Old-Fashioned Light Bulbs Could Be Coming Back - Here’s Why
For a century, incandescent light bulbs were the main light source in British homes - until they were banned by the EU.
But incandescent bulbs - which were phased out since 2009 under European regulations - could make a comeback.
Researchers believe that they’ve created a new kind of incandescent bulb which is far more efficient - but could offer the ‘warmer’ light which people love.
The bulbs - which rely on a thin wire filament - were branded environmentally unfriendly as 95% of the energy they used was lost as heat.
But the new MIT lights could have 40% efficiency as opposed to 5% - and just 14% for LED or fluorescent bulbs.
MIT’s Ivan Celanovic said: ‘This experimental device is a proof-of-concept, at the low end of performance that could be ultimately achieved by this approach.
‘An important feature is that our demonstrated device achieves near-ideal rendering of colours.
‘That is precisely the reason why incandescent lights remained dominant for so long: their warm light has remained preferable to drab fluorescent lighting for decades.’
