Gizmodo: fluorescent bulbs

Picking The Right Compact Fluorescent Light For Every Room of Your Home

Sean Fallon — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:00:00 EDT

We have all heard about how it pays to go green when you ditch your power guzzling incandescent bulbs for money saving, eco-friendly CFLs—but have you given any thought to what type of CFLs work best in a particular room? Wired has, which is why they came up with a guide that covers the best lighting solutions for reading, brushing your teeth and the all-important "business time." Hit the link for the full list. [Wired]

Panasonic's Pa-Look Fluorescent Bulbs Get Lit Fast

Jason Chen — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:20:00 EDT

Not since Adam Frucci's last house party have we seen anything get lit as fast as Panasonic's Pa-Look fluorescent bulbs. These use a hybrid lighting method that makes for "instant bulb brightness," which is more convenient for bathrooms where you want to get light right away and not accidentally step on errant urine. Inside is a "quick lamp" that brings the goods 50 to 60% faster, and then cuts off when the regular fluorescent reaches optimum lighting. Fantastic for the slightly impatient. [Akihabara News]

Refined Cereal Light Fixtures: Fortified With Frosted Flakes and Fluorescents

Sean Fallon — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:30:00 EDT

You won't find any Grape Nuts or Fiber-rich Colon Blow on the Refined Cereal lighting fixture by the aptly titled Refined Sugar Studio. In fact, the light is meant as a nod toward our favorite sugary sweet breakfast cereals like Capn' Crunch, Count Chocula and Trix. The cereal images are made using ultraviolet-protected inks so they should stay bright for years—and the fluorescent light that shines through will undoubtedly cast a unique spectrum of colors around the room. Pricing is available upon request. [Refined Sugar Studio via MocoLoco]

Planilum Light Emitting Glass Can Illuminate Your Home For 20 Years

Sean Fallon — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:10:00 EDT

With fluorescents and LEDs making major headway in the market, energy efficient alternatives to the incandescent bulb are becoming big business. That having been said, the next big thing could be coming out of a partnership between Saazs and Saint-Gobain Innovations in the form of Planilum—the "world's first light emitting glass." Planilum is only 0.8-inches thick and is composed of four layers of special glass, a rare gas and serigraphed phosphors—which will give you 500,000 hours or around 20 years of normal usage.

Because of their soft glow, Planilum lights only get about as hot as the human body, which means that there is no need for a shade or diffuser. They are also about 90% recyclable because the design is nearly all glass. For these reasons, the Planilum can be integrated into designs that make a break from traditional lighting fixtures. In fact, the plan is to develop furniture and other household objects with these panels to make more functional and attractive lighting solutions. With any luck, we could see products based on this technology sometime within the next few years. [saazs via Inhabitat via OhGizmo]