Why All Your Bulbs May Soon Be LEDs
by: fast company, 2011-03-10 22:42:10 UTC
A breakthrough in producing light emitting diodes could bring LED production costs down as much as 75%.
A breakthrough in producing light emitting diodes could see LED production costs tumble as much as 75%. That's thanks to research by a startup called Bridgelux, which has resulted
in a radical shift--Gallium-nitride LEDs can now be grown on
silicon substrates for the first time in a "commercial grade."
The tech
leverages the huge, ultra precise and far cheaper silicon wafers that
are used in silicon chip manufacture instead of the smaller, more
expensive sapphire ones. The breakthrough has been to successfully grow white LEDs
on a silicon substrate to create devices that produce 135 lumens per
watt of electrical power--well above what typical CFL bulbs can offer,
and around 10 times better than old incandescent bulbs.
So how big a deal is this? Pretty darn big. After all, did you know that those tiny flickering LED lights that sprinkle the power buttons of pretty much every device you own often need sapphires as part of their production?
Sapphire is key to producing white LEDs. It's artificially grown, rather than being dug up from the rock, but it's pretty much the same as the precious gem material you're probably thinking of--meaning it's rather expensive. Slabs of crystalline sapphire about four inches in size act as a substrate during LED production: The complex layered recipe of semiconductor chemicals that actually make up the LED devices is "grown" in various process on the precise surface of the sapphire, and then cleaved from it at the end before being chopped up and packed into the more familiar dome-shaped LED unit.
But sapphire is part of the main problem facing wider adoption of LED lighting--it makes the cost of high-brightness white LED light bulbs prohibitive compared to compact fluorescent bulbs, and many times more expensive than incandescent bulbs: $40 is a pretty common price bracket for LED bulbs that put out the equivalent light of a 60-cent 60W incandescent unit. Yet many people desire the LED tech very much because the bulbs can have an incredibly long life span, measured in tens of thousands of hours, and they consume much less electricity than their older equivalents.
Now Bridgelux thinks that after the two to three years needed to ramp its new tech up to production scale, the cost of producing LEDs will drop by three-fourths. Ten times greater electrical efficiency, ten times the lifespan of old bulbs and a much more affordable cost? Yup--soon every light you encounter may be an LED one.
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Pee Power: Scientists Discover a Cost Effective Way to Produce Hydrogen from Urine
by: Inhabitat , 2011-03-10 16:25:48 UTC
Do you love the adventure of a road trip, but could do without the constant gas station pit stops to refuel and – ahem – release? Well, chemists have found a way to combine refueling your car and relieving yourself by creating a new catalyst that is able to extract hydrogen from urine. The process which was discovered by Gerardine Botte of Ohio University focuses in on a catalyst that would have a variety of applications, including fuel for hydrogen powered cars and cleaning up municipal waters.
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General Motors Announce They Will Double Production of the Chevrolet Volt
by: Inhabitat , 2011-03-10 20:30:45 UTC
As an increasing number of customers look towards fuel-efficient cars with gas prices rising, General Motors has just announced that it will double the production of its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car. On top of this, the car maker will also be adding a second shift to their manufacturing lines and 1,000 jobs at its Michigan plant to meet the new goal.
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3D Printed Air Bike is as Strong as Steel but 1/3rd the Weight of Aluminium
by: Inhabitat , 2011-03-11 00:20:49 UTC
This funky bike is making news today not just for its design but for how it is made. UK engineers printed the bike using a powder composed of nylon and metal which results in a frame that has the strength of steel while also being 65% lighter than aluminum. The Air Bike is a demonstration of a technology called additive layer manufacturing which was able to create the fully working bike with only six parts. The goal is to show how the technology can revolutionize product design from airplanes to satellites to more down to earth items like bikes.
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Barcelona Gives Away 'Olipots' To Promote Kitchen Oil Recycling
by: TreeHugger Design, 2011-03-10 11:36:11 UTC
Image Credit: VilaWeb
The mediterranean cuisine is known to be one of the healthiest, and yet, Spaniards like their fried tapas or churros every now and then. In 2010 the recycling centers, called 'Green Points', collected 195.136 liters of used kitchen oil from households, which only counts for 2,5% of the total oil used in one year by Barcelonians. In order to make recycling oil easier,
Barcelona City Council has launched the Olipot, an easy to use bottle that help...
Read the full story on TreeHugger
How Urbanism, Building Efficiency, and Cleaner Cars Can Solve Climate Change (Book Review)
by: TreeHugger Design, 2011-03-10 16:02:53 UTC
Photo credit: Island Press
Eighteen years ago, Peter Calthorpe's book
The Next American Metropolis was hugely influential among architects and planners. "The old suburban dream is increasingly out of sync with today's culture," Calthorpe wrote in 1993, "our household makeup has changed dramatically, the work place and work force have been transformed, average family wealth is shrinking, and serious environmental concerns have surfaced."
He could be writing that today and not change ...
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Tools For Making More Buildings and Products Safer
by: Chemistry, 2011-03-09 21:51:04 UTC
Find out what tools some companies are using to get toxic chemicals out of products in a recent GreenBiz.com webcast.
Euroshield Eco-Friendly Roof Shingles Made from Recycled Tires
by: Inhabitat , 2011-03-09 19:12:35 UTC
These recycled rubber roof shingles from Euroshield are an economic as well as environmentally responsible green building material. Made from 75% recycled materials, they’re designed to replicate classic thick chiselled-edge slate shingles. They’re also extremely durable, making them a dependable investment for any homeowner.
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T-Shirt Chair Weaves Together a Meaningful Story Using Recycled Textiles
by: Inhabitat , 2011-03-09 22:00:19 UTC
If your collection of t-shirts is worn beyond repair, then turn them into a funky new chair full of memories! To create her original T-shirt Chair, Maria Westerberg wove together shirts from forty of the designer’s friends along with other once-treasured textiles to create a colorful mosaic of her personal history. Smitten with the idea, manufacturer Berhin Studios is now producing the chairs from a mix of colorful fabric pieces leftover from sofa manufacturing. The T-shirt Chair can also be purchased as a plain frame so you can personalize it with your own worn-out clothes, t-shirts and other textiles. The T-shirt Chair is the winner of the 2011 Green Furniture Award.
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Hone Your Handyman Skills
by: Yanko Design, 2011-03-08 14:55:11 UTC
The Repair-Ware Series are a group of household appliances designed for easy maintenance and urges you to be self-reliant. For example, the Steam Iron is assembled in simple layers and is held together by two screws. These screws are a prominent feature on the surface of the iron serving as a semiotic of repair.
Designer: Samuel James Davies
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