Imagine growing up, going to school, graduating, going to college for a couple years and then getting that magical phone call: "Son, it's time to change the light bulb." You rush home in flurry of excitement and anticipation as your parents show you how to change a light — something you yourself may not do until your own kids are in college. Those times are coming.
Well actually, they're here. But until prices coming down, most of us will simply rely on compact fluorescents to bridge the gap between changing a bulb one a year to once every couple decades. I spied a new entry into the LED fold over at MetaEfficient with a cool looking bulb called "The EcoLED". According to the stats, this long-lasting, efficient beast will last about 50,000 hours. In scale, that's about 11 years at 12 hours a day. Since I would never leave a light on for that long, you can expect this bulb to shine well into your midlife crisis.
The bulb mimics a 100-watt incandescent but only uses 10 watts of power. According to the site, that's good for $450 in savings and a reduction of more than 9,000lbs of CO2. You'll also want to use this bulb a little differently than the standard light,
"Remember: LED lights are directional (like a spotlight). This EcoLED light has a beam angle of 100 degrees, which is equivalent to a wide spotlight. It is not appropriate for use in lamps with lamp shades or other lighting applications where light needs to be emitted in all directions at once. (However, it can be aimed at a wall or ceiling to produce radiant ambient light that radiates through the entire room.)"
It should be noted that work is underway (especially by GE) to create LED lights that do in fact mimic the light radiance of incandescent and CFL bulbs. The color of LED lights (which is a brilliant, pure white light) is also different from the yellow glow of an incandescent. So far, that hasn't marred their label as "the bulb of the future".
You can pick up the EcoLED for $99 from BetterLifeGoods. While this may seem like ridiculous change for a light bulb, the experience of replacing it in the year 2027 will be simply priceless.
More info after the jump.