As of Jan. 1, it's lights out for incandescent bulbs.

California will become the first state in the nation to say goodbye to the incandescent light bulb, as stores will stop stocking its shelves with incandescents at the start of January.

The restriction was a move by the government to usher the country toward becoming more energy efficient. Incandescents were invented over 100 years ago and notoriously (and unsurprisingly) use up lots of energy. Incandescents don't meet the new standards and therefore won't be sold in the state.

Former President George W. Bush signed the law in 2007 that phased in new bulb standards and was meant to be completed in all states by 2020. California, however, opted to kick in the regulations earlier and complete the guidelines two years early, in 2018.

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There won't be a complete stop on using incandescent bulbs, however; consumers will not be asked to throw out their bulbs or anything drastic like that. Residents can continue to use what they have on hand, and stores will be allowed to sell whatever incandescent bulbs it has in stock, but after that stores will only sell the more energy-efficient LEDs and compact fluorescent lights.

Certain specialty bulbs will still be allowed, too: 3-way bulbs, colored lights, oven and refrigerator lights are exempt, for example.

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The move to LEDs and other non-incandescent bulbs is predicted to save California consumers an estimated $1 billion per year in electric bills, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. The switch to energy-efficient bulbs will also have an effect on emissions, as the new LEDs will require less electricity.

To read up more on the new light bulb standards, take a look at this fact sheet from the Natural Resources Defense Council.