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Monday, April 25, 2016

Scientists Build a Better Incandescent Light Bulb… Six Years After Last US Factory Closes

Six years after the last incandescent light bulb factory in the U.S. shut down due to strict new federal energy conservation standards, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have come up with a technological breakthrough that could make incandescent bulbs twice as energy-efficient as their replacements.

MIT researchers discovered that by wrapping the filament of an incandescent bulb with a “photonic crystal,” they could “recycle” the energy that was typically lost as heat to create more light.

The new technique “makes a dramatic difference in how efficiently the system converts electricity into light,” said the research team led by MIT professors Marin Soljačić, John Joannopoulos and Gang Chen.

A new generation of incandescent bulbs could be twice as energy efficient as LEDs without the drawbacks, including higher initial cost and “inconsistent” white light.

“Whereas the luminous efficiency of conventional incandescent lights is between 2 and 3 percent, that of fluorescents (including CFLs) is between 7 and 15 percent, and that of most commercial LEDs between 5 and 20 percent, the new two-stage incandescents could reach efficiencies as high as 40 percent,” according to a press release from MIT.

More here

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like some job opportunities, mostly in China.

Anonymous said...

"..Sounds like some job opportunities, mostly in China.."

I'd say that depends on who owns the patent and how they choose to handle it.
This would be a tremendous opportunity to generate some good American manufacturing jobs and restore some good old American pride.

Anonymous said...

Not without some trade restrictions.

Anonymous said...

Watt the hell will they think of next?

Anonymous said...

Guarantee that they won't be manufactured in Salisbury!

Anonymous said...

"..Guarantee that they won't be manufactured in Salisbury!"

Why not? The fellow who owns this blog knows something about making light bulbs.

Anonymous said...

I swapped out every bulb in my house for LED's and cut my electric bill by 70%! I would never buy regular bulbs again.

Anonymous said...

Dude they are 2x more efficient! You could save 120% on your electric bills!!