What “failure” means depends on the type of bulb we’ll explore this in more depth later on. What exactly does the box mean with this 1,000 hour lifetime? This is the bulb’s Average Rated Life (ARL) - it’s the length of time for 50% of an initial sample of bulbs to fail (abbreviated B 50). Picking up a box, I read the rated lifetime: 1,000 hours. Tucked into a lower shelf in the lighting isle at the hardware store, a few lonely incandescent bulbs waited for some Luddite consumer. I wonder what the conspirators would have thought of bulbs that supposedly last 100,000 hours? Or even 7,500? A 2010 documentary, “The Light Bulb Conspiracy,” explores the history of the cartel along with some more recent instances of planned obsolescence. The cartel is often cited as one of the first instances of planned obsolescence: designing products with an artificially shortened lifespan. Phoebus continued to exert influence on the market until World War II ended its reign. Bulbs from each producer were tested, and penalties imposed for bulbs lasting significantly shorter or longer than 1,000 hours. The cartel enforced production quotas and bulb lifetimes with a system of monetary fines, backed by the power of GE’s patent portfolio. This was about selling more bulbs and making more money. However, that last step, halving bulb lifetime, would increase brightness only between 11%-16%, while doubling sales. Again, brightness increases were touted as the reason. It wasn’t only household lighting that took a hit: flashlight bulbs originally lasting for three sets of batteries were reduced to two, with a proposal to limit their lifetime to a single set. Archived documents show that significant research was expended to devise bulbs that lasted their 1,000 appointed hours and no more. Purportedly imposed to increase quality, efficiency, and light output, the new 1,000 hour limit also resulted in many more bulb sales. Previous bulbs had burned for a much longer 1,500 – 2,500 hours. As discussed by Markus Krajewski in “The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy”, the cartel assigned territories to member companies, limited production, and dictated a shortened 1,000 hour bulb life. Join me after the break for some background on the light bulb cartel from the days of incandescent bulbs (not a joke, a cartel controlled the life of your bulbs), and for the destruction of some modern LED bulbs to see why the lifetimes are clocking in a lot lower than the original wave of LED replacements.Īny discussion of light bulb lifetime would be incomplete without mention of the Phoebus cartel, an international organization formed in 1924 by the world’s leading light bulb manufacturers to manipulate the bulb market. So, what happened to those 100,000 hour residential LED bulbs? Were the initial estimates just over-optimistic? Was it all marketing hype? Or, did we not know enough about LED aging to predict the true useful life of a bulb? And yes, these are brand-name bulbs from Cree and GE. Others claimed only 7,500 or 15,000 hours. But during a recent trip to the hardware store the longest advertised lifetime I found was 25,000 hours. If you’re looking for other types of lamps, visit our Lighting District for a roundup of our 100 favorite lighting implements.Early adopters of LED lighting will remember 50,000 hour or even 100,000 hour lifetime ratings printed on the box. Below, 16 floor lamps for every style and budget, from surprisingly expensive-looking ones under $150 to splurge-worthy lamps that make an impression. “You should have fun with lighting, as they are illuminating sculptures in your space,” says interior designer Lauren Ashley Allan, adding that lamps can act as “the jewelry to a room.” But do you go decorative or trendy? Or should you focus on task and function? To find out, I reached out to 13 interior designers and other design-adjacent folks for their recommendations. Usually cast in corners or shoved between sectionals and chairs, a floor lamp is one of those easily overlooked pieces that shouldn’t be - it’s practically a stand-alone piece of furniture, and choosing the right one can change a room’s décor scheme.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |