You heard it at Huddler first! I just got an email from EarthLED that they will be posting a new type of LED bulb on their site tonight or tomorrow - the EarthLED EvoLux S
The big difference between this and other bulbs is light dispersion and lumen output. People love the high efficiency of LEDs but often complain that the light isn't bright enough and is too directed. This bulb produces 900 lumens of dispersed light (along the lines of a typical 75W bulb)
I'm psyched to get my hands on one.
Wow, sounds like that new bulb will be a lot brighter than CL-3 which is supposed to be the equivalent of a 45W bulb with 240 lumens. Any word on what the EvoLux S will cost?
Hey, anybody know if this version will support dimmer switches? You know, sexy lights please, etc.?
To the best of my knowledge, this version will not. They did post a video comparing this bulb to its CFL and incandescent equivalents though...pretty cool:
Hey, anybody know if this version will support dimmer switches? You know, sexy lights please, etc.?
This particular LED won't, but EarthLED is working on that. Via EcoGeek:
"They're about to release another version of the bulb that will turn any lamp into a dimmable lamp. Simply by turning the lamp on and off quickly, you can select 150 lumen, 750 lumen, or 950 lumen settings."
This bulb appears to have good potential - is 13w (100w equivalent) - and has a silent built in fan to keep the bulb temp down. Site states 900 lumens. Warm White (3000k) and Cool White (6000k) available.
EvoLux (S Model), Cost: $89.99 ...ouch.
Hopefully with time that price will come down.
Their site also mentions an "EvoDim (R model) that appears to be a 3-way LED bulb with lumen outputs of 150, 750, and 950 lumens. ...I could not find a listed price.
Their site also mentions an "EvoDim (R model) that appears to be a 3-way LED bulb with lumen outputs of 150, 750, and 950 lumens. ...I could not find a listed price.
That's because it hasn't been released yet (see my post above).
They argue that over the lifetime of the bulb, their LEDs are cheaper than CFLs despite the high price, mainly because they last like 15 years. Still, it's hard to fork out $90 for a lightbulb!
They argue that over the lifetime of the bulb, their LEDs are cheaper than CFLs despite the high price, mainly because they last like 15 years. Still, it's hard to fork out $90 for a lightbulb!
Yeah, that initial cost is definitely kind of a hurdle. But hopefully once the technology becomes a little more common place, it won't be such a psychological barrier. Because clearly we spend lots of money on other stuff that lasts around 15 years (i.e. a heat pump).
G2Lighting has what appears to be the same bulb, marketed under a different name. Theirs is $10.00 cheaper as well.
I saw the G2Lighting guys at Green Festival here in Seattle and they told me they were looking to get a bulb that would have the nice diffusion that these types have but without the active fan cooling. The problem with the fans is that they may wear out before the LED does.
Check theirs out (scroll to the bottom):
http://www.g2lighting.com/store/ps.html
I just ordered three of these bulbs, one for my main apartment light, one for my bathroom and one for my mother so she can try it out! Hurts the wallet a bit right now but someones got to adopt it early to show that this is what we want more of.
Plus this is more affordable for me then a lot of other solutions :) I look forward to reviewing it as soon as I receive mine!
I just ordered three of these bulbs, one for my main apartment light, one for my bathroom and one for my mother so she can try it out! Hurts the wallet a bit right now but someones got to adopt it early to show that this is what we want more of.
Plus this is more affordable for me then a lot of other solutions :) I look forward to reviewing it as soon as I receive mine!
You'll definitely have to let us know how it is! I haven't yet ordered one but I probably will soon. And I'll be interested in hearing your opinion on the color of the light and all. Given that this picture on EcoGeek is pretty interesting...
I just ordered three of these bulbs, one for my main apartment light, one for my bathroom and one for my mother so she can try it out! Hurts the wallet a bit right now but someones got to adopt it early to show that this is what we want more of.
Plus this is more affordable for me then a lot of other solutions :) I look forward to reviewing it as soon as I receive mine!
I second 'stins' comments. Please let us know what you think. I, too, agree that the initial purchase of this bulb will be a bit difficult, but you have to support the technology if you want EarthLED to offer more fantastic products like the EcoLux.
I am going to purchase, in May, their dimmable version of this product for use in the living room. I just hope the price of admission is within $20 of their current offering.
Any word yet from any company if there are dimmable LED bulbs on the horizon? I'm beginning to think I should start working on one myself......
I emailed the contact I had that supplied the EarthLED bulbs for the contest and got this back about EarthLED's upcoming offerings:
"...the EvoLux is not dimmable but we have a new version coming out in two weeks that will allow the person to select a suitable lighting level by simply switching the bulb on and off rapidly. With this functionality which we term "EvoDim" the user can select through three different settings. Additionally, the bulb remembers its last setting, its really cool and works well for turning an regular lamp into a night light and instantly back into a reading light."
It reminds me of being at a hotel where you turn the knob on the lamp to activate 1, 2, or 3 bulbs in the lamp. Definitely a step in the right direction.
@Kevin - really excited to hear what you think after you've had them for a bit.
I am very much interested in your findings as well. I imagine the 3-way will have similar light tones - and I could really use one in my living room. Hope that price comes down a tad... good point about the fan as well - will it last 15 years without becoming noisy? Hmmm
They argue that over the lifetime of the bulb, their LEDs are cheaper than CFLs despite the high price, mainly because they last like 15 years. Still, it's hard to fork out $90 for a lightbulb!
Yeah, that initial cost is definitely kind of a hurdle. But hopefully once the technology becomes a little more common place, it won't be such a psychological barrier. Because clearly we spend lots of money on other stuff that lasts around 15 years (i.e. a heat pump).
I recently ordered the EarthLED EvoLux S after noticing that the price had been reduced to $80.
Running the numbers through my formula, note that this bulb is still about 45% higher in total ownership cost than (for example) this CFL (the first 900-lumen CFL I found by searching):
http://www.creativelightings.com/servlet/the-775/high-output,-cfl,-compact/Detail
initial-dollars: 5
watts-consumed: 15
dollars-per-kwh: .1
thousand-hours: 10
average-lumens: 765
dollars-per-mlh = 2.61438
initial-dollars: 80
watts-consumed: 13
dollars-per-kwh: .1
thousand-hours: 50
average-lumens: 765
dollars-per-mlh = 3.79085
Deej - I read your review of the EvoLux S - is the hum the cooling fan? In thinking about this bulb as an option for my home, I am concerned that the cooling fan feature will be problematic as you dig deeper into the 50k hour life. Home's are generally quiet... a slight "hum" can be a show stopper on such an item. They have such cool heat-sinks on the other bulbs - wish one would be applicable to this bulb.
I want to ask Mark about that in the interview questions...in my mind, it hurt the possibility of using the bulb as a reading light in my bedside lamp, but the quality of the light is great, so I still think it would be perfect for overhead.
