GE Announces Advancement in Incandescent Technology

finfife writes to tell us that GE has announced an advancement in incandescent technology that promises to increase the efficiency of lightbulbs to put them on par with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). "The new high efficiency incandescent (HEI(TM)) lamp, which incorporates innovative new materials being developed in partnership by GE's Lighting division, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and GE's Global Research Center, headquartered in Niskayuna, NY, would replace traditional 40- to 100-Watt household incandescent light bulbs, the most popular lamp type used by consumers today. The new technology could be expanded to all other incandescent types as well. The target for these bulbs at initial production is to be nearly twice as efficient, at 30 lumens-per-Watt, as current incandescent bulbs. Ultimately the high efficiency lamp (HEI) technology is expected to be about four times as efficient as current incandescent bulbs and comparable to CFL bulbs. Adoption of new technology could lead to greenhouse gas emission reductions of up to 40 million tons of CO2 in the U.S. and up to 50 million tons in the EU if the entire installed base of traditional incandescent bulbs was replaced with HEI lamps."The California legislature may want to revisit the wording of their proposed ban on incandescents (AB 722). How about mandating a level of efficiency rather than assuming that innovation can't happen?"

Comments

Re:They Use Tungsten Vapourware Technology

[drinkypoo]

Having said all of that, anyone who walks into a store and buys an incandescent is either a) stupid, b) very stupid, or c) they live in an apartment with unmetered electricity.

a) Fuck you, b) Fuck you twice, and c) If I did, I'd be running a carbon-nanotube production facility.

I use incandescents because there is no such thing as a CFL with anything like the spectrum of even an ordinary incandescent, let alone a broad-spectrum lamp like a GE Reveal(tm).

I have a house full of CFs, and have had them for half a decade now

Irrelevant and uninteresting

and there is zero flicker or start-up lag

I don't believe you, and unless you have performed empirical testing, you are continuing to talk through the wrong orifice. In addition, there is the issue that for thirty seconds to thirty minutes after turn-on, depending on temperature and quality of the lamp, the color is not correct.

in the entire time I've owned CFs I've changed two whole bulbs, one being used outside in -25C temperature when it was only rated for indoor use.

Congratulations. You are invited to realize that the plural of anecdote is not data.

Now, if we want to talk about actual science, Several studies (these were easiest to find out of sources that looked potentially credible - articles provide citations) demonstrate that flourescent lighting has negative implications for health, attention span, cognition, and a laundry list of other issues. Flourescents simply fuck with your head. Mind you, ordinary incandescents are insufficient as well:

The photobiologic action spectra of greatest importance to humans ranges from 290 to 770 nm. Skin reddening and vitamin D synthesis occurs in the range of 290 to 315 nm. Tanning or pigmentation of the skin and reduction of dental caries occurs in response to band light in the band from 280 to 400 nm. Vision is most sensitive to light in the 500 to 650 nm range (yellow-green light). Bilirubin degradation occurs in response to light in the 400 to 500 nm range (blue light). Natural light provides the spectral energy distribution necessary for all of these biological functions. Full-spectrum fluorescent illumination also provides substantially all of the spectral energy distribution although light levels are much lower than daylight levels. The spectra of incandescent, cool-white fluorescent, and high pressure sodium vapor light sources appear to fall short of covering the entire photobiologic action spectra of importance to human beings.

(From the first link)

We mostly rely on daylight at home and have big windows. Besides that we are typically in the living room, and have installed broad-spectrum incandescents there. I don't know about the rest of the results, but they definitely reduce eye strain while reading.

So before you call me stupid for using incandescents, maybe you should consider educating yourself. Anything else just makes you an ass. Don't tell me what works for me. If you are so insensitive that CFLs don't bother you, well, congratulations on walking through the world using your senses halfway. I am not in that situation, I realize that flourescent lighting is crap lighting, and I will continue to avoid it even if the government makes me a criminal for doing so.