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Graphene Light Bulbs Coming To Stores Soon

Posted by Soulskill on from the double-as-a-minature-space-elevator dept.

An anonymous reader writes: A light bulb made from graphene — said by its UK developers to be the first commercially viable consumer product using the super-strong carbon — is to go on sale later this year. The dimmable LED bulb with a graphene-coated filament was designed at Manchester University, where the material was discovered in 2004. It is said to cut energy use by 10% and last longer owing to its conductivity. It is expected to be priced lower than current LED bulbs, which cost about £15 (~$22) each.

24 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. LED ... filament? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Huh?

    1. Re:LED ... filament? by itzly · · Score: 4, Informative

      But that's not what they are talking about here. Those "filament" lamps are nothing but a row of LEDs on a strip.

      They're probably talking about this, which has nothing to do with filaments: http://optics.org/news/6/2/6

    2. Re:LED ... filament? by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 2

      I've got 2 of them. I think I saw the first ones about a year ago here: http://www.prolys.dk/da/produc...

      and now you can even get them in some hardware stores: http://www.bauhaus.dk/led-paer...

  2. What they are probably meaning: by queazocotal · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://optics.org/news/6/2/6
    http://www.nature.com/nmat/jou...

    The writer of the original article should be shot, hung, shot, and then boiled.

    It is riddled with so many inaccuracies that it's meaningless.
    '10%' - yes - 10% is mentioned ' Our first devices already exhibit an extrinsic quantum efficiency of nearly 10% and the emission can be tuned over a wide range of frequencies by appropriately choosing and combining 2D semiconductors'
    But going from that to LED efficiency is ridiculous.

    It is comedically ridiculous to claim that it's going to result in products this year.

    It's worth noting that the best existing 'warm white' LEDs bulbs can already produce about twice as much light per watt as compact florescent.
    (if they are made with around double the normal number of LEDs and a more efficient power supply).

    1. Re:What they are probably meaning: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The writer of the original article should be shot, hung, shot, and then boiled.

      I know this is the internet and all, but at least try to temper your reaction a wee bit. if everything is an extreme then there is no nuance.

    2. Re:What they are probably meaning: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I heard that the reason Democrats pushed for CFLs was because they're reptilian and the UV light emitted is good for them, but now that they're getting phased out for LEDs they're all panicking.

    3. Re:What they are probably meaning: by Dogtanian · · Score: 2

      The writer of the original article should be shot, hung, shot, and then boiled.

      Ah, Slashdot. "I don't like what this guy said! Kill him!" (Applause and upmods)

      Good grief. Any normal person would recognise it's more likely that the OP was indulging in deliberate hyperbole to indicate his displeasure with the writer, rather than a psychopath who genuinely meant it literally. Especially given the repetition of "shot"(!)

      Either you have some form of autistic spectrum disorder (in which case, no offence, but that did need explained to you), you're stupid or you're just a would-be-smartass trying to score argumentative points by feigning misunderstanding and offence anyway.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    4. Re:What they are probably meaning: by paiute · · Score: 2

      I've been buying Philips SlimStyle LED bulbs for standard sockets at Home Depot lately. They are often on sale for less than $5 and put out a nice light.

      --
      If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
  3. How much do LED bulbs cost? by jordanjay29 · · Score: 2

    It is expected to be priced lower than current LED bulbs, which cost about £15 (~$22) each.

    And yet I just saw a pack of 4 at Menards for $7.95 today.

    1. Re:How much do LED bulbs cost? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      What does a pirate say after you kick him in the balls?

      Ow! Me nards!"

    2. Re:How much do LED bulbs cost? by Moridineas · · Score: 2

      Try the Cree TW series bulbs (a few more bucks per bulb, and a few more watts). They're still not perfect, but they're much better.

    3. Re:How much do LED bulbs cost? by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 2

      Here you go, you irritating character.

      I know what CRI is, you pedantic twit. This doesn't address my comment at all, which was in reference to GP's vague statement about "light quality".

      If GP had written CRI, then I (and everybody else) would have known what he meant.

  4. Re:okay, but LED bulbs are nowhere near $22/ea by BLKMGK · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've got a few of the Cree bulbs bought from local big box stores - they work GREAT and the bright white is really white while the warm white looks a great deal like an older incandescent. So happy Cree finally got into the market!

    --
    Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
  5. Cut energy use by WHAT? by wisnoskij · · Score: 2

    Is that 10% better than LED? And longer lasting than LED?

    --
    Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
    1. Re:Cut energy use by WHAT? by queazocotal · · Score: 2

      Err - no.
      Look at the URL, there is a clue why you're spectacularly wrong.

      Current LEDs (blue ones, which white is based on) exceed 50% quantum efficiency.

      http://www.digikey.com/product... - for example - does 48% electricity to light.

  6. led costs $22????? by WindBourne · · Score: 2

    The best 3 bulbs out there are Cree and then Philips. Cree has the BEST LED by far, along with the best electronics including the driver. That is why they warranty their bulbs for 10 years. OTOH, Philips does 2,3 and a few for 5. Then you have the cheap chinese junk for 1-3 years, which will not last 12 months and the warranties are worthless.

    However, the Crees 65 w A19 bulb goes for $6.97 at Home Depot. These will last decades, unless you burn then 24x7.

    And this new graphene LED bulbs will compete HOW?

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    1. Re:led costs $22????? by Moridineas · · Score: 3, Informative

      I just made another post about this, but I have about about 15-16 cree bulbs in my house. I take a picture of the receipt and the packaging at the time of every purchase.

      I've had trouble with two--both 40W TW series bulbs. These bulbs flickered--they would turn off and if I adjusted--or even tapped on the bulb--the bulb would come back on for a time. The problem got worse until they barely worked anymore. I thought it was the fixture until I tried one of the bad bulbs in a desk lamp and had the same issue.

      Anyway, I emailed Cree tech support with the photo of the receipt and packaging and had 3 new bulbs fedexed to me two days later.

      I'm annoyed by the quality lapse (less than a year), but I don't have any problems with their response.

  7. Re:The Better, Longer Lasting, Cheaper Bulb by ScentCone · · Score: 2

    Ya, they are totally going to release a cheaper product that outperforms the competition in all areas and has added features. That is totally how Capitalism works.

    Actually, that's exactly how a market economy works. Things get better and cheaper over time because of innovation and stiff competition. Or did you still spend $10,000 on a 40" flat screen TV this year, and hundreds of dollars for a 20MB disk drive? That must be frustrating for you.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  8. Re:The Better, Longer Lasting, Cheaper Bulb by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 2

    What if we reverse the polarity of the graphene coating?

    It reverts to an incandescent bulb with an average lifetime of about 500ms.

  9. Re:okay, but LED bulbs are nowhere near $22/ea by Moridineas · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Hmmm, interesting. I've upgraded almost my entire house to Cree bulbs over the last two years. I had one fixture that had three 40W TW (high CRI) bulbs--the only 40W crees I've used--that were all bought at the same time. Two of the bulbs died within a week of each other--they flicker off and if you tap them will turn back on. I'm assuming some solder or some other connection has weakened. I'm going to try to fix them, but that's neither here nor there.

    I emailed Cree support with a picture of my receipt and a picture of the original packaging (taken at the time I purchased them). Cree immediately offered to Fedex me three new bulbs (including a replacement for the third bulb) and did not even ask for me to send the old bulbs back. I had new bulbs two days later.

    I'm disappointed that the bulbs didn't last that long, but I couldn't ask for any better response out of Cree's support.

  10. Re:The Better, Longer Lasting, Cheaper Bulb by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 2

    What if we reverse the polarity of the graphene coating?

    It sucks all the light out of other nearby fixtures.

  11. Re:Still too dim by Firethorn · · Score: 2

    In your case I'd consider getting away from 'bulbs' and going with a new fixture. That's what I've been doing lately. Rather than toss 2-3 'bulbs' into a fixture meant for incandescent, I've been replacing it with a fixture with the LEDs integrated. No cooling problems when you can scatter the emitters throughout the fixture's light emitting surface.

    --
    I don't read AC A human right
  12. Re:Too much! by DamonHD · · Score: 3, Interesting

    One that saves more than that in electricity within a year or two, and avoids high replacement maintenance costs on top in commercial settings.

    What crazy world has people continuing to complain about the cost of petrol relative to hay while whining that the motorways seem so unfriendly for their horse and cart?

    Rgds

    Damon

    --
    http://m.earth.org.uk/
  13. Lie to word ratio approaching 1:1 by Maury+Markowitz · · Score: 2

    "A light bulb made from graphene"

    It is not made from graphene.

    "said by its UK developers to be the first commercially viable consumer product using the super-strong carbon"

    There are a wide variety of consumer products that *clime* to use graphene. http://www.graphene-info.com/graphene-products

    "Manchester University, where the material was discovered in 2004":

    Ok, they got this right.

    "It is said to cut energy use by 10% and last longer owing to its conductivity."

    LED bulbs die when their electrocaps fry. Improving the conductivity of the LED (and I can't imagine how it would do this) would not change this.

    "It is expected to be priced lower than current LED bulbs, which cost about £15 (~$22) each."

    Current LED bulbs are widely available in the UK for £5 to 10. http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/shelves/Light_Bulbs_in_Tesco.html