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Ex-Tesla and NASA Engineers Make a Light Bulb That’s Smarter Than You

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#21
Do these work on EU Voltage of 220-240V??? Can't really find out from the homepage.

Also those MR16 look similar to what I have in my ceilings in many rooms, but I believe they are called GU10 here in the EU? Are MR16 low voltage or high voltage???
 
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#22
AudubonB said:
Wait a minute, please.

1. Why are we here happy that someone so obviously as smart, open-thinking and motivated as Neil Joseph is....departed Tesla?

and

2. I looked through the Stack website. Their claims that their bulbs saved some 67% compared to an LED seems to me as a result of one function only: the user programs the bulb to turn on, off, dim or brighten rather than doing it manually. Those of us who have spent their lives turning off or dimming bulbs would - if I'm reading this correctly - experience a 0% saving....not counting the obviously higher price of the bulb. Am I correct? (Full disclosure: I have just this week purchased over $1,800-worth of LED bulbs....)

and

3. So howz come, Bonnie & Nigel, I wasn't asked in on the investment ground floor (ignore #s 1 & 2 when you respond, please)? :biggrin:
Click to expand...

1. Sorry. He still has close ties to Tesla. And he left a good team in his place. It was time for him to start his own company and spread his wings.

2. You'll note that one of the places this is installed is at a bbq place in Silicon Valley. I had the pleasure of eating there, watching the bulbs, and talking with the 'good ole boy' owner, who assured me he'd installed the bulbs all by himself. :)

We sat in a room with several rows of bulbs, controlled by one dimmable on/off switch. All the bulbs were either on at the same level or off. Before. But with the Alba bulbs installed, the bulbs near the window/sunlight were pretty much off. As you looked further across the room, you could see the ones furthest away were a higher light intensity. The room was evenly lit, but using far less electricity during even daylight hours than it normally would use. It adjusted as the sun went behind clouds and came out again. So no matter how good you are with that switch, unless you're standing right by it the entire time and only focused on the light coming in, you're not going to be better than Alba. And that's if you have one switch per light.

3. Uhhh, are you sure I didn't send you a message? I DID say on the investors' thread that I had put money into a non-public startup. Why didn't you ask me :) ?
 
#23
AudubonB said:
(Full disclosure: I have just this week purchased over $1,800-worth of LED bulbs....)
Click to expand...

I did the exact same thing ~18 months ago, including installing dimmer switches in many rooms....Once Stack got going I was wishing they had come up with the product two years ago.

- - - Updated - - -

Johan said:
Do these work on EU Voltage of 220-240V??? Can't really find out from the homepage.
Click to expand...

Not yet. There's no right-hand screw ones for the UK yet either.
 
#24
bonnie said:
We sat in a room with several rows of bulbs, controlled by one dimmable on/off switch. All the bulbs were either on at the same level or off. Before. But with the Alba bulbs installed, the bulbs near the window/sunlight were pretty much off. As you looked further across the room, you could see the ones furthest away were a higher light intensity. The room was evenly lit, but using far less electricity during even daylight hours than it normally would use. It adjusted as the sun went behind clouds and came out again. So no matter how good you are with that switch, unless you're standing right by it the entire time and only focused on the light coming in, you're not going to be better than Alba. And that's if you have one switch per light.
Click to expand...

That's good testimony.

Anyone wanna buy $1,800 of LEDs?
 
#25
Should also mention (if you didn't pick it up from the video) that the hue of the light changes through the day. Mornings, it's that 'high energy' bright whitish/blue light that makes it easier to work and get things done. As the evening hits, it changes to that warmer, relaxing color.

I was gone this last week and the place where I was staying is interested in trying it out with some of their guests who travel across several time zones - using light to help wake up/fall asleep may help them adjust more quickly. That would be an interesting application.
 
#26
By the way, in response to the 'why didn't you tell us about this?' questions I've received via pm ... please understand that as moderators on TMC, telling people they should invest in a non-public startup would be inappropriate. (I was going to type 'probably inappropriate', but there's nothing 'probably' about it.)

Both Nigel and I know Neil Joseph personally, had a lot of faith in his ability to bring this to market - but many of you would have been going on trust in us just because you know us here in the online community. Furthering our own interests by using our positions as moderators would have been ethically wrong. So both Nigel and I have not talked about this investment until it was brought up by a TMC member (thx ggies07!).

Of course, if any of you had been paying attention to my twitter feed, it would have been difficult to miss. :)
 
#28
bonnie said:
By the way, in response to the 'why didn't you tell us about this?' questions I've received via pm ... please understand that as moderators on TMC, telling people they should invest in a non-public startup would be inappropriate. (I was going to type 'probably inappropriate', but there's nothing 'probably' about it.)

Both Nigel and I know Neil Joseph personally, had a lot of faith in his ability to bring this to market - but many of you would have been going on trust in us just because you know us here in the online community. Furthering our own interests by using our positions as moderators would have been ethically wrong. So both Nigel and I have not talked about this investment until it was brought up by a TMC member (thx ggies07!).

Of course, if any of you had been paying attention to my twitter feed, it would have been difficult to miss. :)
Click to expand...

But you can tell me personally as a good friend ... :wink: In serious, these are cool very cool for all of their features, but not so much from an energy efficiency stand point. "60 to 80 percent less energy than a regular LED bulb" I have LEDs already in the house and lighting is such a small fraction of my energy usage that cutting another 60-80% from it is more like energy scavenging than saving. Imagine you have 20 - 9 W bulbs in your house constantly on (about as much as my house) Than you're using 180 W. My toaster uses more than that. Add to the fact that you seldom have your lights on (if you turn them off when leaving a room) and your total lighting is only a few kWh a month at most.
 
#29
rolosrevenge said:
But you can tell me personally as a good friend ... :wink: In serious, these are cool very cool for all of their features, but not so much from an energy efficiency stand point. "60 to 80 percent less energy than a regular LED bulb" I have LEDs already in the house and lighting is such a small fraction of my energy usage that cutting another 60-80% from it is more like energy scavenging than saving. Imagine you have 20 - 9 W bulbs in your house constantly on (about as much as my house) Than you're using 180 W. My toaster uses more than that. Add to the fact that you seldom have your lights on (if you turn them off when leaving a room) and your total lighting is only a few kWh a month at most.
Click to expand...

Yep - the real advantage is not in being a lightbulb (though it does that better), but in taking advantage of all the lightbulb hardware points already in a building.
 
#30
bonnie said:
Both Nigel and I know Neil Joseph personally, had a lot of faith in his ability to bring this to market - but many of you would have been going on trust in us just because you know us here in the online community.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%. Very few people are actually up for a risky, Silicon Valley start-up and by some definitions Stack is still risky; I wonder how many of us would have invested in Tesla in the early days before they'd actually delivered any cars at all?
 
#31
How many Engineers does it take to screw in a smart lightbulb?

(sorry I could not resist)

Best answer wins a connector protector!!

connector-protector3.jpg
 
#32
bonnie said:
... Simply by screwing in a light bulb.
Click to expand...

Q. How many Californians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A. Californians don't screw in lighbulbs, they screw in hot tubs.

(I hope that's not too close to the edge of family friendly. If it is, a mod may delete it and I won't complain. But it seemed apropos. Anyway, Lloyd and ggies07 started it :) )
 
#34
bonnie said:
By the way, in response to the 'why didn't you tell us about this?' questions I've received via pm ... please understand that as moderators on TMC, telling people they should invest in a non-public startup would be inappropriate. (I was going to type 'probably inappropriate', but there's nothing 'probably' about it.)

Both Nigel and I know Neil Joseph personally, had a lot of faith in his ability to bring this to market - but many of you would have been going on trust in us just because you know us here in the online community. Furthering our own interests by using our positions as moderators would have been ethically wrong. So both Nigel and I have not talked about this investment until it was brought up by a TMC member (thx ggies07!).

Of course, if any of you had been paying attention to my twitter feed, it would have been difficult to miss. :)
Click to expand...

hey now! I was just spreading the good idea :) Can't help that the company was covered by Wired AND had something Tesla related in it. It was bound to get posted on here......I too wish I could have invested early on in this idea.

- - - Updated - - -

 
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#39
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