December 28, 2007
WHICH IS WHY THE ENERGY BILL'S DEADLINE SHOULD BE SHORTENED:
New efficient bulb sees the light (BBC, 12/28/07)
A new type of super-efficient household light bulb is being developed which could spell the end of regular bulbs.Experts have found a way to make Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) brighter and use less power than energy efficient light bulbs currently on the market.
Libertarians will still only read by whale oil lanterns.... Posted by Orrin Judd at December 28, 2007 8:17 AM
LEDs are near-ideal light sources; they switch on rapidly and convert electricity directly to light with close to 100% efficiency. If they can be made bright enough cheap enough they would indeed displace just about everything else.
They do have the same problem as CFLs; normal LEDs only produce very specific single colors of light, so to get a broad spectrum they're actually used to drive a flourescent compound (much like a CFL, but with the LED light taking the place of the high-voltage excited gas). This reduces efficiency a bit (albiet to great instead of nearly perfect), and getting the right mix to produce a good light color is tricky.
Posted by: Mike Earl at December 28, 2007 10:05 AMOh, and LEDs last nearly forever, into the bargain (10+ years, minimum).
Posted by: Mike Earl at December 28, 2007 10:07 AM