Is there a light bulb that has a life of five years or more?

Question

I saw a news report several years ago that indicated that a light bulb with a life span of five years had been invented. I have not come across one at a retail outlet.

Answer 1

yes , there has been one that has lasted 100 years and still going

Answer 2

There are a number of types of bulbs that can last 5 years or more. The standard incandescent light bulb you buy at the supermarket can last a long time if you run a low current through it. The compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs--the curly ones you see at Home Depot) can last 8,000 hours or more. New high intensity LEDs while not as bright as other bulbs at this time can last over 50,000 hours and still have 70% of their initial light output. They are also much more efficient. A standard light bulb has an efficiency of maybe 15 lumens/Watt (light output versus electrical input power). Fluorescent bulbs can have efficiencies of 100 lumens/Watt. The high intensity LED has an efficiency of 70 lumens/Watt and improving all the time. Your home will probably be lit with LEDs within the next 10 years.

Answer 3

It all depends on its power output and how long it's on for each day. It'd be simple to create a 5W bulb that would last years if on only a few hours a day. And it depends on the type; incandescent, florescent, LED.

Compact Flourscent Lightbulbs (CFL's) are just like the large florescent light tubes some people have in their kitchen or basement, except they are much smaller tubes and bent around (compact). They last at least 5 years, some upwards to 10, and are much more power efficient than incandescents. In fact, in California a bill was proposed to make all stores sell only CFL's and no incandescent light bulbs because of their power efficiency. They are more expensive, but they end up lasting much longer so you save in the long run anyway.

LED's can last many years; probably upwards to 10-20 years. The work much differently than incandescents and florescents, but they are not very bright. You'd need 4-5 LED's together to emit enough light for a room, and even then it would be weak. But LED's are extremely power efficient.

Answer 4

Light bulbs are rated in hours of use, not years. Light bulbs with a "years of operation" rating use a conversion factor (x hours/day, 365 days per year) to get "years" from hours. The problem is that this number (hours per day, or more accurately the number of hours per day that they expect you to use it) is made up by the manufacturer. I have seen, from stocking these bulbs in hardware stores, where the manufacturers will all use different numbers and the less-reputable among them using a smaller number (fewer hours/day) to make their bulb 'sound' superior. Reputable manufacturers will present both the light output and the lifetime, in hours of use, prominently on the package. General Electric bulbs, imho, tend to offer the best combination of these two.

Any bulb can last 5 years or more depending on how much it is used per day and the conditions under which it is used.

A typical GE CFL suggests a lifetime of 8000 hours which works out to almost 4 and a half hours of "on time" per day for a five-year lifetime.

Answer 5

The Centennial Light is the world's longest lasting light bulb. It is located at 4550 East Avenue, Livermore, California[1] and maintained by the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department. The fire department claims that the bulb is at least 106 years old and has only been turned off a handful of times. Due to its longevity, the bulb has been noted by The Guinness Book of World Records, Ripley's Believe It or Not! and General Electric.[2



Web cam of the bulb http://www.centennialbulb.org/photos.htm

Answer 6

Yes, we just bought some at the grocery store. They are called flouresant something or other. They kind of look like curly cues. They are supposed to last 9 yrs. We have only had them in for a few weeks so I don't know yet. They use far less energy and are supposed to save you 100's per year in electric bills. They only use 35 watts as opposed to 65. When you first turn the lamp on it is really dim, but if you wait a few mins. it warms up and gets just as bright as the regular. I have heard they are trying to pass a law where everyone has to use them. We have two in our living room and in all the lights outside. Like I said, I can't tell you how long they actually last cause they are kind of new. If you go to your local hardware store you will find them.

Answer 7

The Phillips QL bulb and the Sylvania Icetron are commercial bulbs that are designed to last 11 years.

Compact flourescent bulbs should last more than 5 years under "normal" use - I have a couple that I bought in 1989 that are still working (knock knock).

Answer 8

Hey, for real...there are light bulbs in the Thomas Edison museum in Fort Myers that have been burning for 70 years. Long life light bulbs were invented many decades ago.

Answer 9

The spiral lightbulbs, I dont know what they're called offhand, but weve got a bunch of them here, you can get them at any hardwear store. :) They last to about 3-5 years.

Answer 10

There are the new fluorescent bubs that replace incandescents. Unfortunately, they have mercury, chrome and lead in them which will start leaching into our groundwater when we start to pitch them.