Vu1: Revolutionary Light Bulb Safer than CFLs, More Energy-Efficient than Incandescents

A couple of months ago, we featured the Plumen, a designer CFL light bulb. Now, a new breed of bulb presents more than an aesthetic upgrade. Safer than CFLs and with better lighting than LEDs, Vu1 uses Electron Stimulated Luminescence (ESL) technology, a method that accelerates electrons to stimulate phosphor, to offer up to 10,000 hours of bulb life from a glowing, natural-light surface.

Compared to regular incandescent bulbs, Vu1 uses 70% less energy and lasts five times as long.

The mercury-free, non-toxic, energy-efficient bulb was inspired by the cathode ray color TVs of the 1950s and has just received UL certification for the unique ESL technology powering the bulb. The Atlanta-based company anticipates to have V1u commercially available in Spring 2011.

Maria Popova is the editor of Brain Pickings, a curated inventory of miscellaneous interestingness. She writes for Wired UK, GOOD Magazine, Design Observer and Huffington Post, and spends a shameful amount of time on Twitter.