Oct 11, 2019

Americans are using less electricity thanks to LED light bulbs

Photo: Carmen Jaspersen/picture alliance/Getty Images

American residential electric use has been declining since 2010 because more households made the switch to LED light bulbs, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: The annual changes in electricity use aren't massive, but they will likely have significant impacts on household budgets, the environment and energy markets.

The big picture: Electricity consumption increased tenfold between 1950 and 2010, but declined following the Great Recession in 2008. The Journal notes that it's not abnormal for electric use to decline during a financial crisis, but it kept declining well past its end due to the adoption of LED bulbs.

  • The average American household spent about 10% less on electricity in 2017 than in 2010.
  • Residential electricity use in 2017 was as low as it had been since 2000.

The adoption of LED bulbs brought electricity use for lighting down by 26% from 2015 to 2017. The change meant raw consumption dropped from 129.7 million megawatt-hours a year to 95.5 million megawatt-hours.

  • What's next: If the drop in use of incandescent and halogen bulbs continues apace, that figure could dip to 61.3 million-megawatt hours by 2021.

Go deeper: How Axios' Amy Harder is trying to get greener and cheaper electricity

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Dozens of Confederate symbols removed in wake of George Floyd's death

A statue of Confederate States President Jefferson Davis lies on the street after protesters pulled it down in Richmond, Virginia, in June. Photo: Parker Michels-Boyce/AFP via Getty Images

59 Confederate symbols have been removed, relocated or renamed since anti-racism protests began over George Floyd's death, a new Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) report finds.

Why it matters: That's a marked increase on previous years, per the report, which points out just 16 Confederate monuments were affected in 2019.

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Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 p.m. ET: 20,532,835 — Total deaths: 747,845— Total recoveries: 12,743,275 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 p.m. ET: 5,193,266 — Total deaths: 165,934 — Total recoveries: 1,714,960 — Total tests: 63,252,257 — Map.
  3. Politics: Pelosi says Mnuchin told her White House is "not budging" on stimulus position.
  4. Business: U.S. already feeling effects of ending unemployment benefits.
  5. Public health: America's two-sided COVID-19 response — America is flying blind on its coronavirus response.
  6. Education: New Jersey governor allows schools to reopen — Gallup: America's confidence in public school system jumps to highest level since 2004.
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Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

France reported more than 2,500 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours — the largest single-day number since May. French officials said the situation was "clearly worsening," per France 24.

By the numbers: Over 745,600 people have died of the novel coronavirus globally and over 20.4 million have tested positive, per Johns Hopkins. Almost 12.7 million have recovered from the virus.

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