News

Enlightened homeowners got a glimmer of good news this month, one that could light up their lives for years to come. Osram Sylvania, manufacturer of all things bright and bulbous, is about to launch a line of cool lamps for the home featuring LED technology.

"The LED," says Toronto lighting design maven Suzanne Powadiuk, "is the light of the future." That's because LEDs -- tiny light-emitting diodes that are common in flashlights and electronics -- are emerging as a major player in the race to solve the globe's energy problems.

Besides being cool to the touch and long-lasting, LEDs use a tiny fraction of the energy required by conventional incandescent and halogen lights. But while they are widely used in traffic signals, they've taken a long time to break into the home decor market.

"It's great to see Sylvania doing this, taking their own technology and creating fixtures for home use," says Powadiuk, who was a consultant for the revamped Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto. "Especially at this price point."

The Sylvania lightingBrilliance line, which will be available across Canada in October, comes in a satin finish in four sleek options, ranging in price from $45.99 for a clamp-on light to $119.98 for a floor lamp.

They feature a bank of built-in white LEDs that are ideal for directed task lighting, but less cozy than the more diffuse incandescent lighting, which also wastes energy.

But softer, warmer-looking LED lamps are currently in development, says Laura Fuller, director of marketing for Osrum Sylvania, the North American lighting arm of German giant Osrum.

"These lamps are for early adopters," she says, "but they're improving all the time."

Toronto designer Richard Eppstadt is another LED booster. "These are ideal for people trying to get off the grid with solar and wind power," he says. "It's more expensive at the outset, but the long-term savings are astronomical."

The lamps are a new venture for Sylvania, which is planning to launch a whole range of LED products, including recessed and strip lighting. "We make light bulbs, not fixtures," Fuller says. "But with LEDs we had to build the fixture around the light."

This means that when your lightingBrilliance lamp burns out after about 20,000 hours of use (that's about 15 years' worth), you'll have to throw it out. But by then, she says, the lamp will have more than paid for itself.

Available in October from about $46 at selected Home Hardware stores, http://www.sylvania.com, 1-800-LIGHTBULB.