Fluorescent Lamp Bans In 4 States & Canada Effective 1/1/26

Fluorescent lamp bans have been passed in ten US states, and four of those states have effective dates of January 1^st, 2026, for at least one category of fluorescent lamps. The four states are Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, and Illinois. The fluorescent lamp categories banned on January 1 vary by state.

The following table shows the effective dates for all ten state fluorescent bans, by lamp type:

In Canada, January 1^st, 2026 will be the effective date for the ban on importing and manufacturing four categories of fluorescent lamps. The table below shows the lamp types and effective dates:

Some impacts of the fluorescent lamp bans in the ten US states include:

• Approaching residential LED saturation due to US DOE GSL regulations (45 lpW requirement for GSLs). Virtually all utility residential lighting rebates are gone, except some for downlights.
• Some utilities have ended commercial LED rebates (CA & MA).
• Retrofit project activity is strong in the ban states and Canada, until the lamp ban implementations are completed, and then retrofits will likely slow down significantly in the ban states and Canada.
• LED saturation spurring more diversification by manufacturers, distributors, and contractors, into EV chargers, solar, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and other electrification product categories.
• The economies of scale are gone for fluorescent lamps and ballasts, driving costs way up. This impacts all 50 states and Canada! This further accelerates the decline of fluorescent lamp and ballast sales across North America.

David Shiller

David Shiller is the Publisher of LightNOW, and Senior Business Development Consultant at Capacity Consulting, a North American consulting firm providing business development services to advanced lighting manufacturers. The ALA awarded David the Pillar of the Industry Award. David has been co-chair of the ALA’s Engineering Committee since 2010. David established MaxLite’s OEM component sales into a multi-million dollar division. He invented GU24 lamps while leading ENERGY STAR lighting programs for the US EPA. David has been published in leading lighting publications, including LD+A, enLIGHTenment Magazine, LEDs Magazine, and more.

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