One of newly inaugurated (for a second time) president Donald Trump’s executive orders — “Unleashing American Energy” — promises to “safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances, including but not limited to lightbulbs.”

Let us rejoice! Or at least ask — for my son — whether we can expect old-school incandescent lightbulbs to make a comeback.

While I’m personally a big fan of the newer LED bulbs because they use less electricity, produce less heat, and last longer than the incandescents I grew up with, my son asserts the superiority of incandescent light over LED light. The light is visually warmer, he says. It emits, in a word, “soul.”

Well, more power — pun intended — to him.

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 required a minimum bulb efficiency of 45 lumens per watt. Incandescent bulbs don’t meet that standard, and were starting to fade into history by the time Trump announced during his first term, that the standard wouldn’t be enforced.

Then came Joe Biden. Via the US Department of Energy, he  banned the manufacture and sale of incandescent bulbs as of August 2023.

By that point, it was kind of difficult to get them anyway. My son paid what I considered scandalous prices to buy “new old stock” online before the ban went into effect.

If Trump’s administration follows through on the goals in the executive order, I honestly don’t expect many people to switch back from LED to incandescent … but that’s not really the point.

The point is that those who prefer one type of bulb over another should be free to buy the kind they prefer, and manufacturers/sellers should be free to serve market demand for whatever people are willing to throw money at.

The Biden administration didn’t, and the Trump administration won’t, buy the light bulbs that gets used in my house.

The Biden administration didn’t, and the Trump administration won’t, pay my electric bill.

My household policy is that I’m OK with my son putting two incandescent bulbs, rather than two LED bulbs, in his bedroom’s ceiling light — but that he has to buy the bulbs. I’ll cover the electric bill increase, but if I’m buying the bulbs, I’ll only spring for LEDs.

Your household policy may be different, and that’s fine. It’s your house. The only house the White House’s residents should be choosing the light bulbs for IS the White House.

Thomas L. Knapp (X: @thomaslknapp | Bluesky: @knappster.bsky.social | Mastodon: @knappster) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.

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