Power Switch

The main beneficiary of the push to reduce energy used by lighting has been the compact fluorescent bulb, invented by a General Electric engineer in 1976 but long neglected by consumers and manufacturers. Now, sales of energy-efficient bulbs are doubling annually, and sales of traditional incandescent bulbs have been falling at an annual rate of about 10 to 12 percent, according to Charlie Jerabek, chief executive of Osram Sylvania.

"The dynamics are in place, and the new legislation will just accelerate it," said Jerabek.

Unlike incandescent bulbs, compact fluorescent bulbs contain no filament. They are gas-filled tubes with an electronic ballast. When turned on, an electric current flows through the gas, which emits ultraviolet light. That excites a white phosphor coating, which produces visible light. The tubes are twisted so their shape resembles an incandescent bulb.

There are drawbacks, however. The bulbs can fade before burning out. And because the bulbs contain mercury, homeowners must be careful if one breaks. (Guidelines: Open windows, use disposable gloves, seal debris in a plastic bag, don't use vacuum cleaners. More instructions are available on the Energy Department and EPA's Energy Star Web site.)

In addition, many consumers fault the bulbs for being too white -- giving a room all the charm of a late-night bus terminal -- or too slow to switch on. Manufacturers say their newest bulbs address those problems. For bulbs with "warmer" color, look for lower Kelvin ratings, around 2,700. The brighter, "colder" bulbs have much higher Kelvin ratings.

Manufacturers say they are coming up with ways for compact fluorescent bulbs to turn on more quickly. Some of the bulbs, but not all, can also be used in fixtures with dimmers.

Makers of halogen lights are also making a new push. Philips is pushing its Halogena bulb, which can screw into sockets used by traditional incandescent bulbs.

Also coming: Light-emitting diodes. They are made more like semiconductors than light bulbs. For now they're too expensive, but costs are coming down. Unlike compact fluorescent bulbs, LEDs don't contain any hazardous materials, Jerabek said. What's more, LEDs use half as much energy as compact fluorescent bulbs.

For now, Osram Sylvania is offering its customers packaging to send the compact fluorescents back for recycling and prevent the mercury from leaking into the environment. The used recycling packs can be dropped off at FedEx Kinko's locations or post offices.

It's a long way from Edison's day, when the metal base was removed from used bulbs, the carbon filaments were replaced, and the glass reused. Today, glass bulbs come off Sylvania's assembly lines at a rate of 1,100 a minute.

"It was a great ride," Jerabek said.

Other home appliances will also be affected by the energy law, but the changes won't be visible. Dishwashers and washing machines, for example, will have to meet new standards. Today's average energy-efficiency standards will become the new minimum standards.

According to the Energy Department's Web site, the average household does almost 400 loads of laundry a year, consuming about 13,500 gallons of water. By wringing out some energy and water consumption, more-efficient units could cut homeowners' utility bills by an average of $50 a year.

For more efficiency, manufacturers are turning to front-loading washing machines. These machines account for more than 30 percent of sales, according to Earl Jones, a senior counsel for government and industry relations at GE, which made its first front-loading machine in 2006. The clothes tumble the way they do in a dryer and do not sit in a pool of water. As a result, they use less water, require less energy to heat the water and ease the energy-intensive job of the clothes dryer.

Over the 11-year lifetime of the typical clothes washer, that would save enough money to buy a new energy-efficient dryer or dishwasher, the Energy Department said.