I could not belive it! You can have 1920’s stye incandescent lighting! :www.ferrowatt.com!
Why would anybdoy want these light bulbs? They are:
-inefficient
-costly
-dim
-stupid looking
But, they will last up to 100 yeasr!
I wonder how many of these things wil be sold?
Imagine-could you sell a 1920’s vintage car today? How about spats and gaiters?
Yes, but they’re also:
- attractive (at least when compared to compact fluorescents)
- authentic-looking (I’m thinking historic buildings and movie sets would love these)
- unique (kind of like the 20’s cars… not everyone has one, which is half the fun of owning one)
It’s not like they’re targeting the mainstream market, or looking to become the lighbulb of choice… it’s a specialty product. As far as dumb product ideas go, I’m pretty sure this doesn’t even crack the top 1000.
I can definitely see the appeal of that. I am a big fan of CFB’s for efficient lighting in most applications, but I can see where I’d want one of those, for sure.
My alternate-universe, has-more-money-than-he-has-an-immediate-need-for version of myself has a den done up in a bastard fusion of Edwardian & 1930s American décor. If I’m going to have a lotus-leaf Tiffany light fixture in there, it’s going to look a hell of a lot better with one of those in there than it would with an anachronistic looking bulb.
This hypothetical me feels just fine with spending a few dollars more for energy costs in this application. The kitchen, bath, and hallways are all lit with modern, efficient bulbs, with shades designed with them in mind.
(And never mind that the nice cherry console radio cabinet contains a dedicated mp3 decoder hooked up to a terabyte RAID array loaded with radio programs from 1925-1950 and controlled via the analog knobs.)
A lot of bed-and-breakfast operators and homeowners residing in restored historic architecture landmark buildings (Queen Annes, Federals, American Gothics, Victorian “painted ladies”, Arts-and-Crafts bungalows, etc.) would go absolutely ape over these.
Can we include crappy toys availiable from tv commercials? I think that Pixos and the Girl Gourmet cupcake microwavable-maker-thingy are unbelievably lame, overpriced, and useless
Yeah, I guess I also don’t see why this was claimed as an “idiotic” product.
“Ideal for museums, historic restaurations, hotels, period homes and theaters”
It is clear from the website that they are catering to people who have a specific requirement to preserve the period feel of a location. It is sort of like saying that a costume company catering to a film set in Victorian times is idiotic because jeans are far more comfortable 
I notice there is a Euro bias to this company and there is a good reason.
Euro law which is being implemented right across the EU zone is outlawing the sale of incandescant lamps.
At present its anything above 60W, but the intention is to bring this limit down over a period of time, this could be as early as 2010 or as late as 2015.
All this is in the name of greening our energy consumption.
Unfortunately the EU lawmakers did not bother to consult consumers - those who voted and paid the taxes.
To many EU citizens it just looks like a way of bossing us about, nanny statism.
Had the EU lawmakers actually considered our views, they might have found that those CFL lamps look absolutely shit in certain locations and appliances.
So instead of just letting time pass and encouraging us to switch over, steadily replacing the old fittings as they decay, they have imposed this policy on us.
Given all that, it’s no surprise that sales of incandescant lamps have skyrocketed as EU citizens stock up, and one can see a ready market for these lamps, there could be an exemption for certain cultural items, such as historic locations and if there is, then this company is exploiting that loophole.
Personally, I have CFLs in most parts of my house, but I also have dimmer units, these will not work on CFLs and these dimmer units are quite popular.
I have a choice, replace all my dimmer units at quite a high cost, or stock up on incandescant lamps and put the day off that I must change over.
It has to be noted that CFL’s don’t work all that well even on units that can work as dimmers - they are not all that efficient, furthermore CFLs are only storing a differant problem for the future as they contain a small amount of mercury and so must be correctly disposed of, but how may people will actually do that ? Very few I’ll bet.
Thanks for the link, I will also be stocking up on such incandescants lamps for the dimmer controlled lights in my house, and in the meantime I’ll also stick two fingers up as the Euro dictators who remove choice but do not take my views into consideration.
Are these bulbs carbon filament type? That would explain the reddish light output.
Interesting regarding the EU-thy wil phase out incandescent lamps? Then be faced by a massive mercury-contaminated waste issue? Sounds like bureaucracy at work.
Anybody know where I can buy a “1920’s Style Deathray”?
Actually I could see a use for something like this in a modern factory setting as well. We’ve got dozens of hole-in-the-wall equipment rooms scattered about the place that are usually dimly lit anyway because the lighting was installed in hard to reach places that have been built around and are now pretty much inaccessible to change. Having 100 year light bulbs that you could install and forget about ever changing would be perfect for such places.
Why don’t we make more conventional 100 year light bulbs as it is? Even at $20 for a 60 watt, there’d still be a market for them. Probably even higher then that.
Because they emit a dim, reddish glow. If you want that sort of light, you can just wire two normal bulbs in series - they will last forever.
As a decor item, rather than a functional light, none of these things really matter.
That’s a matter of personal taste. I think they look very cool, but I like steampunk.
They’ve been selling kits to make your car look like a vintage car for ages, long before the internet.
Are you all quite sure that these things are going to be “100 year” light bulbs? I seem to recall that the famous lightbulb in that firehouse owes its longevity as much to its extremely low wattage (4 watts?) as its old fashioned design.