Light Bulbs: Incandescent 60-watt and 40-watt Bulbs to Begin Phasing Out

Get ready to turn out the light on your standard light bulb. As of Jan. 1, incandescent 60-watt and 40-watt bulbs will begin to disappear from store shelves.

According to a survey conducted by lighting company Osram Sylvania, consumers will miss the conventional light bulbs, USA Today reported. Many Americans said they weren't aware of the bulbs' discontinuation, and most of the 300 adults surveyed last month said they planned to stock up, thus prolonging the eventual switch to more energy-efficient alternatives.

Urgent: Do You Approve Or Disapprove of President Obama's Job Performance? Vote Now in Urgent Poll

"Some Americans are digging in," Anne Guertin, Osram Sylvania spokeswoman, told USA Today. "It takes people a while to adjust."

The two models, which make up about half of all standard-size bulb sales, were the final casualties of the government's multiyear phaseout of standard incandescents. It began across the country in January 2012 with the elimination of the 100-watt bulb, then included the 75-watt bulb this year.

Though the 40-watt and 60-watt bulbs will no longer be made or imported into the U.S., stores can empty their inventory.

Mark Voykovic, national light bulb merchant for The Home Depot, said the company has enough stock to last through the middle of 2014.

A 2007 energy-efficiency law, signed by President George W. Bush, strengthened the standards for efficiency. Old incandescents waste 90 percent of their energy as heat rather than light, which no longer meets the requirement, according to USA Today.

As a result, newer incandescent-like light bulbs have flooded the market. These more expensive styles will make a difference in energy savings to consumers, the Department of Energy has said.

"The bulbs that they're making are not like the bulbs we're used to, but they're going to give you the same amount of light," Kim Grahn of Visions Lighting and Accessories told WREX13, an NBC affiliate in Rockford, Ill. "They're going to give you the same color, they're going to give you the same that you're used to, but you're not going to ask for a 100-watt bulb anymore, you're going to look for lumens because that's what's going to give you light."

Editor's Note: ObamaCare Is Here. Are You Prepared?

Related Stories:

• Obama's 'Green' Light Bulb Costs you $50
  
• Study: Energy-Saving Light Bulbs Can Cause Skin Cancer