They're stockpiling 100-watters and writing to lawmakers. They're worried about toxic mercury and outraged by high prices.

An act as seemingly simple as changing light bulbs has many readers roiling. They made that clear in 100-plus e-mails and letters in response to our Feb. 26 story on the federal mandate for more energy-efficient home lighting. (See a sampling of the responses on Page D4.)

Meanwhile, other readers are happily adding up savings from their new CFL, LED and halogen replacements for the familiar incandescent bulb.

If the phaseout/phase-in has you focused like never before on light bulbs, just wait. It is just the beginning of massive changes in the way we illuminate our homes.

That future comes clearly to light during a tour of UC Davis' California Lighting Technology Center, devoted to researching, developing and testing lighting ideas. General Electric will host a major consumer event at the center in May. (Look for details in upcoming Home & Garden sections.)

In its converted warehouse off Second Street, the center has several mock-up rooms – kitchens, dens, bathrooms and other familiar spaces – decked out with all sorts of imaginative lighting, some packaged in very traditional forms such as sconces or ceiling fans. Sensors and remote controls trigger lights to turn on and off, brighten or dim, even change "color" from cool to warm.

CFLs – compact fluorescent lamps – are one (not particularly popular) option that is already being tweaked to stay competitive. LEDs – light-emitting diodes – offer many more creative possibilities, such as turning entire surfaces in the home into light sources.

"We have more tools in our tool kit," said Kelly Cunningham, the center's outreach director. "That will change the way we light our homes and businesses. … For example, under-cabinet lighting might become the most-used lighting in your house."

The Davis center's researchers have learned a lot from consumers: We love our dimmers. We want warm "soft white," not cold "bright white" light. We think "instant on" should mean immediately, without warming up.

"Lighting is so emotional" Cunningham said. "There's no across-the-board method to determine what's best for everyone and every use."

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, about 70 percent of America's lighting fixtures still use incandescent bulbs. Under current federal law, those bulbs will be phased out by 2014 and replaced with energy- efficient alternatives.

"A lot of sockets are full of incandescents," Cunningham said. "Not one kind of bulb will replace them. A mix of things will light tomorrow's home."

In the current national makeover, California got a head start. By starting the mandatory phaseout a year early, consumers in our state will save about $35.6 million in 2011, according to the California Energy Commission.

"California has always been the nation's leader in energy efficiency," said commission spokesman Adam Gottlieb. "California got the authority to do it early so consumers could start saving earlier. In this tight economy, we're all looking at more ways to save."

Among the biggest consumer complaints about CFLs is that they contain mercury vapor. How do you dispose of this potentially hazardous waste? According to Gottlieb, big-box stores such as Home Depot, Lowe's and Ikea have agreed to accept burned-out CFLs for recycling.

Changing bulbs may become a thing of the past, too.

"We're going to stop thinking about lamps as two parts – a fixture and a bulb," Cunningham said. "They're going to be an integrated appliance, like a toaster or coffee maker, where the light source is built into the lamp. We'll buy a lamp that lasts 20 years or more and never change a bulb."

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