Buzzword: Solid-State Lighting

What it means. Solid-state lighting, or SSL, could be the next big thing in residential lighting. SSL refers to a type of bulb—or lamp, in industry parlance—that uses the movement of electrons through a semiconductor material to generate light. The semiconductor is in a solid block form, hence “solid state.”

Because there’s no filament that heats up (and eventually burns out), SSL is up to 50 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs, claim manufacturers. SSL is also said to last as much as 10 times longer than compact fluorescent lighting and contains none of the potentially harmful mercury that has brought CFLs image down to earth and made recycling them a hassle.

Why the buzz? SSL has existed for decades under the name LED, short for light-emitting diode (the semiconductor material involved is a diode). But LEDs are not the only kinds of SSL. For example, laser technology is a form of SSL, and organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, are on the horizon. As a result, the lighting industry is transitioning toward the more all-inclusive solid-state lighting moniker. “Within the broad category of TVs, you have several options, including LCD, plasma, and OLED. Similarly, solid-state lighting refers to anything that is not a conventional gas-based lighting technology,” says Govi Rao, chief executive officer of Lighting Science Group (LSG), a manufacturer of lighting equipment.

The switch to SSL might also have to do with the marketing of LEDs, which are still leading the way in this technology. For years, LEDs were limited to commercial use, for example in traffic signals and airport signage. The fact that they couldn’t generate pure white light kept them out of the residential market, except as the red indicator lights on electronic devices. But manufacturers are getting closer to a perfect white LED; LSG, for one, just launched a line of replacement LEDs (shown). Unfortunately, no matter how good the technology gets, some consumers will always associate LEDs with Lite-Brite. By giving the lights a different name, manufacturers can in a way reintroduce them to consumers.

Whatever its name, SSL is still years away from wide residential use. But it’s making steady inroads, including for undercabinet lighting. We’re currently testing these task-lighting fixtures for our August 2008 special kitchen section. Five years ago, we wouldn’t have covered SSL, but this year, it’s a theme in the story. Without giving too much away, we’ll just say that the purported efficiency of SSL is pretty solid.—Daniel DiClerico

CFL recycling catches on

As we reported in the October 2007 story “New twists in savings,” compact fluorescent lightbulbs contain small amounts of mercury. The presence of this neurotoxin in the bulbs means that you can’t simply throw out CFLs with the trash or recycle them as you would other household products. “Where, oh where, can I recycle my CFL?” details how tough it can be to properly dispose of CFLs.

One recycling option is to ship the bulbs to a company that will safely remove the mercury, which is then reused in new fluorescent lights. As mentioned in “The bulb is in the mail,” CFL maker Sylvania is working with Lombard, Illinois–based Veolia Environmental Services to recycle CFLs through Veolia's Recyclepak program. (A Recyclepak bucket is shown.)

The effort seems to be catching on. TCP, Inc., a major CFL manufacturer based in Aurora, Ohio, announced on October 30 that it has also partnered with Veolia for CFL recycling. "We’re proud to add TCP to a growing list of manufacturers working directly with Veolia that support recycling mercury-containing lamps, sustainability, and environmental responsibility,” said Rob Wlezien, vice president of sales and marketing for Veolia, in a release.—Steven H. Saltzman

CR’s take: Until more local governments, retailers, and manufacturers create easy-to-use recycling plans, Recyclepak is one way for you to safely recycle CFLs.

How long can CFLs last?

Our focus recently has been on compact fluorescent lighting, but Consumer Reports has been analyzing lightbulbs for decades, as this photograph from 1965 shows (left). The bulbs in this vintage image were incandescents, but a primary goal of that project was the same as it is for our ongoing testing of energy-saving CFLs: to measure the life span of lightbulbs.

By the end of this month our engineers will have tested five brands of 15-watt mini-spiral CFLs, equivalent to 60-watt incandescent bubs, for about 5,000 hours each. (A typical incandescent bulb lasts 1,000 hours.) The tests will continue until more than 50 percent of the test samples for a given brand have burned out. The process is kind of like the Beckett play “Waiting for Godot," but something is going to happen--really. It might take several more months, however, for the longest-lasting bulbs to expire.

Turning CFLs on and off frequently shortens their life, so our testers, curious as they are, are now running nonstop cycles during which each CFL is on for 5 minutes and then off for the same amount of time. The purpose of the test is to see if any differences in life span exist among CFL brands and to compare the longevity of the different CFLs to that of incandescent bulbs.

(One way to help your CFLs last as long as possible is to install them in fixtures that are typically on for more than 15 minutes at a time or several hours throughout the day, according to the people who run the federal government’s Energy Star program.)

By the way, as I reported last month in this story, Wal-Mart had set a goal of selling 100 million CFLs this year in the U.S. market. The Bentonville Behemoth recently announced that it has surpassed its sales target, with stores in California, Florida  Illinois, Ohio, and Texas ringing up the highest CFL sales.—Kimberly Janeway

Essential information: Reduce home energy consumption and start saving hundreds of dollars annually with these 10 easy steps. And see more vintage Consumer Reports testing photographs in our archives.