
New development could lead to more effective incandescent lightbulbs - agd
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35284112
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protomyth
As a side not, something that never happened to me with incandescents happened
with halogens. I refuse to buy anything with the mercury warning and noticed
the halogen the was shaped like an incandescent in the 60 W replacement size.
I bought it and had it in for about a week. One night I hear a "boom" that
wakes me up. It sounded like a muffled shotgun. I walked into the living room
to discover[1] the halogen had blown up scattering little glass shards all
over the living room. I was not happy.

I went out and bought a cheap LED from Walmart[2] which seems pretty good and
turns on right away. I do wonder who is the actual supplier. No heat, bright,
and hasn't blown up.

We still have a couple of packs of incandescents at work because we use the
chicken coop method of heating a box outside during the winter.

1) well my foot discovered this which required first aid

2) [http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-GVRLA6027ND-Great-
Valu...](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-GVRLA6027ND-Great-Value-LED-
Light-Bulb-8.5W-60W-Equivalent-A19-E26-Soft-White/40507614)

~~~
danielvf
I've had two Cree brand LED bulbs melt apart and blow fire. I was glad to be
around so I could get them shut down. And a little terrier afterwords of what
could have happened. I've had at least three Walmart brand LED bulbs that have
lasted less than a couple months. (No fires though!)

Surely I'm not the only one seeing this kind of failure rate?

I'm making a personal collection of the failed LED bulbs for future purchasing
decision....

~~~
kbart
It sounds like you have more serious problems here, better check your electric
installation. I have cheap Chinese LED bulbs from eBay and even they shine
happily after >2 years now.

~~~
danielvf
Yeah, I have probably have 25 LED bulbs in the house. I've so far only had
troubles with two brands

Out of curiosity though, what kind of electrical problem would
disproportionately affect LEDs?

~~~
kbart
LED bulbs have drivers (usually AC to constant current converter) integrated
so they should stabilize power themselves. My guess would be that there might
be high voltage spikes that managed to burn a driver. Another possibility,
that just came to my mind -- LED's, especially high power ones like Creed,
become _very_ hot, maybe your bulb slot is very tight and isolated and there's
not enough room to dissipate the excess heat?

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acqq
More details here:

[http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2016/Q1/innovation-c...](http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2016/Q1/innovation-
could-revive-incandescent-lighting,-bring-more-efficient-solar-cells.html)

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kazinator
This is very good; many people will like the angle that they are even using
recycled _light_ now, never mind paper, metal, textile or plastic. :)

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khaki54
I think we're a little too late -- like that guy who invented a better dodo
trap or the lady who came up with a more effective polio vaccine.

~~~
jrapdx3
There's another aspect to this development. One benefit of incandescent lamps
vs. CFL or LED is superior CRI (color rendering index).

CFL/LED lamps produce output having a discontinuous spectrum, fluorescents
with prominent green and LEDs blue emission. Consequently these light sources
can be much less desirable where accurate color rendering is important, for
example critical color matching, art galleries/museums, etc.

I've found it difficult to replace continuous spectrum sources with LED lights
in particular. The latter are much more energy efficient and have greater
useful life span, but unsuited to photography, etc., where quality of color
rendering is crucial.

Quite likely there's a large enough market for improved incandescent lamps to
warrant further development.

~~~
pcunite
Agreed, and thanks for bringing this up. This is why Tungsten and HMI lighting
is still a thing. Remote phosphor lights from Cineo are supposed to address
this, however. But this would not be used in a residential setting, more for
commercial lighting situations.

~~~
jrapdx3
Indeed, the Cineo lights claim high CRI values. Per their website, the lights
are intended for cinematography and similar applications. I surmise they
wouldn't be used in homes or commercial spaces, at least that would be rare.
The lighting systems are quite expensive, especially the bigger units.

Not yet seen CRI info for more ordinary incandescent replacement lamps, but
potentially they could begin to approximate the traditional light emitters
especially at lower color temps, <3000K.

