I spent some time in the home improvement stores this weekend and noticed a newer bulb from Philips designed to replace the standard flood light.  The BR30 LED bulb is Energy Star compliant, delivers 730 lumens, and uses a decent 13-watts of energy.  Plus, it’s mercury free, lasts about 25,000 hours, and has a standard warm color of 2700 Kelvin.  While the price is hovering at $40 at Home Depot right now, I expect that to slowly drop.  Plus, the bulb is an easy install — just screw it in — so testing this is a no brainer.

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This is the first and only UL-listed, 120-volt, plug-and-play solar kit in the world, according to SpinRay Energy.  The DeckPower120 comes with one, 240-watt solar panel and can be hung on a deck or elsewhere outdoors using a simple mount bracket.  The system allows for up to 1,300 watts of AC power with five solar panels and should qualify for available federal (and sometimes state) tax credits.

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Today GE introduced a new and innovative 100-watt replacement bulb that uses only 27 watts with the help of LEDs and jet technology.  The Energy Smart bulb won’t be available until the first half of 2013 at an undetermined price, though the technology will be on display at the LIGHTFAIR conference that’s being held in Las Vegas this week.

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