For over 100 years, the light bulb didn't evolve much, generally
sporting the same, well, bulbous design ever since Thomas Edison gave us
the original in 1879. Lately that's changed as LEDs and CFLs have
challenged the conventional bulb, and now Philips is taking light bulb design in a new, flatter direction.
The SlimStyle looks like a light bulb that's hit the gym. It emits
light at a brightness equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent bulb, but
it's powered by an LED (light-emitting diode), meaning it consumes just
10.5 watts. It also has a rated lifetime of 22 years, so you can count
the number of times you'd need to change the bulb in a human lifetime on one hand.
The most novel thing about the SlimStyle, though, is its design. At
first glance, it looks shaped like a regular bulb, but when you look at
it from the side you can see how slim it is. It still fits in a normal
socket, so it's not overly thin, but it's definitely unusual — and
easier to screw in.
I got a little hands-on time with the SlimStyle. The light it
produces is as warm as an incandescent bulb and it's extremely
consistent, with no flicker. It feels more durable, too, with an
exterior that's more like hard plastic than glass (though I didn't
stress-test it). Unlike some of those twisty CFL bulbs, The LED-based
SlimStyle is dimmable.
LED lights are considered by many to be the most promising candidate
to fully replace the incandescent bulb since they consumer far less
power and don't have the trace amounts of toxic mercury found in CFL
bulbs. Starting Jan. 1 they'll get a big boost when a federal law goes
into effect that will make it illegal to manufacture or import
traditional 60- or 40-watt incandescents.
"Right now we're at a really exciting point because LED bulbs have
started to break the $10 mark, and fall well below it once you factor in
subsidies," says Sal Cangeloso, author of LED Lighting: A Primer to Lighting the Future.
"We're still not at the point of mass adoption — it's not entirely
clear where that is — but right now we have two significant factors
coinciding: dropping prices and the the phase-out of 40W and 60W
incandescents going into effect."
The Philips SlimStyle bulb goes on sale January 2 exclusively at HomeDepot.com.
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