The AmbientLED from Philips is the latest LED light designed to replace the 60 watt bulbs in people’s homes. Unlike older LEDs I tested, this light is definitely up to that job. It gives off 800 lumens of warm light, while running on 12 watts. It’s the first LED light to earn an ENERGY STAR qualification. To qualify, a 60-watt LED equivalent must have a minimum light output of 800 lumens, a color temperature of 2700K (for soft white light), color rendering index (CRI) of 80 and a minimum three year warranty, among other requirements.

The AmbientLED’s illumination is omnidirectional, closely matching the way light is thrown from an incandescent bulb. In fact, I’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between this LED and an incandescent in a blind test.

It’s good to see LED replacements coming to market that more closely match what people are accustomed to in their homes.

The light sells for $39.95 online at Polar-Ray.

VU1 ESL Light Bulb

Retailers are gearing up to meet deadlines for the incandescent light bulb ban. Ikea has already stopped selling the inefficient bulbs. And California has pulled the plug and is letting current supplies run down. Many incandescent lovers are shedding tears and hating on the mercury-containing CFLs and the more expensive (though infinitely more efficient) LEDs. So here come the ESLs. The VU1 Corporation has developed a light bulb using Electron Stimulated Luminescence that the company claims to be more efficient than incandescent, CFL, and LED bulbs.

Though using this patented technology in lighting is new, the science itself is by no means cutting edge. It works in the same way that a cathode ray television works- electrons stimulate phosphors inside the bulb to make them glow. The VU1 Corporation is marketing their bulbs as having the same light quality as an incandescent, yet up to 70% more efficient. They’re taking on the LEDs with a cheaper sticker price. And by not containing any mercury, they are a safer option over the CFLs.  They also have dimming capability and come on instantly, fit into a standard socket and have a similar shape to the Edison bulbs. Here is a comparison photo from the VU1 website:

VU1 Light Quality

Energy efficiency compared to an LED though is still in question. The VU1 bulb produces 30 lumens per watt, the equivalent of a 65 watt incandescent. LED technology continues to advance rapidly with some LEDs producing 3 times that many lumens per watt. And the LED holds the top spot when it comes to longevity. The VU1 bulb lasts 10,000 hours, while LEDs average 40,000-60,000 hours. Check out our guide to LEDs here.

Nevertheless, the ESL is an energy efficient and environmentally friendly lighting option and VU1 could find a nice slice of the light bulb market, especially as the incandescent bulbs leave the building. As stated in this report on Bloomberg, VU1 is in talks with two major retailers in the U.S. to begin selling the ESL bulbs. The bulb, which received UL certification in October, currently sells on the company’s website for $19.95.

[Via: Technology Review]

Zetalux LED Light Bulb

Update: See our latest post on LED Light Bulbs For The Home.

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 without damage, they can operate in very cold or warm temperatures.

LED bulbs can also save you money in the long term, because an incandescent bulb requires about $300 worth of electricity over ten years of use. The LED bulbs cost $40 (for the 60 watt equivalent Zetalux) and $50 (for the 100 watt equivalent Evolux), and their cost to run over ten years is about $38.

The Zetalux

The first EarthLED bulb I tested was the ZetaLux LED (pictured above). This bulb produces a pleasing warm white light.

Until recently, LED bulbs were only capable of producing a stark, cool white light, so I was happy about the color temperature of this bulb (it’s rated at 3000K). The bulb didn’t need to warm up like a compact fluorescent, and there was no flickering at all.

The Zetalux uses a CREE LED engine and features a high CRI or Color Rendering Index (75 for cool white and 80 for warm white). The bulb is rated at 7 watts. However, when I tested it with a Kill-A-Watt meter it was drawing only 5 watts.

The warm white version of the Zetalux produces 350 lumens, and the cool white produces 450 lumens. Comparing LED bulbs and other bulb solely on lumens is tricky because LED bulbs tend to make better use of their lumens in recessed fixtures (see this page for more details). EarthLED says the bulbs are equivalent to a 50-60 watt incandescent bulb.

The Zetalux LED Bulb illuminating my hallway.

The Zetalux currently sells for $40. The bulb costs about $2 per year to run, assuming it’s left on 8 hours a day and the cost of electricity is $.10 per KWh.

The Evolux

The second bulb I tested was a cool white Evolux. This 13 watt bulb produces 1075 lumens, and according to EarthLED is equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent. This bulb is definitely bright — it illuminates my garage quite well.

EarthLED says the Zetalux and Evolux will become the first FCC and Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) listed LED light bulbs on the market at the end of 2008. Both bulbs are RoHS compliant.

EarthLED will be releasing a dimmable version of the ZetaLux, and a new version of the Evolux in early 2009.

These bulbs are available from GoGreenSolar

Geobulb: A LED Light Bulb Replacement

The Geobulb is an 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.

The Geobulb lasts 40 times longer than conventional incandescent bulbs and 10 times longer than compact fluorescent. LED bulbs like this have the advantage of being able to be turned off and on quickly, and being able to withstand cold temperatures. It sells for $60 which, for an enthusiast like myself, is a reasonable price for a ultra-efficient light that will last 10 years or more. In fact, over the course of this bulb’s life, it is less expensive than incandescent bulbs or fluorescents.

The GEObulb led light is available from Amazon for $57.

Here’s a new LED Desk Lamp from Koncept. It features 66 “super bright” LEDs. The IceLight is about as bright as a 40–60 watt incandescent bulb. A single bright white LED puts out about 1.7 lumens of light, so 66 of them produce about 112 lumens. This 112 lumens is focused in a 50-degree viewing angle, compared to an incandescent which emits 500–800 lumens in a 360-degree viewing angle, thereby wasting much of the light backwards and sideways.

It comes in three colors and is priced at $139.95.

Icelight

LEDs are close to becoming metaefficient alternatives to regular light bulbs, but they are not quite there. Right now the brightest LED bulb is equivalent to a 25W incandescent bulb.

The bulb seen here has 36 LEDs and runs on 1W. That means it could run 10 hours a day for a whole year for less than two dollars. It will also last for at least 10 years. The drawback is the price: $18.95 each. The expense can be justified if they are used outdoors, in boats, or in off-grid homes.

Available from: Super Bright LEDS

Enlux, a company in Arizona, has created floodlights built from LEDs. They did this by removing the diodes from their individual plastic housings and clustering them on a heat-dissipating circuit board, known as a light engine. They also created finned aluminum housing that spreads the heat across its surface. The 22-watt floodlight ($80) gives off about as much brightness as a 45- to 65-watt incandescent bulb.

The real energy efficient comes in with the colored floodlights, which are ten times as efficient as their incadescent counterparts.

These lights also have all the usual benefits of LEDs: long life (35 years), durability and low operating temperature.

See also this this led floodlight.

The equivalent of 60W incandescent bulb, with the same warm glow, uses only 11W. Available from: Gaiam.Com ($8) or for around $2 on Ebay.

The equivalent of 60W incandescent bulb, but emits full spectrum light similar to daylight, uses only 11W. Available from: Gaiam.Com ($9)

A compact fluorescent that works works with most standard dimmers. Equivalent to a 90W incandescent bulb. Available from: Amazon for about $14. Also available is a 15W bulb.