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117 Comments
- crapuccino, on 12/12/2008, -1/+61Why is this news? I've been able to buy CFL bulbs that look like this for years.
- Ghoztt, on 12/12/2008, -6/+56LED > CFL
- araza13, on 12/13/2008, -1/+26How much does the end of the month cost?
- snoudude, on 12/13/2008, -0/+22Because some lampshades won't attach to the typical CFL.
- PCGUY112887, on 12/13/2008, -3/+18Worlds first? Are you serious? I have some of these upstairs in a lamp right now.. they are nothing new. I in fact don't like the ones I have vs the spiral type, as these take FOREVER to warm up to get any decent light output. You turn on the lights in my kitchen and it's so dim it's pointless for the first 5 minutes...
- Spuy767, on 12/12/2008, -4/+19Current white LED tech gives us little benefit over CFL. The high cost of materials, i.e. sapphire, coupled with the fact that LED's can't emit white light, only excite a phosphor, LED's will have to wait a few years.
- datagod, on 12/13/2008, -2/+16I see what they did there...and it is stupid.
- darksidez4, on 12/13/2008, -1/+14i saw that at IKEA four years ago...
- ChrisfromNL, on 12/13/2008, -0/+13I was going to say the same, I've seen them for at least 1 year.
- Lhandroval, on 12/13/2008, -1/+12Some of us can't afford $30 per light bulb:
http://www.amazon.com/Watt-LED-Light-Bulb-White/dp ...
So CFLs will have to do for now until LED prices drop. - Nogusta, on 12/13/2008, -0/+9CFL's would not emit white light without phosphors either. (
White LED's have a place currently. General ambient lighting is not it. A strong case can be made for LED cove lighting, task lighting, exterior accent lighting, etc.
Lighting a supermarket freezer with CFL would be silly. There are current LED products that do an excellent job.
LED's are great for internally lit signs. Even starting to replace linear fluorescent as the standard. - method7670, on 12/13/2008, -3/+12Why does it matter really the shape of the CFL?
- Ghoztt, on 12/12/2008, -2/+10I actually like the white-blue light the 'white' LED's give off. And the 'high cost' (cents per LED, what are you smoking man? HIGH COSTS?) will QUICKLY be regained by the offset of energy use if we switched to LED's.
- rolf, on 12/13/2008, -0/+8You're buying the wrong bulbs then. Stay away from cheap no names at the dollar store. Feit Electric and Sylvania make pretty good ones although some models can be subpar.
- cowsgonemadd3, on 12/13/2008, -0/+7One thing is they will clean easy and wont break if you screw them in with the glass part.
- vault, on 12/13/2008, -0/+7Better get a gift receipt. Who wants a lightbulb for Christmas?
- jbittle, on 12/13/2008, -0/+6These are great for people who want to save money and energy but don't want to look like those damn hippies who also want to save money and energy. It's like putting a Hummer cover over a Prius.
- wtfamerica, on 12/13/2008, -0/+6I'd rather have cash, thanks.
- magusg, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5Same here, I bought some probably a year ago, so... not news.
- elfprince13, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5the majority of the mercury sticks to the glass which is why cleanup is as relaxed as it is. if you step on that glass you're screwed.
- Heilige, on 12/13/2008, -1/+6LED Bulbs are better, cleaner, safer, and more efficient.
- elfprince13, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5for the record I'm in no way opposed to CFLs, I just find this particular idea to be really stupid. also, as someone said above, LEDs ftw.
- EntangledPhysx, on 12/13/2008, -1/+6Go back to youtube.
- skunkman62, on 12/13/2008, -1/+6yay! electronics in a light bulb! now we cant just toss it when it burnt out. we have to dump it at a "recycling" center who will dump it in a village in china!
you're right it's stupid. - travmatron86, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5Ikea has been selling these for over 2 years. Way to go GE.
- jasdf, on 12/13/2008, -3/+7My plan is to buy everyone CFLs for Christmas.
- Taiyoryu, on 12/13/2008, -0/+4Regardless of where you stand on global warming, decreasing demand for electricity and energy conservation in general is a good thing if only for the simple economic benefit of lower demand equals lower prices and more money in your pocket.
- jdmulloy, on 12/13/2008, -0/+4Because it will satisfy the people who whine about the "weird" look of CFLs.
These will look better in fixtures that don't hide the bulb. - rolf, on 12/13/2008, -1/+5A CFL bulb will not give you mercury poisoning. Stop being an alarmist.
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp - vault, on 12/13/2008, -1/+5I've never bought a CFL bulb. In fact I've never thought twice about the type of bulb I buy, it's a lightbulb, I just buy whatever they carry.
- mogebier, on 12/13/2008, -0/+4I just replaced a bulb I use for hours every day. It was a CFL bulb. It lasted me 8 years + 3 weeks. I date them when I install them so I can see how long they last.
No regular bulb would last that long and use so little energy. - uncoveror, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3CFLs use less energy than incandescent, but nuclear light bulbs generate their own power. Take that, electric company!
http://www.uncoveror.com/nukebulbs.htm - xenuxenuts, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3should I send you address?
- rolf, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3The equation isn't true yet, either in light or lumens it gives out nor in price.
- Lhandroval, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3@vault: sure they last longer and have a better ROI, but some of us can't take the initial investment.
- AirRaven, on 12/13/2008, -2/+5The glass itself doesn't contain Mercury- the chemicals *enclosed by* the Glass do.
And if you don't notice those, you've got bigger problems. - ridestp, on 12/13/2008, -1/+4" I look forward to purchasing the end of the month!:"
Are you kidding me? That is SO ***** lame! Will you be first in line hours before the store opening? - specialbuddy1, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3About to say the same but these look MORE like the traditional light bulb.
- Drexxle, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3Thanks GE, now we can see even more CFL, Mercury, Plastics and ***** going into our landfills. As said up earlier, LED > CFL. Man even old school light bulbs > than CFL. Old school bulbs dont take up landfill and are made of things that break down. Also just cause you use less power, doesnt mean those coal fired power stations are making any less power. YAY for the eco con.
- GT35R, on 12/13/2008, -1/+4Why dont you keep your car engine running when its parked at night.
- vault, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3But don't LED bulbs last much longer?
- Nogusta, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3I think you need to do a cost analysis before you make claims like that. Please let us know how much a 1700 lumen package LED fixture costs and how much the input wattage is. (1700 lumens = 100W A19 incandescent, or roughly 22-23W compact fluorescent. Though the CF lamp is in North American is usually under 0.6 power factor so it is not really a fair comparison to incandescent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_factor)
It's funny how many LED manufacturers fall way short of their claims when independently tested. Less than half is not uncommon. http://www.netl.doe.gov/ssl/caliper-summaryreports ... - kaosethema, on 12/13/2008, -0/+2yeah, i can reuse my clamp-shades again
- inactive, on 12/13/2008, -0/+2crackheads who lost their pipe?
/ask someone in the hotel industry about crackheads stealing light bulbs... - Nogusta, on 12/13/2008, -0/+2@vault
Lasting longer is debatable. Heat management at the junction is crucial. Many LED fixture manufacturers claim the LED's rated life and output when they do not operate the LED in the LED chip makers parameters. It's possible between overdriving the LED and no proper heat management that a LED could burn out faster than an incandescent bulb. I have heard stories about high failure rates of LED retrofit lamps.
See http://www.netl.doe.gov/ssl/caliper-summaryreports ...
But most of the problem products are made by fly-by-night manufacturers with no brand name to protect. The lighting fixture manufacturers that have been around for decades are starting to make LED products. They have waited until now for LEDs to get to a point where there is value and are willing to put their industry trusted brand names behind LED products. - BossKey, on 12/13/2008, -0/+2It isn't the shape, it's the technology inside. It really depends on which ones you buy and my experience is exactly the opposite of yours.
I have several under cabinet CFL tubes in my kitchen, and they have an instant-on feature. As good as an incandescent.
I recently bought some CFL globes for the over sink strip in the bathroom. These suck! They take forever to reach useful brightness. And yet, I have other traditionally-shaped CFL "bulbs" that are instant on.
Unfortunately it's hard to tell which kind you get when you buy. Instant-on bulbs are quite satisfying, although I'll bet they cost a little more energy somehow. - tacojohn48, on 12/13/2008, -1/+3I for one think it is a bright ideal. Don't pay attention to all those dimwitted naysayers.
- XStatic, on 12/13/2008, -0/+2Need dimming!
- specialbuddy1, on 12/13/2008, -0/+2I don't know about Sylvania. I have had two go bad(one was all brown around the outside) but they did replace them for me. Bad batch?
- InetRoadkill, on 12/13/2008, -0/+2Check out a company called VU1 (View one). They were front-paged on Digg a couple of months ago. They are about to go into production with a bulb that offers the energy efficiency of a CFL without the toxic materials. Plus it looks just like a regular incandescent and is fully dimmable. It also has the same warm color spectrum as a incandescent. They are instant on and can tolerate cold temperatures too.
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