GE debuts hybrid lamp

The folks in East Cleveland are getting creative with lamp designs, trying to find a way around consumers' resistance to the quirks of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). GE Lighting (NYSE: GE) is rolling out a "customer-inspired" light bulb that combines halogen and compact fluorescent light sources in a bulb shaped like a traditional incandescent. The GE Energy Smart Soft White and Reveal hybrid halogen-CFL bulbs will show up on the lighting aisles of mass retail, hardware and big box stores nationwide in the weeks leading up to Earth Day 2011, April 22.

GE says its engineers figured out a way to nestle an instantly bright halogen capsule inside the swirl of a compact fluorescent light bulb. The halogen element comes on instantly and turns off once the CFL comes to full brightness, thus preserving the energy efficiency of the bulb. All the workings of the bulb are contained in an incandescent-shaped glass bulb.

“It looks like an incandescent in size and shape but it's really three bulbs in one,” observes Kristin Gibbs, general manager of consumer marketing, GE Lighting. “The instant brightness factor makes our new hybrid halogen-CFL more versatile than other CFLs. It's an optimal choice for use in hallways, stairways, kitchens, bathrooms and anywhere immediate brightness is essential. Simply flip that light switch and it's at your service—immediately.”

These new GE CFLs offer eight times the life of incandescent bulbs (8,000 hours vs. 1,000 hours). They're starting with 15- and 20-watt soft white (2700 Kelvin) and Reveal (2500 Kelvin) lamps that can replace standard 60- and 75-watt incandescent bulbs "or other CFLs that don't offer a satisfactory quality of light or instant brightness." They also have reduced mercury content.

Details.