Gizmodo: bulbs

World's First Liquid-Cooled LED Lightbulb Perfectly Pairs With Silly Gaming PCs

Dan Nosowitz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:40:00 EDT

Eternaleds announced their new Hydrolux-4 LED lightbulb, the very first liquid-cooled bulb in the world. The bulbs are incredibly energy-efficient compared to either incandescent or CFL bulbs, and come with a price tag to match.

The bulbs, which cost $35 each (!), are rated for 35,000 hours of use and only consumes 4W of electricity (compared to a 25W incandescent), which means if you're afraid of the dark and run it 8 hours a day for an entire year, it'll only cost $1.75. It's fully dimmable and, unlike other LED lights, cool to the touch, thanks to the oh-so-hardcore liquid cooling. The bulbs come in "warm white" and "daylight" flavors, and are available now. [Eternaleds via Engadget]

LED Bulb Features Gnarly Golden Heatsink

Mark Wilson — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:20:00 EST

LED light bulbs come in all sorts of strange sizes and shapes, but this offering from Chinavision is unabashed in its design.

Featuring an aluminum, curvilinear design, a series of diecast cooling fins dissipate heat from the internal circuitry. Meanwhile, LEDs put out 400 lumens for 50,000 hours while sipping on just 7W.

If you're interested, the bulb is available for $30. Otherwise, you should just try to convince your modder friend to incorporate it into his next case design. Maybe some gross ode to Thomas Edison. [Chinavision via 7gadgets]

Bird Pendant Decorates Exposed Bulbs the Easiest Way

Mark Wilson — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST

Hanging a real light fixture can be hard. But snapping a metal bird to a lightbulb? Easy.

The $50 Bird Pendant Light by Sweden-based artist Hung Ming Chen is a simple brass fixture that squeezes onto a bare bulb. And while we're guessing it might get a little hot, there's certainly no easier way to half-assedly decorate your basement. Now just to gather the motivation to actually replace that burned out lightbulb first. [UrbanOutfitters via Nerd Approved]

Putting Heatsinks on Light Bulbs Makes for Some Crazy Bulb Designs

Adam Frucci — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:45:00 EST

Who knew that lightbulb design could suddenly become so interesting? Since we're all well aware that regular old light bulbs are bad for the environment, we're seeing new designs for LED bulbs come in. And man, they're strange looking.

The weird designs, such as the one above, are the result of the LED being lit from the back. The design around the light is actually a heatsink that's meant to dissipate the heat generated by the LED. This design gives the LED much longer life by dissipating the heat quickly. Fortunately, bulbs like this are designed for recessed lighting, meaning you won't see them at all once you have them in place. You'll just reap the benefits on your electricity bill, which is something that no weird-looking bulb can make any less awesome. [NY Times]

Japanese ISS Module Slipping Into the Dark: Bulbs Burn Out, No Spares

Kit Eaton — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:15:00 EDT

Sheesh, if it's not one thing it's another: first the International Space Station had space toilet issues, and now bulbs are burning out in the new Japanese Kibo module. Lots of them. About half of the 21 fluorescent bulbs have burned out since it was installed earlier this year and, with other outages on the station, there are no more spares aboard. Replacements won't get there until the November Shuttle flight...which has Japan's space agency Jaxa worried it'll be too dark in Kibo for the science experiments it was designed for. You might wonder why they don't use LEDs: JAXA's working on those, but won't get them to orbit until 2010. In space no one can see you scream in frustration. [Wired Science]

Brendan Koerner Teaches Stephen Colbert About CFLs and the Environment

Benny Goldman — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EDT

Friend of Giz and contributing editor Brendan I. Koerner was on the Colbert Report last night to school Stephen on ways to save the environment. Koerner discussed the paper/plastic debate, using air conditioning vs. windows, and whether it's cheaper to buy CFLs or regular bulbs. Colbert let the green-concious Koerner off pretty easy, but he did manage to raise a fascinating point: If CFLs weren't meant to be licked, why do they look so damn delicious? [The Colbert Report, Brendan Koerner]

EVERLED, LED "Fluorescent" Tubes

Mark Wilson — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 18:30:39 EDT

While fluorescent tubes are energy efficient, their materials are crappy for the environment. But under current infrastructure (schools, city buildings, etc), replacing fluorescence with another technology would take uncountable amounts of moolah. That's why we're so excited about EVERLED, which fits in a standard fluorescent socket. But that's not the only benefit.

These EVERLEDs are rated at a 10-year lifespan, compared to the 5-7 year lifespan of their fluorescent counterparts. Plus, the lights require 20% less power, which would be an energy savings of incredible magnitude from a global perspective.

The catch: each 4-foot tube runs $150...or 70 TIMES the price of a fluorescent of the same size. Sorry, environment...uhh...things are tight...with the constantly buying new gadgets and all.

[product page via inhabitat]