Starting Jan. 1, 2026, businesses across the islands will not be able to buy fluorescent lightbulbs. That's because of a state law that passed in 2023.
The ban on the sale of fluorescent lights goes into full effect on New Year’s Day, making Hawaiʻi one of 15 states to ban the bulbs.
The Legislature passed the Hawaiʻi Clean Lighting Standards Act in 2023. That phased out the sale of the fluorescent light bulbs commonly used in office buildings, retail stores and other commercial spaces.
Now, businesses are encouraged to replace those bulbs with LEDs, which are more energy efficient. The switch from fluorescents to LEDs brings Hawaiʻi one step closer to its goal of 100% clean energy by 2045.
The ban starts next week. But businesses still have until the end of February to claim rebates on the more pricey LED lights as they make the switch.
Hawaiʻi Energy is encouraging companies to take advantage of those rebates now because eventually all businesses are going to have to make the switch.
Hawaiʻi Energy Executive Director Caroline Carl says that some people may wait until a bulb burns out to make the change to an LED.
But she says the energy savings from switching to LEDs before the old fluorescent bulbs burn out are significant enough that it makes sense to invest in the newer technology.
Businesses can take advantage of rebates that range from $4 to $50 by buying Energy Star LED bulbs from participating lighting distributors. Those include Graybar, Grainger, Alpha Electric and others.
