Light Bulbs Get Remote Controls And Lighter Loads

The humble light bulb is receiving attention as a source of wasted energy. The move from incandescent bulbs is well under way but the search for greener solutions is continuing unabated.

As governments and economy drives push for greener lighting measures, Switch Lighting, formerly SuperBulbs, has announced an LED bulb that could challenge current light sources, and chip manufacturer NXP Semiconductors (founded by Philips) is demonstrating a system that enables lights to be dimmed or turned on and off remotely using a smartphone, tablet, PC or even a TV.

The products are being displayed at the Lightfair International event, currently taking place at the Pennsylvania Convention Centre in the US.

Turning On To An Automated Lighting System

NXP has unveiled its GreenChip wireless-connected system for LED and compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) lighting systems. It uses a chip in the bulb to control the current flow, as directed by an app running on a Wi-Fi enabled mobile device or a desktop PC.

“By bringing together wireless IP connectivity with our energy-efficient lighting and power conversion technologies in a compact, low-cost solution, we are transforming the way we design, control and manage lights,” said John Croteau, senior vice president and general manager for power lighting solutions and high performance RF at NXP. “Our Smart Lighting solution also brings us one step closer to the ‘Internet of Things’ – a world in which every home appliance can be monitored and controlled via an IP address.”

The potential to control lighting levels and to turn lights on and off remotely is seen as a potentially large market. Google has also announced it is working with the Lighting Science Group to develop an open source wireless lighting standard to connect lighting and other devices to the Android platform.

LED Comes Into Range

CFLs have been criticised for their slow warm-up times, poor quality of light, and unconventional shapes. Now they could be challenged by fluid-cooled LEDs that not only supply lighting equivalent to 100W incandescent bulbs but also come housed in the familiar globe-shaped glass housing.

Switch Lighting’s lamps have LEDs placed around the circumference of the bulb to give an even spread of light. The fluid cooled lamps use around 15W of power to produce the same degree of lighting provided by a 20W CFL or 100W incandescent bulb.

Another potential advantage of LEDs is that the colour temperature can be tuned for different applications.

The bulb range will eventually include equivalent for incandescent bulbs rated at 40W, 65W, 75W, as well as the 100W. Pricing is expected to be start at just under $20 (£12) for the 40W lamp.