Light fantastic: The traditional light bulb in this period of global warming is seen as wasteful: It uses too much electricity and has too short a life span. Bulbs that use light-emitting diodes (LED) are seen as leading candidates to replace the incandescent bulb. Toshiba is promoting this technology with a new pair of E-Core branded light bulbs, the LEL-AW4L and LEL-AW4N. Equivalent to 40-watt bulbs, the pair are intended to replace conventional bulbs in homes.
The bulbs can screw into conventional light sockets and cost the same, ¥8,980, but have slightly different light properties. The LEL-AW4L gives off a yellowish light that is not as strong as that from the LEL-AW4N, which has a more starkly white light.
Toshiba claims the bulbs will last for 40,000 hours. This compares to conventional incandescent bulbs, which are expected to last something like 750 to 1,000 hours, and fluorescent lights that typically last between 6,000 and 15,000 hours. Moreover, the LED lights are claimed to use a seventh of the power of a regular bulb. Their environmentally- friendly rivals, fluorescent bulbs, use anywhere between one-fifth and one-third the power of an incandescent.