Bright ideas

Saturday, December 21 is the shortest day of the year so we thought it would be a good time to appreciate the history of light bulbs.

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We walk into a dark room and flick a light switch and don’t think anything of it. But you are using one of the greatest inventions ever made. The light bulb led to new energy breakthroughs — from power plants and electric transmission lines to home appliances and electric motors. Research on the bulbs began more than 150 years ago and like most great inventions, the light bulb can’t be credited to one inventor. It was a series of small improvements on the ideas of previous inventors that have led to the light bulbs we use in our homes today. Here’s a timeline of key events and the evolution of our lighting. If you cannot read the graphic the text is below.

You can learn more about global energy trends here.

1803 — 1809: First arc lamp created

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Humphry Davy demonstrated the first incandescent light to the Royal Institute in Great Britain, using a bank of batteries and two charcoal rods. Arc lamps provided many cities with their first electric streetlights.

1835: First constant electric light demonstrated

James Bowman Lindsay demonstrated a constant electric light at a public meeting in Scotland. Some have credited him with being the inventor of the incandescent light bulb.

1850 — 1859: Lightning in a tube

In the 19th century, two Germans discovered that they could produce light by removing almost all of the air from a long glass tube and passing an electrical current through it. Called Geissler tubes, they became the basis of many lighting technologies including fluorescent lights.

1877 — 1885: Competition for the incandescent light bulb heats up

Inventors all across the world — including William Sawyer and Albon Man in the U.S. and Joseph Swan in England — worked on creating an electric incandescent lamp.

1882: Developing the lighting system

Thomas Edison focused on the entire lighting grid, showing that it was possible to distribute electricity from a centrally located generator with the Holborn Viaduct in London and developing the first commercial power utility in lower Manhattan.

1901: Precursor to fluorescent lights

Peter Cooper Hewitt created a blue-green light by passing an electric current through mercury vapor. The lights had few suitable uses because of the color but were one of the precursors to fluorescent lights.

1904: Out with the carbon filament and in with the tungsten

In 1904, incandescent lamps with tungsten filaments appear on the European market. These bulbs lasted longer, were brighter and more efficient than lamps with carbon filaments.

1908: Edison screws

Part of Edison’s contribution to the light bulb was the socket he developed, which today is called the Edison Screw. By 1908, it was the most commonly used light bulb socket used, and today, it is used for almost all residential lighting applications.

1913: Doubling the efficiency of incandescents

Irving Langmuir discovered that filling a light bulb with inert gas-like nitrogen instead of vacuuming out the air doubled the light bulb’s efficiency.

1926 — 1934: Neon tubes

By the late 1920s and early 1930s, European researchers were doing experiments with neon tubes coated with phosphors. Word of these experiments helped spark fluorescent lamp research in the U.S.

1951: Fluorescents overtake incandescents

By 1951, more light in the U.S. was being produced by linear fluorescent lamps than incandescent — a change that was led by the need for efficient lighting during World War II.

1962: First light-emitting diode (LED) is invented

While working for General Electric, Nick Holonyak Jr., invented the first visible-spectrum LED in the form of red diodes. Pale yellow and green diodes were invented next.

1973: Energy is not cheap

The 1973 oil crisis marked a turning point in U.S. energy consumption because energy was no longer cheap. Researchers rose to the challenge and began developing fluorescent bulbs for residential use.

1976: Fluorescent bulbs go spiral

In 1976, Edward Hammer at General Electric figured out how to bend the fluorescent tube into a spiral shape, creating the first compact fluorescent light.

1978: LEDs appear in consumer products

As researchers improved red diodes and their manufacturing, companies began incorporating them into consumer products such as calculator displays and indicator lights.

1985: First compact fluorescent lamp hits the market

Early CFLs hit the market in the mid-1980s and ranged from $25-$35 a bulb.

1994: First blue, then white LEDs

The invention of the blue diode in the 1990s quickly led to the discovery of white LEDs. Shortly thereafter, researchers demonstrated white light using red, green and blue LEDs. This leads to development of high-definition flat screen TVs.

2000: Energy Department works to push LEDs forward

In 2000, the Energy Department partnered with private industry to push white LED technology forward by creating a high-efficiency packaged LED device.

2002 — 2008: First residential LED bulb hits the market

By 2008, there were just a few LED replacement bulbs on the market, and most were 25-40 watt equivalents.

2012: 49 million LED products installed

In 2012 alone, more than 49 million LED products were installed in the U.S., saving about $675 million in annual energy costs.

2013: CFLs for as little as $1.74

Nearly 30 years after CFLs were first introduced on the market, their costs have dropped to as low as $1.74 a bulb. They also use about 75% less energy than incandescents and last about 10 times longer.

2013: LED costs drop dramatically

Since 2008, the cost of LED bulbs has fallen more than 85%, and most recently, a number of retailers announced that they will be selling LEDs at $10 or less.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, Edison Tech Center, The International Energy Agency, The Franklin Institute, Constellation Energy