NEWS
King shines light bulb idea on city
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by Courtney Johnson
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Madison may require rental properties to use efficient light bulbs in common areas and light fixtures, according to a proposal announced by City Council President Austin King, District 8, and the Sierra Club.
The proposal is referred to as the Energy Efficiency and Safety Ordinance, and was introduced by King at Tuesday's City Council meeting.
"We're talking about moving from 19th-century technology to 21st-century technology," King said. "It will cost landlords a little bit of extra money up front, but they'll actually recoup that money in a matter of months."
Eleven other alders asked to co-sponsor King's proposal at the meeting.
"I was concerned this ordinance would be a little more controversial, and it got strong bipartisan support tonight," King said. "It bodes very well for the potential passage of this ordinance."
In a press release issued Tuesday, King and Sierra Club representative Jennifer Feyerherm said using efficient light bulbs could save Madison landlords up to $2 million a year, and also reduce the amount of global warming pollutants the city emits by 35,000 pounds.
The proposal also calls for light bulbs in exit signs to be fitted with efficient bulbs or LED fixtures.
"Modern efficient light bulbs and exit signs last longer and use a small fraction of the electricity that old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs use," Feyerherm said in the release. "Changing a single common-area light bulb that is on 12 hours a day can save $20 per year, and can mean the difference between a dark, treacherous stairwell and a well-lit, safe stairwell."
King agreed with Feyerherm's sentiment, saying if the ordinance passed, it would make Madison more environmentally friendly and increase safety.
"Having a burned-out exit sign that people can't find in the dark or through smoke is dangerous," King said.
Of the different types of energy-efficient bulbs, compact fluorescent bulbs are the most commonly used in homes. King said the price per bulb ranges from $1 to $2, depending on the season, but can last for years; incandescent bulbs — which are also currently used — only last for a matter of months.
According to the release, LED exit signs can last for 25 years or longer.
The initiative is the second King has proposed within the last month. In February, he made a proposal that would make all mayoral, aldermanic and judgeship elections funded entirely by the city.
Anonymous (March 7, 2007 @ 5:24am):
Having a burned out exit sign is already illegal and has nothing to do with what type of bulb it is. So long, Austin, I will NOT miss your hands in my pockets at every turn of the councial agenda.
Anonymous (March 7, 2007 @ 9:38am):
"Having a burned out exit sign is already illegal and has nothing to do with what type of bulb it is."
Nothing to do? You don't agree that new bulbs that last 25 years will lead to fewer burned out bulbs than bulbs that last a few months?
This just makes common sense. My landlord already switched out incandescents for the new squiggly efficient bulbs.
Anonymous (March 7, 2007 @ 11:54am):
Opposing this simply because it's Austin King's idea is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. It makes sense financially for landlords - less money spent on bulbs in the long run and on maintenance staff to change them - and for the environment. You people need to take a minute to get over yourselves.
Anonymous (March 8, 2007 @ 12:45am):
Odds are high Austin wrote that. Get a life.
Anonymous (March 8, 2007 @ 2:14pm):
Why continue to dump on the landlords? I agree that the use of compact flourescent light bulbs saves energy and is "better" for the environment than the use of standard lightbulbs. However, if it is such a good idea, and saves SO much money, why would this ordinance be proposed ONLY for landlords, and ONLY in common areas and exit signs? I don't have any statistics, but I wonder what percentage of all the electricity usage in the City of Madison is in common areas of rental units...I'll bet that it is well under 5%, if that. If the goal here is to save money, electricity, and the environment, why not require the City of Madison to change out all of their bulbs, and use ONLY compact flourescent bulbs in all of their buildings? Why not require the UW to use them in all of their facilities? Why not require the use of compact flourescent bulbs INSIDE of all rental units, where the tenants are responsible for the extra cost of the bulbs? That way, Austin will be saving all of those tenants so much money. How about all owner-occupied homes? Heck, why not ban the use of incandescent bulbs in the entire city? Why not make it illegal to sell incandescent light bulbs at any store in the city? Oh, wait...I know why. Because it would NEVER pass if all of the homeowners were REQUIRED to do it. The landlords are an easy target. Nobody in this town seems to recognize that the cost of housing is directly related to the cost of maintaining that housing. The more cumbersome the City of Madison makes being a landlord, the higher the rents will end up being in the long term.
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