Energy mad
Design
The Energy Mad team worked through an extensive modification and testing regime. The development process was overwhelmingly successful, resulting in the high-performance 20W “Ecobulb”.
While Energy Mad prefers to keep the details of the customisation private (a patent is pending), part of the solution lies in the shape of the bulb: while many CFL manufacturers have opted for the 3U shape, which disperses the light horizontally (making them appear less bright than a conventional 100W bulb), the 20W Ecobulb is shaped in a spiral, which directs light downward.
As for the “annoyance factor”, a spinoff benefit from designing the Ecobulb specifically for New Zealand’s 230V/50Hz electricity supply has been a reduction in the time the bulb takes to reach full light output – about 60 seconds compared to two or three minutes for other CFLs.
Switchability and length-of-life testing also rate the Ecobulb highly. Outstripping most of its competitors, the Ecobulb’s on/off switching performance exceeds 10,000 cycles. Its 10,000-hour bulb life – or nine years of average use (three hours a day) – is more than twice that of most other energy-saving bulbs. Compared with a standard incandescent bulb, the Ecobulb is light years ahead, lasting up to ten times longer.
In consumer surveys, aesthetics and price dominated CFL purchase decisions, so they rated highly on Energy Mad’s list of desirable features. Shorter and squatter than other CFLs, the Ecobulb is designed to be a similar shape to, and only about 11mm longer than, incandescent bulbs. Not only are Ecobulbs more attractive than other CFLs but they can be inconspicuously integrated into most conventional fittings.
