Phase-out of the large T-12 fluorescent bulbs by July 2014

There are several ways to grow orchids indoors.  Most people use light in order to get their plants to flower.  This can be done with the large T-12 fluorescent bulbs or sodium halide bulbs.  Fluorescent bulbs have the advantage of being able to use the space you grow your plants for other uses.  Sodium halide bulbs are expensive, require a ballast that needs to be mounted on a ceiling.  Sodium halide lighting raises the ambient room temperature by 10 degrees during the day time.  Once you install a sodium halide lamp, you have to dedicate the space to solely raising orchids.

Now here enters the US Federal government.  The large T-12 fluorescent bulbs will no longer be allowed to be manufactured or imported into the United States after July 2014.  Many people I know raise their collections under fluorescent lighting.  And it puts me into a quandary.  I wanted to buy some light carts.  They take 4 T-12 bulbs to power up for growing.  If I bought a light cart now, I wouldn't be able to get replacement bulbs next year.  All the other light carts I've owned have used T-12 fluorescent bulbs.  There are no retrofit kits for T-12 bulbs that I know.  You need new ballasts for the new bulbs.

So I dropped my plans for the relatively inexpensive light cart and figure I'd save up from an Edwardian case with the new smaller fluorescent bulbs.  That puts my plans for purchasing grow lights until January 2014.  It also limits the amount of plants I'll be to raise. 

However, the whole phaseout of the T-12 fluorescent lights and ballasts hasn't gotten much news.  Among orchid and plant growers, it should.  Manufacturers should be marketing the newer ballasts and lights right now.  As of today, I looked around only found the Orchidarium with the newer fluorescent ballasts and lights.  Again, just my luck.