GeoBulb LED light bulb

GeoBulb II by C. Crane

You might look at the GeoBulb® II design as being sexy and sculptural.

Or it may look a little exoskeletal to you.

But either way, it is the low energy consumption of this LED light bulb that should really catch your eye.

In its Cool White form, the GeoBulb II delivers claims to deliver approximately the same illumination as a 60-watt incandescent light bulb while using only 7.5 watts of power! That's almost an 87% energy savings!

With a projected life span of 30,000 hours, GeoBulb II's manufacturer C. Crane says the bulb should last for 10 years of 8-hours-per-day usage. The bulb also comes with a comforting 3-year warranty.

As for the light quality, like many LEDs, the light is very white, with almost a bluish tint. That may sound unappealing, and you probably wouldn't want to use the GeoBulb II for mood lighting, but the fact is that the GeoBulb II is actually fantastic for use as a reading light. Somehow it makes reading printed materials much easier and seemed to reduce eye strain, at least for me.

GeoBulb II by C. Crane

(If you don't want such a blue-white light, C. Crane does sell Soft White and Warm White varieties of its GeoBulb II bulbs, but those are only rated as equivalent to 50-watt and 40-watt incandescent bulbs respectively. We presume these other varieties have some sort of coating on the bulb that 'softens' or 'warms' the light but also cuts down on blocks some of the luminescence.)

The only drawback I can see here is still price. Even after a 15% price reduction, the GeoBulb II will still set you back $99.95. Yowzers!

It's true that the GeoBulb II will save you a lot in energy costs over the long run, but it's still hard to imagine too many folks shelling out $100 per bulb when it's possible to buy a 12-pack of Sylvania CFL bulbs at Amazon for around $24. True, the CFL bulbs use almost twice as much electricity (13 watts) as the GeoBulb II to produce the same amount of lumens (60-watt incandescent equivalent), but on the other hand the GeoBulb II is about 50-times more expensive.

How many light bulbs do you have in your home? I have about 15 in my apartment. That means I could light the whole apartment for $48 with the Sylvania CFLs and have plenty of leftover replacement bulbs. Or I could light the apartment for $1500 with GeoBulb IIs.

$1500 vs. $48. I love the GeoBulb technology - and LED light bulb technology in general - but it's going to have to come down in price to penetrate beyond the millionaire/billionaire demographic.

Hopefully, LED bulbs will get more affordable. Most technology seems to progress down an affordability curve. Only a few year ago, CFL bulbs were rather pricey too. Now they're easily affordable. Hopefully in a couple of years, we'll be seeing multipacks of GeoBulbs for a fraction of the current price.

Where to Buy:

You can order a GeoBulb II direct from C. Crane for $99.95. Interestingly, you can get a GeoBulb for a bit more affordable price ($89.95) if you order through Amazon.com.

If your recession-era budget doesn't have room for the GeoBulb II, remember that you can still get a Pharox 4-watt LED (40-watt incandescent equivalent) at Amazon for $34.99 or the EarthLED ZetaLux for $49.99 (6-7 watts of power consumption, 50-60 watt incandescent equivalent).