> http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/can-incandescent-bulbs-b ...
> May 29, 2009, 9:35 am
> Can Incandescent Bulbs Compete on Efficiency?
> By Leora Broydo Vestel
> Deposition Sciences
> Researchers are attempting to create incandescent bulbs that will meet
> looming efficiency requirements. The race to find more efficient
> lighting technologies appears to have an unlikely dark horse: the
> incandescent light bulb.
> While traditional incandescents will soon be phased out in the United
> States and abroad, researchers are plugging away to create more
> efficient versions that comply with looming new standards — while also
> providing an alternative for consumers who find compact fluorescents
> objectionable.
> Scientists at the University of Rochester gave Green Inc. an advanced
> peek at their newly-developed method for nearly doubling the
> efficiency of an incandescent by blackening the tungsten filament with
> a short pulse laser. The results of their work will be published in an
> upcoming issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.
> According to the Chunlei Guo, an associate professor of optics at the
> university, the laser process creates a unique array of tiny
> structures on the surface of the filament, making it more effective at
> radiating light. Regular incandescent bulbs convert only about 10
> percent of the energy used into light, while the rest is emitted as
> heat.
> “With the same electric power input, the lamp is about twice as
> bright,” said Mr. Guo. And though the technology is still in the early
> stages of development, Mr. Guo believes it would not be difficult for
> bulb companies to add a tungsten blackening step to the manufacturing
> process. “The implementation should be fairly straightforward,” he
> said.
> Meanwhile, researchers at Deposition Sciences in Santa Rosa, Calif.,
> have found a way to increase the efficacy of an incandescent to nearly
> 40 lumens a watt by using reflective coatings that allow waste heat to
> be converted to visible light. The light output of traditional
> incandescents, depending on the wattage, is between about 10 and 20
> lumens a watt.
> “If you can get up to the levels we’re talking about, it really
> changes the game,” said Norm Boling, vice president of research and
> development for the company. “It means you can have the attributes of
> an incandescent and still have the efficiency. You can have your cake
> and eat it too.”
> Lighting companies are already using earlier versions of Deposition
> Sciences’ coatings to manufacture more efficient incandescents, like
> Philips Lighting’s Halogena line, which promises to be up to 38
> percent more efficient, with light outputs of up to 23 lumens a watt
> and 3,000-hour lifespans.
> In Europe, Philips recently introduced the EcoClassic range of
> incandescents, which are touted as 50 percent more efficient than
> traditional bulbs.
> Industry experts believe the price of advanced incandescents –
> Philips’ A-shaped Halogenas are about $5 apiece at Amazon.com and Home
> Depot – are expected to come down as more consumers are forced to seek
> out bulbs that meet new efficiency standards.
> Utilities and government agencies are also considering offering
> financial incentives to make them more affordable.
> “If they save energy and are cost effective, we’ll bundle them into an
> incentive program,” said Gregg Ander, the chief architect for the
> utility Southern California Edison. (California will begin phasing out
> inefficient incandescents starting in 2011 – one year ahead of the
> rest of the nation.)
> For all of this, light-emitting diode (LED) and compact-fluorescent
> products already on the market have stated efficiency ratings of 40 to
> more than 100 lumens per watt, making it difficult to predict how long
> incandescents will stay in the game.
> Chris Calwell, a senior research fellow with Ecos Consulting, believes
> combining various research efforts – like those occurring at the
> University of Rochester and Deposition Sciences – may be the key to
> the incandescent’s staying power.
> “Based on the pace of the science we’ve seen thus far, I think we will
> be surprised at how good the next generations” of incandescents will
> be, Mr. Calwell said.
> Michael Siminovitch, the director of the California Lighting
> Technology Center, described super-efficient incandescents as the
> “holy grail” of lighting research right now.
> “The stuff is happening, and will happen,” Mr. Siminovitch said.
> “We’re all going to be doing it because people hate fluorescents so
> much.”
> The federal Energy Star program does not certify advanced
> incandescents. But that may change if the technology catches up to
> C.F.L.’s, which are purported to use 75 percent less energy than
> incandescents and last seven to 10 times as long.
> Alex Baker, the lighting program manager for Energy Star, told Green
> Inc. that if the performance of a halogen or other advanced
> incandescent source rivaled that of currently qualified C.F.L.’s, the
> program might consider certifying them.
Many new European cars have all LED lighting. They've had halogen
headlights for years. Iodine mostly I think.
The problem with halogen lights are that they can't have "pearl"
envelopes and the light is very harsh and throws strong shadows.
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> May 29, 2009, 9:35 am
> Can Incandescent Bulbs Compete on Efficiency?
> By Leora Broydo Vestel
> Deposition Sciences
> Researchers are attempting to create incandescent bulbs that will meet
> looming efficiency requirements. The race to find more efficient
> lighting technologies appears to have an unlikely dark horse: the
> incandescent light bulb.
> While traditional incandescents will soon be phased out in the United
> States and abroad, researchers are plugging away to create more
> efficient versions that comply with looming new standards — while also
> providing an alternative for consumers who find compact fluorescents
> objectionable.
> Scientists at the University of Rochester gave Green Inc. an advanced
> peek at their newly-developed method for nearly doubling the
> efficiency of an incandescent by blackening the tungsten filament with
> a short pulse laser. The results of their work will be published in an
> upcoming issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.
> According to the Chunlei Guo, an associate professor of optics at the
> university, the laser process creates a unique array of tiny
> structures on the surface of the filament, making it more effective at
> radiating light. Regular incandescent bulbs convert only about 10
> percent of the energy used into light, while the rest is emitted as
> heat.
> “With the same electric power input, the lamp is about twice as
> bright,” said Mr. Guo. And though the technology is still in the early
> stages of development, Mr. Guo believes it would not be difficult for
> bulb companies to add a tungsten blackening step to the manufacturing
> process. “The implementation should be fairly straightforward,” he
> said.
> Meanwhile, researchers at Deposition Sciences in Santa Rosa, Calif.,
> have found a way to increase the efficacy of an incandescent to nearly
> 40 lumens a watt by using reflective coatings that allow waste heat to
> be converted to visible light. The light output of traditional
> incandescents, depending on the wattage, is between about 10 and 20
> lumens a watt.
> “If you can get up to the levels we’re talking about, it really
> changes the game,” said Norm Boling, vice president of research and
> development for the company. “It means you can have the attributes of
> an incandescent and still have the efficiency. You can have your cake
> and eat it too.”
> Lighting companies are already using earlier versions of Deposition
> Sciences’ coatings to manufacture more efficient incandescents, like
> Philips Lighting’s Halogena line, which promises to be up to 38
> percent more efficient, with light outputs of up to 23 lumens a watt
> and 3,000-hour lifespans.
> In Europe, Philips recently introduced the EcoClassic range of
> incandescents, which are touted as 50 percent more efficient than
> traditional bulbs.
> Industry experts believe the price of advanced incandescents –
> Philips’ A-shaped Halogenas are about $5 apiece at Amazon.com and Home
> Depot – are expected to come down as more consumers are forced to seek
> out bulbs that meet new efficiency standards.
> Utilities and government agencies are also considering offering
> financial incentives to make them more affordable.
> “If they save energy and are cost effective, we’ll bundle them into an
> incentive program,” said Gregg Ander, the chief architect for the
> utility Southern California Edison. (California will begin phasing out
> inefficient incandescents starting in 2011 – one year ahead of the
> rest of the nation.)
> For all of this, light-emitting diode (LED) and compact-fluorescent
> products already on the market have stated efficiency ratings of 40 to
> more than 100 lumens per watt, making it difficult to predict how long
> incandescents will stay in the game.
> Chris Calwell, a senior research fellow with Ecos Consulting, believes
> combining various research efforts – like those occurring at the
> University of Rochester and Deposition Sciences – may be the key to
> the incandescent’s staying power.
> “Based on the pace of the science we’ve seen thus far, I think we will
> be surprised at how good the next generations” of incandescents will
> be, Mr. Calwell said.
> Michael Siminovitch, the director of the California Lighting
> Technology Center, described super-efficient incandescents as the
> “holy grail” of lighting research right now.
> “The stuff is happening, and will happen,” Mr. Siminovitch said.
> “We’re all going to be doing it because people hate fluorescents so
> much.”
> The federal Energy Star program does not certify advanced
> incandescents. But that may change if the technology catches up to
> C.F.L.’s, which are purported to use 75 percent less energy than
> incandescents and last seven to 10 times as long.
> Alex Baker, the lighting program manager for Energy Star, told Green
> Inc. that if the performance of a halogen or other advanced
> incandescent source rivaled that of currently qualified C.F.L.’s, the
> program might consider certifying them.