Now in California the light bulb manufacturers are adapting to the new ban on incandescents by adjusting the rated wattage to numbers ending in 9. Instead of 60 watt light bulbs they now offer 59 watt light bulbs. This may give them an additional year, but on the left coast, the incandescents days are numbered. Even without the government forcing the issue they would go out of style in the same way as the buggy whip as they are so much more costly to use.
In our house we switched to the compact fluorescents early, years ago. The inpact on our electric bill was dramatic. Even though they cost more at first I was convinced they were a great deal because they lowered the electric bill so much. And, they helped preserve peace in the house. Leaving a 14 watt lamp on is not such a big deal. 14 watts is a night light wattage. The problems with the CFL are that they contain mercury and they have a low power factor. The low power factor means that although they do save money on the electric bill, they consume more electricity than you are billed for and it becomes a problem for the power company.
The next big thing is the LED bulbs which are really expensive but reduce the load again to only a few watts. C Crane Radio was early to offer these new bulbs. http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/
I am hoping the price comes down soon as production ramps up. When the CFL’s were new we found them at Target on clearance a few times for about half price.
LED flashlights are very bright and the batteries last a long time. If you don’t have one yet try one. They sell a kit to convert a standard pocket Maglite to an LED bulb. http://www.x-tremegeek.com/led-lighting/led-conversion-kits-adapters.html I have one that plugs into the outlet in the car to stay charged. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Greatlite-Rechargeable-LED-Flashlight-with-Compass/15257219?wmlspartner=jXot6eVeYJg&sourceid=34971357000382410145
You can even buy LED replacement for the standard tail light and brake light (1157 and 1156) bulbs for your car. http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Ftail-brake-turn.html
Resistance is futile, LEDs are here.