Halogen-CFL Hybrid Light Bulb Gets Instant Full Brightness

General Electric’s new halogen-compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulb solves the main complain people have about CFL: It takes too much time to achieve full brightness level. I don’t care too much about that, but it’s really neat looking.

It’s very simple and clever. When you turn the light on, both the CFL and the halogen module light up. That makes the light obtain an optimal brightness level right when it gets turned on. When the CFL achieves full brightness, the halogen automatically shuts down.

GE says that these 15-watt and 20-watt hybrid lights could replace 60-watt and 75-watt incandescent light bulbs, with lower consumption and eight times their life span: 8000 hours. No word about pricing or availability yet. [GE via Inhabitat]