We were impressed when GE engineers showed us OLED (organic light emitting diode) lighting that was twice as efficient as regular incandescent light bulbs, but get a load of this: Princeton and U-Michigan scientists have just beaten that by a long shot. Using a new process that involves tiny micro lenses, their OLED lighting is more than twice as efficient, cranking out 70 lumens of light per watt of power, compared with the 30 lumens per watt of GE’s latest OLEDs.
While these fantastic new lighting sources won’t light up every house for a few more years, they’ll be a whole lot better than current compact florescent (CFL) bulbs. Sure, the CFLs are slightly more efficient at 90 lumens per watt, but their color rendering is harsh, they’re laced with toxic mercury, and don’t last nearly as long as LEDs and OLEDs. And, as OLEDs get even more advanced, you’ll be able to have entire walls lit up with their friendly glow. Bring ‘em on!
editor@dvice.com
By Waldo Hitcher at 3:49 PM ON 07/23/08
Oleds do not last longer than CFL's. That's one of their key disadvantages, they are not long lasting enough and much effort is spent on this. That is why they have been such a disappointment over two decades and show no sign of radical improvement. Their price is still far too high, even at tiny sizes.
Good luck though to the design teams.
By Charlie White at 4:01 PM ON 07/29/08
@Waldo: You're right, I overstated the life of current OLEDs, which can last 5000 hours now, compared to the between 6,000 and 15,000 hours of compact florescents. So they're almost as long-lasting as CFLs, but catching up fast.