Lighting of the Future
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.29.07
Alice Rawsthorn writes an excellent article about the transition from incandescent through compact fluorescent to, ultimately, LEDs. She is a bit harsh on the CFLs:
One designer has threatened to wage war against them. Another reckons they're so depressing that we'll be driven into psychotherapy. A manufacturer describes them as "very unfriendly" and, even, "a little violent."
Loves the light quality of incandescents..."Look at a light bulb, preferably a clear one, when it's switched off - isn't it beautiful ? Turn it on and you can't see it any more, but it has a magical power to transform space."
Tom Dixon's Blow Lamp
"Designers and manufacturers are already trying to overcome these problems. The British designer, Tom Dixon, recently launched Blow, a cloudy white shade, shaped specifically to soften the chilly glow of a CFL. He is now developing a new low-energy bulb, which, he hopes, will resolve some of the aesthetic problems of existing CFLs.
Even so, most designers see CFLs as an interim technology, which will be phased out as soon as LEDs become affordable. "
Cosmos Chandelier by Naoto Fukasawa
In the future, lights need no longer be independent objects, hanging from the ceiling, or perching on a table or floor. The Japanese designer, Naoto Fukasawa, is experimenting with the integration of lighting and other domestic functions that are now executed by separate objects, into the modular panels of "intelligent walls." Ingo Maurer has already sunk LEDs into walls and tables in one-off commissions.
"For sure LEDs are driving us into a completely new era," said Piero Gandini, president of Flos and the manufacturer who dismissed CFLs as "unfriendly."
"We're moving from electricity to electronics." ::International Herald Tribune
CFL silliness again. There is nothing wrong with CFLs and the light they give. I had some guests over the other night, and they didn't even know that the bubls in the dining room were CFLs until told. That is because the CFL bulbs I have give off the exact same color light as incandescents. Anyone saying CFLs give off bad color are either buying junk or don't realize that CFLs are sold in cool white (traditional flourescent light color) or warm white (traditional incandescent coloring). But I do agree LEDs are the future. I have a number of small LED bulbs in my house. I recently changed the LED reading lamp bulb - I used to have an LED bulb that gave off a cool white light but the same company recently started selling the exact same LED bulb in warm white so I replaced it with that.
I third that sentiment. These losers need to check themselves. Friggin fashionista "designers" have less than the required 2 brain cells to rub together, and this is illustrated right here.
I'd love to force them to do a blind test to see if they could pick out rooms lit by good quality CFLs over incandescents. How much you want to bet that if they had something serious to lose, they'd decline?
I think people are still reeling from the fact that the word "fluorescent" is in the name. People associate that word with cold, harsh, and depressing light quality, and thus they can't get their heads around the idea that CFL's aren't like that at all. I recently switched the incandescent in my main living room light source, and not only can you not tell at all, but the light in there is actually a little too yellow for my taste.
Willy - careful about those stereotypes. They haven't exactly done good for us environmentalists.
Regarding CFLs, the main problem is that there are some really crappy ones out there. Someone in my family recently bought a pack of 6 from BJ's Wholesale (which, by the way, had excessive packaging) and they were terrible. Not only is the color very harsh, but it flickers when it comes on, and takes at least 5 minutes to get to full brightness. I have had the best experience with IKEA bulbs. Their coloration is just like incadescents, they only flicker when turned on and off many times in a row and very quickly, and they take at most 45 seconds to reach full brightness.
NOTE: the brand that I bought from BJ's was Sylvania. So avoid Sylvania.
Wow, how does this story get this far without mention that CFL's require mercury? That alone is reason enough to leapfrog to LED.
NewNRGRevolution is the company where I have been getting my homes LED lights from..... They are in the process of rebuilding a more user friendly site but offer these LED bulbs at substantially lower prices than some of these other postings of $70!!!!!!
I could not disagree more with the notion that CFL is just as good as incandescent in terms of the light it provides. I have replaced almost all of my bulbs withs CFLs, except for in halogen lamps, and they flicker, cannot dim, and offer up a distinctly yellow hue. Perhaps if I redid all the wiring in my house to produce a rock-stable 60hz 115V, spent a few hundred dollars replacing my old CFLs with newer supposedly whiter ones (throwing out dozens of functioning ones in the process), and gave up on the idea that dimming is actually important to the quality of light and environment, then I could achieve what I would consider even decent lighting with CFLs. As it is, I cannot, and even if you can't feel the difference, plenty of other people can.
you guys are idots. these lights do not save any power... idots...