LED bulbs hit 100 watts as federal ban looms

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Yahoo News:

NEW YORK – Two leading makers of lighting products are showcasing LED bulbs that are bright enough to replace energy-guzzling 100-watt light bulbs set to disappear from stores in January.

Their demonstrations at the LightFair trade show in Philadelphia this week mean that brighter LED bulbs will likely go on sale next year, but after a government ban takes effect.

The new bulbs will also be expensive — about $50 each — so the development may not prevent consumers from hoarding traditional bulbs.

The technology in traditional "incandescent" bulbs is more than a century old. Such bulbs waste most of the electricity that feeds them, turning it into heat. The 100-watt bulb, in particular, produces so much heat that it's used in Hasbro's Easy-Bake Oven.

To encourage energy efficiency, Congress passed a law in 2007 mandating that bulbs producing 100 watts worth of light meet certain efficiency goals, starting in 2012. Conventional light bulbs don't meet those goals, so the law will prohibit making or importing them. The same rule will start apply to remaining bulbs 40 watts and above in 2014. Since January, California has already banned stores from restocking 100-watt incandescent bulbs.

Creating good alternatives to the light bulb has been more difficult than expected, especially for the very bright 100-watt bulbs. Part of the problem is that these new bulbs have to fit into lamps and ceiling fixtures designed for older technology.

Compact fluorescents are the most obvious replacement, but they have drawbacks. They contain a small amount of toxic mercury vapor, which is released if they break or are improperly thrown away. They last longer than traditional bulbs but not as long as LEDs. Brighter models are bulky and may not fit in existing fixtures.

Another new lighting technology, organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, has had problems reaching mass production. OLEDs are glowing sheets or tiles, rather than pinprick light sources, as LEDs are. They're used as vibrant color screens for smartphones, particularly from Samsung Electronics Co.

But making OLEDs that are big, bright, cheap and long-lasting enough for use as light sources has proved difficult, in part because they use chemicals that are sensitive to oxygen and spoil unless sealed very carefully.
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$50 light bulbs? Government "Efficiency" always costs more than its worth...

[SrWoodchuck]

WVR!

 

Candles & whale oil lamps probably aren't green......are they?

 

One step closer to the old adage of how the world will end:

 

This is the way the world ends,

This is the way the world ends,

This is the way the world ends,

Not with a bang but a whimper.

 

T.S. Eliot

 

Except it will also be cold.......and now dark, too!

 

NOBAMA-2012!

[clearvision]

A company (VU1) has come out with a highly efficient lightbulb with very good light quality and marginal cost (much better than LED, but more than CFL). It screws in like a normal bulb and works well with dimmers. Problem is they can't get new houses in CA because CA has declared all new construction must use special fixtures that take either LED or CFL with a new plug design (you have to pick one). So CA in their push to control the masses has eliminated an easy replacement for a growing portion of their housing.

[AceRimmer]

A company (VU1) has come out with a highly efficient lightbulb with very good light quality and marginal cost (much better than LED, but more than CFL). It screws in like a normal bulb and works well with dimmers. Problem is they can't get new houses in CA because CA has declared all new construction must use special fixtures that take either LED or CFL with a new plug design (you have to pick one). So CA in their push to control the masses has eliminated an easy replacement for a growing portion of their housing.

 

The socialists in Cali keep wondering why people are abandoning their state when all they have to do to find the answer is by looking in a mirror...