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Scientists invent £2 energy saving lightbulb that last for 60 years
telegraph.co.uk ^ | Jan. 29, 2009 | Louise Gray

Posted on 01/28/2009 8:55:17 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY

A £2 energy-saving lightbulb that lasts for 60 years has been developed by scientists at Cambridge University.

The researchers have designed a bulb that is three times more energy efficient than today's best offer and can cut lighting bills by 75 per cent.

The bulbs are made using Gallium Nitride (GaN), a man-made substance used in LEDs (light emitting diodes). It is routinely used in bike lights, mobile phones and camera flashes.

But until now the production costs have been too expensive for widespread use in homes and offices - a single bulb would have cost £20.

However, the researchers have found a cheaper technique to help manufacture the bulbs and manufacturers have begun work on production prototypes. The first units could hit shelves within two years.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: energy; ledbulbs
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1 posted on 01/28/2009 8:55:17 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Hope it works better than the LED booklight I threw away.


2 posted on 01/28/2009 8:56:31 PM PST by americanophile
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To: americanophile

yeah right.

Just like those stinkin CFL’s I paid 5 times for and they didn’t last one minute longer.


3 posted on 01/28/2009 8:59:16 PM PST by GreyMountainReagan (Liberals do not view the book 1984 as a warning but as a guideline.)
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To: Free ThinkerNY
...£2 energy-saving...

What does that mean?

4 posted on 01/28/2009 9:01:25 PM PST by TruthWillWin
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To: Free ThinkerNY

I’d buy that for a dollar.


5 posted on 01/28/2009 9:01:31 PM PST by mysterio
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To: Free ThinkerNY
Bad news for GE.

I was in Walmart the other day and noticed that they now have LED bulbs for sale. Some were quite expensive, but they did have a few that seemed reasonably priced.

6 posted on 01/28/2009 9:01:50 PM PST by smokingfrog (T.A.R.P. = Viagra for politicians and you get screwed.)
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To: GreyMountainReagan

The CFL’s are strange. They either work for about a year or they last forever. I have one that has burned continuously for about 5 years out on my back deck.


7 posted on 01/28/2009 9:01:52 PM PST by WackySam (Is the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on- or by imbeciles who really mean it?)
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To: americanophile

or the curly-fried mercury filled light bulbs now being touted as the next best thing. if i use a incandescent at some point i’ll expect it to go out and move on to the next bulb.life goes on, move on to the next incandescent, not a bulb that last for 60 years. I guess i’m being old fashioned here aren’t I? there’s tons of lamps out there, too/give the incandescent a break (all puns intended)


8 posted on 01/28/2009 9:03:08 PM PST by MissDairyGoodnessVT (Scooters work good in Vermont snow)
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To: decimon; Robert A. Cook, PE; Myrddin; Wonder Warthog; neverdem; SunkenCiv
#&#$^%&@#!!

I just spent megabucks getting those gefahrliches incandescent mercury bulbs (tort-lawyer/EPA pheremone bombs).

Now you mean I gotta replace them?

Cheers!

9 posted on 01/28/2009 9:04:49 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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But wait folks, it’s only a matter of time before the “eco-freeks” find something bad about this as well.

Soon, we’ll all be living in straw huts or caves...in the dark (no fires allowed...that would emit carbon into the atmosphere).


10 posted on 01/28/2009 9:05:30 PM PST by ak267
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To: MissDairyGoodnessVT
"Since Nov. 21, 2008"

Belated welcome to Free Republic.

Warning: this site is addictive. But you probably already knew that...

Cheers!

11 posted on 01/28/2009 9:06:18 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: americanophile

Hope it works better than the LED booklight I threw away.

recycled... THEY monitor this place


12 posted on 01/28/2009 9:12:16 PM PST by This_far
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To: Free ThinkerNY

I bought one of those 60 year save energy lights once. Lasted two weeks and boy did it smell when it went. Course the thing cost $8.00 for one bulb. That’s the last one I bought!


13 posted on 01/28/2009 9:13:41 PM PST by tallyhoe
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To: Free ThinkerNY

60 years! Will we have to pass them on to grandkids in our wills???


14 posted on 01/28/2009 9:14:54 PM PST by biff
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To: smokingfrog

I’ve bought roughly sixty of those walmart bulbs from $5. to $20 a pop.

They have a half life of roughly 2 weeks. T W O W E E K S! Shameful! The lady at Walmart who takes customer returns-—I have all the receipts, thinks I am doing something illegal to scam the store every time I bring a few back for replacement.

The packing material says they are guaranteed for two years and can be returned to the retailer and I want every one that goes bad to find its way back to the manufacturer. I have 2 more that went bad yesterday night set to return.

LightsOfAmerica is the brand.


15 posted on 01/28/2009 9:16:04 PM PST by Sundog (Atlas Shrugged needs to be required reading . . . Which character are you?)
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To: Sundog
Good to know.

LightsOfAmerica is the brand. Don't tell me ... they're made in China.

16 posted on 01/28/2009 9:23:08 PM PST by smokingfrog (T.A.R.P. = Viagra for politicians and you get screwed.)
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To: GreyMountainReagan
Just like those stinkin CFL’s I paid 5 times for and they didn’t last one minute longer.

When we moved into our new home three years ago I replaced about about 50 bulbs with CFLs. To date I have not had to replace a single bulb, and I have saved more than enough money to have paid for all of them.

17 posted on 01/28/2009 9:23:08 PM PST by AlaskaErik (I served and protected my country for 31 years. Democrats spent that time trying to destroy it.)
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To: TruthWillWin
What does that mean?

It means they will cost 2 pounds, which is about $2.85. And they will save energy.

18 posted on 01/28/2009 9:28:06 PM PST by AlaskaErik (I served and protected my country for 31 years. Democrats spent that time trying to destroy it.)
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To: mysterio

uhhg I thought I would get through 2009 without a buckaroo bonzai reference. hated that movie.


19 posted on 01/28/2009 9:42:23 PM PST by Walkingfeather
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To: biff

No, you will turn in half your bulbs to be distributed among non-earning/non-motivated/non-earning (and other disadvantaged) households.

Your grandkids will pay a combination inheritance/carbon tax on them out of the 1/3 of their income they get to keep.


20 posted on 01/28/2009 9:44:24 PM PST by BobbyT
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