From the category archives:

Lighting

Liquid-Filled LED Bulbs: 360 Degree Light

September 13, 2009

I’ve been testing a new LED bulb called the HydraLux. These unique bulbs are filled with a clear liquid coolant (a non-toxic paraffin oil). Other LED bulbs use large metal fins or fans for cooling purposes. The advantage of using a liquid coolant is that the LED bulb can produce 360° light like a regular [...]

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The World’s Smallest Lightbulb

May 11, 2009

As LED lights and fluorescent bulbs become increasingly mainstream, scientists at UCLA’s Department of Physics and Astronomy have developed a groundbreaking new variation of Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb. But don’t expect to find this bulb in your local hardware store anytime soon – unless you normally bring an electron microscope along to do your [...]

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Efficient Organic LEDs Demonstrated

April 17, 2009

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are a new type of LED where a thin film of organic compounds is used to produce electroluminescence.

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Review: The Best LED Reading Lamps

April 14, 2009

Nighttime can be prime reading time, and a small reading light is invaluable in a darkened room, or to avoid disturbing a roommate or spouse. The small size and directional light output of LEDs make them ideal for personal reading lights. Here are four of the best LED reading lamps, perfect for the [...]

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The Best LED Desk Lamps For 2009

January 31, 2009

Well, LEDs are now dominating the flashlight market, but there’s only a handful of LED desk lamps available in 2009. Many LED desk lamps are designer lamps costing $300 and up. That’s unfortunate, because a desk lamp LED-based desk lamps have a lot going for them. Besides being energy efficient, LED lamps run much cooler [...]

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On Meta-Optimization

January 9, 2009

Optimize your meta-techniques.

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New LED Light Bulbs Can Replace 100W Incandescents

November 30, 2008

I recently had the chance to test two state-of-the-art LED light bulbs from EarthLED. LED bulbs have many advantages over incandescents and compact fluorescent: they use very little power, they last 10 years or more, and they contain no hazardous substances. They are also tough: they can be dropped and turned off and on repeated [...]

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Sharp Introduces Earthquake-Detecting Solar LED Streetlights

September 4, 2008

Sharp is introducing a new range of solar-powered LED streetlights. These self-contained lights charge during the day, and switch on automatically when darkness falls. They can operate for 10 years straight without maintenance. They make use of new, high-intensity LED spotlights, which are ideal for public parks. The LEDs illuminate with a directed light and [...]

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Motion-Sensing LED Lights: A Review

July 30, 2008

Motion-sensing LED lights — these lights are perhaps the most efficient lighting devices available today. They switch on whenever their infra-red sensors detect movement in a room — such as when someone begins to walk down a dark hallway. I’ve been testing them in my own home, and I’ve found them to be effective and [...]

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Office Building Lit With 100% LED Light

July 27, 2008

Last year, we featured a nightclub lit entirely by LEDs, but here’s an office building that is said to be the first to be lit by 100% LED light. The lighting was provided by the Netherlands-headquartered Royal Philips Electronics. To showcase the potential of LED light, Philips designed the lighting system to be warm and [...]

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New High Power LED Floor Lamps

June 29, 2008

Koncept has released a new series of their I-Tower LED floor lamps. It’s good to see LED floor lamps becoming widely available. These lamps use the latest generation of high-power LEDs, which means they are brighter than the older I-Tower lamps, but they actually uses less power (8.8 watts). There are two models: a daylight [...]

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Geobulb: A LED Bulb That Replaces A 60W Bulb

June 17, 2008

The Geobulb is a 8 watt LED light that replaces a 60 watt incandescent bulb. It generates 800 lumens of light to be exact — either warm white light or cool white. This bulb has a sleeker design than some of the LED lights I’ve seen — check out that aesthetically pleasing heat sink.

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13W LED Bulb Can Replace 100W Incandescent

April 22, 2008

This 13 watt bulb, the Evolux by EarthLED, is said to be first LED light to be able to replace a 100 watt incandescent. The lifetime of this bulb is rated at over 50,000 hours — which is five times longer than a compact fluorescent bulb. Other advantages of LED bulbs is their ability to [...]

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OLEDs Printed Like Newspaper: World’s First Demonstration

March 11, 2008

OLEDs are thin, organic materials sandwiched between two electrodes, which illuminate when an electrical charge is applied. They’re so thin, that they could be applied to rooms as a type of wall paper to glow at the touch of a finger or when someone enters the room. Like LEDs they produce light very efficiently. But [...]

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Solar and Wind Powered StreetLights In Tokyo

January 30, 2008

We just wrote about the new LED streelights in Ann Arbor. Now we find these self-contained streetlights that generate 100% of their power from the sun and the wind. During the day, solar power is stored in a battery at the base of the light pole. At night, they illuminate while continuing to generate power [...]

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Glass LED Lamp: Rechargeable and Cordless

January 29, 2008

This “Rotondo” rechargeable lamp uses LEDs for illumination — it will run for about eight hours before it needs a recharge. The lamp is also water resistant and is made with mouth-blown parnaterraglas with a frosted finish. It will cycle through a spectrum of colors, and can be stopped when the hue you desire is [...]

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Solar Trees May Light Up Europe

December 23, 2007

This is a great innovation — the streets of Europe could soon be lit by "solar trees". These self-contained streetlights could save cities energy and money too. Unlike regular streetlights, they do not require costly underground wiring to install, and they are immune to blackouts. Designed by Ross Lovegrove, the lights have 10 solar panels [...]

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Solar Hybrid Lighting Tested In California

December 3, 2007

A handful of buildings in California are beginning to try a new kind of indoor lighting: sunlight without windows. It’s called hybrid solar lighting, and it is being marketed by a company called Sunlight Direct. During the day, sunlight is captured and channeled into lighting fixtures, then at night, the fluorescent bulb takes over. On [...]

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EcoLEDs: Mercury-Free LED Bulbs

May 10, 2007

A start-up company is offering mercury-free, energy efficient, high-brightness LED lights to replace typical light bulbs in homes and offices. The EcoLED lights use 1/10th the electricity of incandescent light bulbs, and are estimated to last 50,000 hours before burning out (approximately a decade of normal use). Unlike compact fluorescent bulbs, these bulbs contain no [...]

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Modern LED Candle: The Havaleena

February 22, 2007

It’s a 1 watt LED lamp called the Havaleena by Tayo Design Studio. These lights only require three AAA batteries to run, and fully charged batteries provide 20 hours of illumination. Each light comes with four colored filters and they are priced at $59.

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