is greater than or equal to 87.
The lamps impacted by the state bans include 4-foot T8 & T12 lamps, T12 Ubent lamps, and 8-foot T12 lamps.
Per Washington D.C.’s Energy Efficiency Standards Amendment Act of 2020, GSLs must meet or exceed a lamp efficacy of 45 lumens per watt.
The first date noted is the sales prohibition start date for new installations. The second date (if noted) is the end of the replacement lamp exemption period. Replacement lamps can only be used in fixtures installed before the bans starts.
These states are just the beginning, with others expected to announce their own regulations soon.
Quickly share the latest information about the fluorescent bans, impacted regions, and effective dates across your team.
The shift away from fluorescent lighting is largely due to two key reasons:
Fluorescent lights, once a common sight in offices and industrial facilities, contain mercury — a toxic heavy metal that is used in CFLs to help them emit light more efficiently.
When CFLs break during disposal, that mercury is released into the atmosphere, it is capable of traveling hundreds of miles before depositing into the Earth’s surface. These mercury deposits put both humans and animals at risk of mercury exposure and consumption, which has been shown to cause severe health issues.
This also creates serious (and costly) waste disposal challenges.
On top of the mercury concerns, fluorescents are substantially less efficient than LED technology — leading to excessive energy waste.
This waste creates a lose-lose scenario for both businesses and the environment: the business endures steep energy bills to power a low-performing, high-maintenance lighting system, while the environment endures excessive carbon being released into the atmosphere.
In terms of maintenance, LED fixtures also offer a significant boost to a fixture’s life expectancy, with high-quality products offering lifespans of 100,000+ hours.
These factors contribute to the growing consensus that moving away from fluorescent lighting is both an environmental imperative and an economic advantage, leading to the increasing popularity of states instilling sunset timelines for fluorescents.
Businesses in impacted states will face a number of considerations when it comes to upgrading or maintaining their lighting system as fluorescent bans start to take effect.
The biggest implication businesses will face is that they will no longer be able to purchase replacement fluorescent bulbs as phase-out dates kick in. This will present them with a decision to be made on how to best approach their transition to LED — whether it be through 1:1 LED bulb swaps as their fluorescents burn out, or implementing a building-wide upgrade.
Forward-thinking businesses should understand the light level impact, energy efficiency, and total cost of ownership across different LED transition plans to capture the most value from their upgrade — depending on their short and long-term business goals.
Incentive & Rebate programs have historically been a significant cost benefit for businesses transitioning to LED — often covering 50%-100% of the total project cost for the LED upgrade, depending on the program and available funds.
These programs, which are typically offered through utility providers, were put in place to drive greater adoption of energy-efficient technologies (like LED) in an effort to relieve heavy strains being placed on the electrical grid.
However, as fluorescent falls out of compliance, several utility providers have already announced plans to discontinue their incentives available for LED once bans take effect.
Businesses should strongly consider taking advantage of these programs while they are still in place before they expire, as they will be required to make the transition to LED regardless.
Retrofitting existing fixtures to accommodate new technologies, such as LED, can represent a daunting investment — but it can also be a major opportunity if handled with care and long-term consideration. Finding the right LED upgrade for your facility can reduce energy spending by up to 80%, provide payback periods of under 3 years, slash carbon emissions, and dramatically improve the safety and overall environment for employees! Here are some key things to keep in mind to maximize impact on your LED transition:
Beyond the ability to provide more light with less energy, modern LED technology has an improved ability to direct light, leveraging sophisticated optics to distribute light throughout a space in the most energy-efficient manner. Settling for 1:1 fixture replacements may lead to excessive energy consumption, over-lighting your space, and create “hot spots” that lead to visibility challenges for employees.
It is recommended for businesses to work with an experienced lighting designer to audit their space design a system that provides OSHA-compliant and consistent light using the least amount of energy.
Tubular LED technology can be traced back to the early 2000s at a time when the development of white LEDs made it possible to use LEDs for general lighting. Traditionally designed to be a retrofit replacement for fluorescent tubes in compatible luminaries, LED tubes (TLEDs) were an attractive option offering significant cost and energy savings. When specified and installed correctly, they can reduce electricity consumption by over 50% compared to T8 fluorescent lamp technology.
However, understand the safety concerns with TLED bulb swaps.
We have heard a number of stories from customers who came to us after having bad experiences with TLEDs and substandard LED “solutions” — including severe fires that led to costly production shutdowns.
As LED has become increasingly more affordable to manufacture, the LED market has become incredibly saturated with new-entrant brands that over-promise and under-deliver. In fact, many manufacturers will offer the same performance criteria on the spec sheet, have a price tag that reflects top-shelf performance, but never have been actually battle-tested in the field — ultimately leading to failures and performance issues down the road.
A big advantage of working with a solution expert like PEC is that we work with clients as a vendor-agnostic service provider. This means that when we design a project, we put together a mix of lumen package options and walk our clients through the pros and cons of each. We help you correlate price and performance, incorporating quality-assured fixture options that we have used in our experience of over +8,000 projects.
LED lighting retrofits make for attractive investments because you can confidently predict your future energy savings and cashflows.
This is done through an energy audit and photometric analysis. Experienced auditors and lighting designers will record your current lighting technology and light levels through an on-site audit, correlate that audit data with your monthly energy consumption, and determine what your new energy spend will be based on the proposed new system.
This analysis allows you to accurately forecast your project payback period (often less than 3 years) and your project your future added cash flow from energy and maintenance savings over time.
Your transition to LED could be a massive, unrealized opportunity for your business. We don’t think about the power improved lighting can have on our business, but we all recognize a nice, motivating space to work when we see it. Lighting plays a critical role in that.
Start on your path to better light by setting up an intro call with our team at PEC. We will walk you through how we work, discuss your business needs, and schedule a complimentary audit of your system if you are interested in moving forward.
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