Attention, CFL-haters: Vu1 says it's developed a better bulb

“What if we could reinvent the light bulb?” asks US technology firm Vu1 Corporation. Their answer? “Well …we just did.”

The Seattle-based company this week unveiled what it says is a “revolutionary, energy-efficient, mercury-free lighting technology.”

Vu1’s Electron Stimulated Luminescence™ (ESL) technology, demonstrated in an online video, promises to provide energy-efficient lighting without the mercury contained in compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and without the high cost of efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs), according to the company. If so, the development comes right on time, as more than 30 countries around the world are working to phase out the old-fashioned, energy-wasting incandescent light bulb.

“As we move our technology from the lab into testing and pilot production, we felt it was important to visually display the unique attributes of ESL and the progress we have made, as well as let the world know there is a lighting solution coming that performs similarly to the incandescent light bulb we are all familiar with,” said R. Gale Sellers, CEO of Vu1. “This video is our first opportunity to show people the benefits of our breakthrough technology that is generating widespread interest and enthusiasm from scientists, industry experts, utility companies, and lighting product distributors.”

Through improvements in proprietary phosphors, the company says it’s achieved a 20 per cent improvement in the technology’s photometric efficacy over recent months. Additionally, at its facility in the Czech Republic, Vu1 has demonstrated ESL working in the most commonly found A-Type residential bulb shape.

If it can obtain the needed funding, Vu1 plans to make its first consumer product — an R-30 reflector bulb — available by the middle of next year.

According to Vu1, the ESL technology will offer the full features of incandescent lights — high light quality and color, instant on, true dimmability and an attractive bulb design — without the mercury present in today’s energy-efficient option, CFLs.