Green light: Next-generation light bulb

A smart option to incandescent or CFL light bulbs models

Switch, a California startup out to change the world shined at the Consumer Electronics Show last week with new-generation LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs that believed to transform the more than $30-billion global market.

“It is exciting to be the little David taking on the Goliath’s of the world,” Switch chief Bilbrough told AFP.

“You pick this because it doesn’t have mercury; you can dim it; it loves cold weather; there is no
ultra-violet so they don’t draw any bugs outdoors, and it fits in any fixture an incandescent bulb goes in.”

LEDs are really the next thing in lighting,” said Switch chief strategy officer Sharenow.

The Silicon Valley company’s bulb is touted as Earth-friendly from “cradle to cradle” and lasts about seven times longer than CFLs while providing the kind of light people like from incandescent.

Switch bulbs have an artistic look akin to a snow glove perched on a silver pedestal. They can also survive a three-foot drop to a hardwood floor.

A ring of metal prongs, each with a computer chip on it to emit light, is immersed in liquid that fills each bulb. The liquid cools the chips while acting as a lens to magnify light.

Switch bulbs use 80 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs and last for about 25,000 hours no matter often you switch them on or off, he added.

The life spans of CFL bulbs shrinks as they are flicked on or off and they buzz or burn out if dimmed.

“Everyone is looking for ways to avoid building power plants. The one thing with no negative environmental impact is to use less” Bilbrough said, noting that about 20 percent of the world’s electric power goes to lighting.
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