Panasonic's New LED Bulbs Shine For 19 Years

Mike writes "As lighting manufacturers phase out the incandescent bulb, and CFLs look set to define the future of lighting, Panasonic recently unveiled a remarkable 60-watt household LED bulb that they claim can last up to 19 years (if used 5-1/2 hours a day). With a lifespan 40 times longer than their incandescent counterparts, Panasonic's new EverLed bulbs are the most efficient LEDs ever to be produced. They are set to debut in Japan on October 21st. Let's hope that as the technology is refined their significant cost barrier will drop — $40 still seems pretty pricey for a light bulb, even one that promises to save $23 a year in energy costs."

Re:Hope they put a capacitor in there

[iamapizza]

You do realize why the Borg are so bad at making dimmer switches don't you?
Resistance is futile.

Re:Light bulb as a service

[Joebert]

$3000 se ms a lit le high to me too. I pai ted a gar ge once and fou d some merc ry rol ing arou d on the floor as I was pres ure wash ng. I just sco ped it up with a du tpan and put it in a jar. I'm perf ctly fine, it's not like I'm dead or hand ca ped or anyth ng now.

Re:But still...

[Kagura]

The problem is the weight. They're made of led.

Re:Philips

[Farmer Tim]

Because in 18 years a bunch of heavy-set guys in Panasonic overalls will come around and make sure your Philips bulb has a little "accident".

Re:But still...

[TheGreenNuke]

Agreed, also why that whole led zeppelin idea never took off.

Re:ROI

[vlm]

Brands don't seem to matter.

If decades have mottos, that should be the motto of the "00s".
Since everything comes from the same factory in China, brands no longer matter.

Re:Light bulb as a service

[Anonymous Coward]

How many does one need to break?

I'm about to leave a flat you see, and I really hate the landlord. Plus the new place will not fit my grow room.

Re:But still...

[T Murphy]

If you are using AC, you are wasting money at TWICE the rate.

Note to self: never post AC. Too expensive.

Re:But still...

[GameMaster]

I hear you can, dramatically, increase the energy efficiency if you re-route the furnace exhaust back into the house. ;-)

Re:Hope they put a capacitor in there

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope they put a capacitor in there with a bridge rectifier instead of just ignoring half of the 50/60 Hz cycle.

Seems an interesting comment, but I don't understand it.
Could you explain this to me?

It's like a 1-stroke combustion engine versus a 2-stroke one.