The Federal Trade Commission of the U.S. recently proposed new labeling requirements for light bulbs, including traditional incandescent bulbs, CFL bulbs and LED products. According to FTC, the proposed labels provide consumers with clear, easily understandable information to help them choose among different bulb types.

Source: Federal Trade Commission

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking announced in October seeks comment on new labels that emphasize lumens, not watts, as the measure of bulb brightness. This information, along with estimated energy cost information, would appear on the front of the light bulb package. The back of the package would display a “Lighting Facts” label modeled after the “Nutrition Facts” label for food packages. The Lighting Facts label would provide information about brightness, energy cost, the bulb’s expected life, color temperature (for example, whether the bulb provides “warm” or “cool” light), as well as wattage. The label also would require disclosures for bulbs containing mercury. The bulb’s output in lumens – and a mercury disclosure for bulbs that contain mercury – would also have to be placed on the bulb itself.