A company called Vu1 (pronounced “view one”), has developed a new light bulb that they hope will be the standard in the very near future. The new bulbs are called “Electron Stimulated Luminescence” Lighting or ESL™. The new bulbs will supposedly ship beginning in mid 2009. Vu1 says that their new technology bulb is based on stimulating accelerated electrons to light the phosphor coating lining the inside of the bulb. The most important feature is the fact that no mercury is present in the bulb.

Since I come from the field of architecture, I love to hear about any technologies that make our buildings and homes better. I find this pretty exciting for the following reasons.

1. There is no mercury in the bulb. There is also no filament like in incandescent bulbs. That means the bulb should have a long life.
2. The light that is emitted is the same as incandescent light, i.e. closer to natural light. Don’t you hate it when your clothes change color under fluorescent lighting?
3. The cost should be about the same as fluorescent.
4. They are dimmable and can work with timers, etc. Especially desirable in a home environment.
5. Recyclable as well as non-toxic. That’s got to make any “green” fan happy.

Instead of boring you with any more of the technical details. Here are the a couple of links if you’d like to know more.

http://www.vu1.com/technology/technology.htm

http://dvice.com/archives/2008/08/esl_the_newest.php