Solid State $2.85 Light Bulb Lasts 60 Years
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: Solid, State, Lightbulb, Government, Economy
It may be possible to get six decades worth of light out of a three dollar lightbulb.
In June of 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) announced the L Prize - a $20 million contest geared towards making longer-lasting, more efficient lighting. Now, a research team involved in the contest may have the answer to the DoE's prayers.
According to DailyTech, a team of researchers at Cambridge University announced that it is close to finalizing a solid state-based light bulb that can use less electricity than incandescent lighting. What's better is that the new "super" bulb can last for up to 60 years. The flicker-free, LED-based bulb is smaller than a penny, but produces the same amount of light as a traditional florescent bulb and last four times longer, or around 100,000 hours. To top it all off, the super-bulb has a production cost of less than three dollars - $2.85 to be exact.
"This could well be the holy grail in terms of providing our lighting needs for the future," said research team leader Colin Humphreys. "We are very close to achieving highly efficient, low-cost white LEDs. That won't just be good news for the environment. It will also benefit consumers by cutting their electricity bills. It is our belief they will render current energy-efficiency bulbs redundant."
According to the Cambridge team, the new LED bulbs could reduce the amount of money Great Britain spends on lighting by 75 percent, and would have similar effects in the U.S. The bulb would also cut Britain's carbon emissions by about 40 million tons.
Announced in 2008, The Department of Energy's $20 million "L Prize" is part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, a "wide reaching bill seeking to help reduce America's dependence on foreign energy sources by promoting greater energy efficiency." The contest's objectives are to eliminate the use of both 60W incandescent bulbs and "PAR 38" halogen lighting.
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I hope they blend the colors a bit. Pure color at a single frequency is blinding. Warm soft white is my favorite.
i like a hint of blue with my white
$2.85 to produce, so... upwards to $10 to buy? I hope not...
Some websites note that this light is nothing more than 24 x LED lights on a socket!
The 24LED/socket is already in production for many years in Germany, and widely sold; so is there any difference that distinguishes the light from the 24LED light bulb?
$2.85 to produce, so... upwards to $10 to buy? I hope not...
CFL's cost at least that at release.
$2.85 to produce, so... upwards to $10 to buy? I hope not...
Yeah spending $10 per bulb in 60 years again would suck.. oh wait we'll be dead by then...
Spending $10 for a lightbulb that lasts six decades doesn't seem like an unreasonable expense...
Some websites note that this light is nothing more than 24 x LED lights on a socket!The 24LED/socket is already in production for many years in Germany, and widely sold; so is there any difference that distinguishes the light from the 24LED light bulb?
An LED that can produce more lumens per watt than a Xenon bulb was previously never available, so any 24LED bulb is likely fairly dim in comparison to a compact fluorescent bulb that has been given time to warm up. That's why LED incandescent-replacement bulbs haven't yet caught on (besides their high price). Think Geek has some older design bulbs for sale that do rival incandescents, but they are outrageously expensive before you factor in yearly energy savings. Audi introduced all-LED headlights (low AND high beam) with another similarly new LED technology that was the first to break the 100 lumen/watt barrier. Chances are, this new superbulb will be using something similar in its design.
I found a 60-watt replacement CFL at Dollar Tree this past weekend. It's not in a nice round shape like others (two small, straight tubes), but for a dollar, I can't complain. Since they last upwards of 5 years, any CFL replacement will have to be cost-effective.
Plus, whats the incentive for producing bulbs that last 60 years? What kind of company can survive when they only sell products once every 60 years. Sure, there's the long ramp-up time, they can't replace all bulbs at once. Then there's always new installations, and broken bulb replacement (which will be far fewer than vacuum-bulb incandescents and crystal CFLs), but seriously, we'll start a big new industry, and 20 years from now, once everyone has these new super bulbs, 90% of the new businesses will go under. And don't give me any "light bulb service will replace light bulb income" B.S. It doesn't work for free software, it won't work here.
I don't mind the $.10 incandescent lights, but I know the extra energy they use is an environmental concern. All I can say is, "Anything but compact fluorescent, thank-you-very-much."
I do photography as a hobby and the CF bulbs with their horrid blue tint are a huge step away from 'natural light.'
Until these bulbs get anywhere close to a ordinary lightbulb get them the hell away from me. I cant stand the offcolor in a room.
Its as bad as looking at things in a dimlight or at dusk.
The power company may want to produce these, since they can save in building more power plants.
Also I've found LED lights to be pretty directional, if it puts out the equiv of a 60 watt bulb with the same coverage as one, I'm impressed. Meaning, no obviously darker spots 10 feet away. (imagine holding 10 led flashlights in a tree, what it looks like on the walls 10 feet away)