New Hybrid CFLs Reach Full Brightness Instantly

While millions of Americans have taken the plunge and swapped their traditional light bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), there are still a few issues with the bulbs keeping everyone from making the switch.

Two of the most common complaints are aesthetics and the time it takes the green bulbs to reach full brightness. We learned earlier this month that CFLs don't have to be ugly, and now GE has announced a new type of CFL that takes care of the brightness issue.

GE's solution is actually quite familiar to fans of eco-friendly consumer goods; it's a hybrid. There's no easy way to get the fluorescent element to brighten up any quicker, so this new design incorporates a second halogen element. Both elements turn on when you slip the switch, and once the fluorescent element comes up to full brightness, the halogen element shuts off. Quite an elegant solution, really.

There's no cost to energy efficiency for the new "instant on" feature, with the 15 and 20 watt bulbs planned for launch able to replace 60 and 75 watt incandescents, respectively. Product life shouldn't suffer either, with GE claiming the bulbs should be good for 8,000 hours. As a bonus, these new bulbs also have much less mercury than a standard CFL.

The new hybrid bulbs should be available next year, but there is no word on pricing yet.

Image via GE.