This collector had a light-bulb idea.
When Kevin Szmyd realized that incandescent lightbulbs were now essentially banned in the US, he knew he needed to get moving.
Szmyd, 25, has no interest in making the change to more energy-efficient LED lights, so he built up a collection of about 3,500 of the incandescent bulbs — a supply that he estimates should last him 75 years.
The software developer from New Hampshire is part of a Facebook group called “Antique incandescent lamp/light bulb collectors,” a group “focused on pre-1940 light bulbs and related material,” according to a post from the group administrator.
The group was created long before the ban and allows members to share their collections, inquire about identification of a specific lightbulb and ask any other related questions they may have.
Szmyd utilized the group in his search for bulbs, as well as Facebook marketplace, Craigslist and eBay — spending two weeks of pay for his $1,700 inventory.
“I think I must have contacted everyone who sells light bulbs within 250 miles of me,” Szmyd told Insider.
After a 16-year legislative effort to cut energy costs for consumers and reduce America’s carbon emissions, the ban came into effect on August 1. People will now have to use much more energy-efficient LED bulbs, though there are several exceptions to the ban, including appliance lights, traffic signals and plant lights. However, those who already have the bulbs can keep them.
But the ban can be a controversial topic of conversation for some, including Szmyd, who think that it’s an overreach of government.
“I don’t think that the government should be involved with making the customer make a decision,” Szmyd shared.
“I think it’s a little silly for a government to go in and say, ‘We don’t think you’re going to make the best decision with buying light bulbs. So we’re going to prevent you from making the wrong decision,'” he said, adding that he’d prefer to see a push toward nuclear power.
However, the Department of Energy expects that the new regulations will help consumers save nearly $3 billion per year on their utility bills since LED lightbulbs last 25 to 50 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
Szmyd also noted the difference in hues of the types of lightbulbs in his reasoning for stocking up, saying that he prefers the “nice color” of the incandescent bulbs rather than the white-blue color of LED bulbs.
“I consider it a lifetime supply,” he explained to Insider. “I would say I did the math. I have a bunch of spreadsheets with all of the lighting fixtures in my house. And I have almost exactly the amount of bulbs I’m going to need for the next 75 years.”