EDITORIAL

This break through was made possible by Royal Philips company. In The Lightfair International tradeshow in Las Vegas,a couple of days back, Royal Philips Electronics unveiled its  EnduraLED light bulb that aims at cutting down carbon emission largely.

Apart from the fact that the EnduraLED lamp will use only 12 watts and last 25 times longer, it promises to save about eighty percent on energy costs and maintenance costs. The new bulb will produce a light level of 806 lumens, similar to the 60 watt incandescent. To achieve this efficiency, it uses an innovative design and a new technology known as remote phosphor technology, developed by Philips researchers in The Netherlands.

Every year in the United States, 425 million 60 watt incandescent lamps are sold, half of all lamp purchases. If these were all to be replaced by the new EnduraLED light bulbs, Philips estimates the potential saving of 32.6 terawatt-hours of electricity in one year. This would be equivalent to power the lights of 16.7 million US households, 14.4 percent of the total number of households in the county. Environmentally, it has the potential to eliminate the generation of carbon emissions by 5.3 millions metric tons per year.

Most of us know that the incandescent bulb is attributed to Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) who was an American inventor, scientist and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large teamwork to the process of invention, and therefore is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.

From its birth in Edison's laboratory to this day, the incandescent bulb has truly travelled a long, long distance.Kudos to all inventors trying out ways to add more light in our lives. An energy-efficient incandescent 60 watt might pave a path for more such inspiring initiatives.