2008: End of the road for the conventional lightbulb?
The humble lightbulb (the conventional sort, at least) may soon be a thing of the past as LED lighting -- as well as the fluorescent sort that makes up most of the eco-bulb market -- just keeps getting better.
Last year we saw the first fully dimmable CFL bulbs take their place on the hardware store shelves, but could 2008 be the year of the LED? Researchers at the University of Glasgow would say yes: they've found a way of making the devices much brighter without using any more power. This will make LED lighting (which is already a low-energy light source) far more suitable for home use, as until now, LED bulbs have not quite been bright enough to light a room.
But the bulbs (pictured) have been doctored in such a way that more light escapes, as microscopic holes on the surface of the LEDs increase their brightness without increasing the energy consumption. I'm betting these bulbs will be in the shops before the year is out, and look forward to trying them as they apparently last for years. [Via Ecofriend]
