In the global drive to reduce energy bills and avoid harmful accidents, lighting products have evolved dramatically in recent years. After the teething troubles of those annoying low energy bulbs that were bulky and took an age to turn on, one of the heroes of the new lighting market is the cheap, efficient, reliable Light-Emitting Diode – the LED. Now a competitor for the INVENT 2014 award has designed an LED light that promises to be bright while remaining safe, cheap and energy efficient. CoolsSafe360’s founder, Jerry Kochansky, is from Northern Ireland but has been out in China for the last few years, working to disprove those who doubted he could give this classic of inventions a make-over.
CoolSafe360 looks like a classic pear-shaped (“A-series”) tungsten lightbulb, runs at a modest 30 watts and, like the old bulbs, throws light out in all directions. But that’s where the resemblance ends. Firstly, it’s bright. Very bright, blasting out the equivalent light of four 60W bulbs. And instead of a tungsten filament under the glass, illumination is provided by a group of LEDs. This offers not only an energy saving but is also cool to touch, avoiding potential burns and fires. The danger of electrocution is also removed, as LEDs only require 12 volts.
There is an existing market for LED-based lights that resemble traditional bulbs but they come with their disadvantages. The main issues relate to heat and voltage. Although LEDs are generally thought to be cold, they actually produce considerable heat, it’s just that the heat localised to a tiny point near the base of the LED. Without some kind of sink to remove that heat, the LED can burn out just like an old-school filament. Furthermore, in order to deliver 12V to the light from the 220-240V mains, a transformer is needed. The current range of lights has both the transformer and the heat sink stuffed into the base of the bulb so if something goes wrong the whole unit must be replaced.
Jerry’s innovation has come from taking the heat sink and transformer and moving them outside the lightbulb. The heat sink simply screws into the light fitting and serves as a mount for the bulb, while the transformer moves well away, back to the plug. This makes the light much simpler in construction than its competitors. The transformer and mount would only need to be bought once, while the now cheaper light can be replaced as needed. This design also allows for much more power before heat becomes a problem. Whereas a typical LED light requires 5W power and offers the equivalent illumination of a 40W traditional bulb, Jerry’s 30W prototype clocks-in at eight times that output. Plus, with the transformer moved away, the light fitting would no longer provide a risk of electrocution.
Beyond the domestic market, the company is targeting industrial and public lighting too. LEDs are increasingly used in streetlights, warehouses and suchlike. But they can suffer the same basic design flaw as their domestic cousins. The failure of a single LED chip could require the replacement of the entire fitting, or at least a difficult repair and the danger of dealing with mains electricity. Industrial versions of CoolSafe360 could require only a quick, safe and easy change of the offending chip.
CoolSafe360’s market potential comes from the simplicity of the bulb part of the product. Current competing products are complicated and must be made by hand by a team of people. But Jerry believes his product is perfect for automated manufacturing. That should bring the price down, estimated at 30% less than the existing products. The global lighting industry is a big one and LEDs are a very popular alternative to traditional lighting solutions. Jerry has reverse-engineered a device that is iconic of invention, producing a new light that is cool to the touch, safe to operate and doesn’t sacrifice the ambience of 360º illumination. Cool, safe, 360 – the brand name practically invented itself.
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