A company called EternaLEDs is selling a product called the HydraLux-4 lamp – it's an LED source for the home and office, fully dimmable, and equivalent to about 25W (the lamp itself consumes 4W). The biggest difference? The HydraLux-4 is water cooled. That was water cooled, in case the first time I typed it wasn't clear.
It's no secret that LEDs generate heat. Heat shortens their lifespan, leads to crappy lumen depreciation, and generally wears and tears at the components of the source. EternaLEDs' HydraLux-4 apparently defeats this problem with the water cooling, and claims a 360° light output, unlike a lot of other LED sources on the market. The HydraLux-4 comes in "warm white" and "daylight white," with a two-year warranty and 30-day guarantee.
A bit of info from the EternaLED site, comparing the HyrdaLux-4 to other sources:
- Saves money. At 8 hours a day, the HydraLux-4 only costs $1.75 per year* to run, saving an average of $157.00 over the lifetime of the bulb in electricity and bulb replacement costs.
- Long Lasting. The HydraLux-4 is rated at 35,000 hours. At 8 hours usage per day, it will last 12 years.
- Non-Hazardous. These bulbs contain no mercury, unlike CFLs so they don't require special disposal or clean up. Likewise, the liquid inside is equivalent in composition to baby oil so it's completely non-toxic and UL compliant.
- Fully-dimmable. Many LED and CFL bulbs are not capable of being dimmed. The HydraLux-4 is fully dimmable, allowing consumers to create the ambiance they desire by using existing dimmer switches.
- Outdoor-approved. Many LED bulbs have their components exposed to open air so are can't be used outdoors. The HydraLux-4 is one of the few LED bulbs approved for both indoor and outdoor use.
- Cool to the touch. The HydraLux-4 runs cool, cutting down on cooling costs as well as being safe in household applications.
- Eternaleds plans to announce 8W, 12W and 16W versions of the HydraLux by the end of 2009.
- The Eternaleds HydraLux-4 comes in two colors, Warm White and Daylight White, and can be ordered directly from Eternaleds.com at a list price of $34.99. Every purchase comes with a two-year warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee.
The HyrdaLux-4 is available on the EternaLEDs website for $34.99. They're also saying 2-3 weeks for shipping due to popularity. It's a relatively hefty pricetag, but for 35,000 hours it's not a bad deal.
Check out this video:
[...] I wrote a post about the lamp a few weeks ago, but I was able to get my hands on it and run it through a few paces. It's dimmable, it's obviously instant in power-up, and it is cool to the touch when energized. I conducted lux measurements on the HydraLux-4 lamp while it was installed in my bedside light fixture, where it replaced a 25W incandescent. The color temperature of the lamp it replaced was lower, but I prefer the higher color temperature. At a distance of about a foot, the HydraLux-4 had an illuminance of 52 lux (about 5 footcandles), which decayed to about 8 lux (about 0.75 footcandles) at 6 feet – which was approximately the distance from the source to my pillow for reference. [...]