So, not that you’d probably think a lot about this, but the incandescent lightbulb is scheduled to be phased out of Americans’ lives in like a year. What’s going to replace it? Well that remains to be seen. Suffice it to say, there’s a bit of an arms-race on to figure out what the new standard in bulbs will be. Compact Fluorescents are big on the market at the moment, but they generally produce light the color of asshole. LED bulbs are another option, with their own particular color profile.

In addition, the Seattle-based VU1 has been developing something called an ESL, or Electron Stimulated Luminescence bulb, and has just gotten UL certified. According to VU1, ESLs will be prettier and just as efficient as their competition (as well as being mercury-free and dimmable). Also, they will cost about $20 a bulb, for about 10,000 hours.

You can’t buy them yet, but they might be rad once you can.

via core77