Molex helps to create longest-lasting light and socket
Lisle-based Molex Inc. (www.molex.com) partnered with Livermore, Calif.-based Bridgelux to create a new light-and-socket combination that, depending on your habits, could leave the light on for the rest of your life.
A light bulb, on average, lasts about 800 hours a year. So if you take 50,000 hours provided by the new Helieon LED light module and divide by 800 hours, it'll give you about 60 years of service, said Barbara Grzegorzewska, Molex global product manager for solid state lighting.
"We're hoping to have this become the industry standard," she said.
Helieon is an LED light system that turns and locks into place, emulating traditional lighting sockets and allows users to alter the beam angle or light output without removing or replacing the source. The Helieon won the Lightfair International 2010 Most Innovative Product of the Year Award this week at a trade show in Las Vegas.
That new device is now being pitched to light-fixture and lamp manufacturers, which could have the socket in lighting products as early as next year, said Grzegorzewska.
Molex developed the socket while the Silicon Valley company created the light technology. The two components must work together. While the manufacturers will install the new socket into the lamp or wall fixture, you'll have to go to the hardware store to buy the LED light component, just as you would for any light bulb, said Grzegorzewska.
The LED lights will offer different levels of brilliance, similar to the traditional wattage noted on incandescent lights. They also are expected to save about 80 percent on energy. The light also goes on instantly, with no need to warm up or flicker like some others. Consumers may pay roughly $20 to $40 for the light, she said.
You can follow Molex on Twitter at Molexconnectors or watch its videos on YouTube.
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