Comments on: PLUMEN: Rethinking the Fluorescent Bulb

By: Inhabitat » HULGER PLUMEN BULBS: Innovative Compact Fluorescents

Inhabitat » HULGER PLUMEN BULBS: Innovative Compact Fluorescents — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:59:53 +0000

[...] an aesthetic want as opposed to a nagging guilt. We first covered Hulger’s Plumen Bulb launch last year, and we are pleased to see the variations that the product has developed since [...]

By: happy

happy — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:41:30 +0000

of course you need an suv to drive a six pack of these home from the store. I remember thinking the “ice cream whip” was interesting the first time I saw it. Imagine if every bulb looked like this idiotic monstrosity. At least the whip shape has practical utility, not to mention its “compactness” provides some durability from the store to the recycling center.

My favorite part is the excessive use of materials.

By: judy

judy — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:02:02 +0000

am i the only one who thinks the ‘ice cream whip’ design ain’t that bad? maybe i just like what it represents. i dunno.

By: ladeda

ladeda — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 03:09:52 +0000

What’s this about how compact flourescents can’t be recycled? Standard compact flourescent lights totally can be recycled! Here in Seattle, we have a variety of options. See http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/takeitback/fluorescent/index.asp.

Though these designs are cool, I seriously doubt that if I brought any of these Hulger-inspired CFLs for recycling that they’d be even able to recycle them! They might even be rejected for recycling and have to just go in the trash.

By: Erik van Lennep

Erik van Lennep — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:01:26 +0000

They are cool looking. The only problem is that fluorescents (compact or otherwise) are so jammed with toxics that they cannot be recycled. Ironic that in leaping to the energy saving bulb, we may seriously compound the toxic load on the environment. Bring on the LED generation!!

By: Nico

Nico — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 03:16:29 +0000

A gorgeous option. I just hope they are LED-based since traditonal CFLs contain mercury.

By: Sheldon

Sheldon — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:19:34 +0000

As an engineer, I like this; as a consumer, I like this.
The reason why bulbs were the shape they were was due to the limitations of the filament: delicate wires, glass bubble, inert gas. The reason for things like lamp shades was an artefact of those limitations: it needed a lamp shade because the bit that makes the light is so small (i.e. diffuse it) and they aren’t pretty to look at.

Because of how a CFL works, the light is produced in a diffused manner (there is no thin wire as the entire tube is “light”) and the above is the first step to them actually looking nice enough to exist on their own. And there is no reason to suggest why these lights would not be impractical; the structural strength of the Plumen bulb should be just as sufficient as the “ice-cream whip” or “radiator”.

So cast off your lamp shade and see the light, don’t be left in the dark by restrictions due to legacy illumination. Oh and sorry for the lamp-related words (it’s just some “light” humour ;-)

By: Hmmmmm

Hmmmmm — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:58:01 +0000

Ugly =functional=engineer design
Cool=impractical=designer

Never the two shall meet….

By: Kat

Kat — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:41:46 +0000

one issue, though. most bulbs are never seen when in use, and it’s often most pleasant when they’re not. not that a light sculpture isn’t interesting, but a functional bulb that gives off enough light to actually be useful is probably a little too bright to be used naked and shadeless. if it were simply decorative, it wouldn’t be very green. not to mention that many light fixtures are designed specifically to suit classically shaped bulbs. but i suppose seeing an intersting shape glowing from behind a semi-transluscent drum shade would be eye-catching.