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Ring pledges to beef up security in 2020
Once you've put a camera on your doorbell, peep hole and in your garden, there's not many more smart devices you need, right? Not so, according to Ring, which has turned up at CES with six products in tow, the most notable of which is the Access Controller Pro. The wall-mounted box will let you pair any electronically controlled access gate with your Ring camera over Ethernet or a cellular connection, letting you control both from inside the Ring app. In addition, being an Amazon-owned company, the system will allow Key by Amazon couriers to drop packages securely inside your yard rather than waiting for you to come and greet them.
IKEA launches its own low-cost smart lighting range
For many people, their first foray into the world of home automation begins with lighting. There's a good reason for this: smart bulbs easily fit into existing furnishings and can be operated using just a smartphone, which (mostly) everybody now owns. Philips, with its Hue range, is perhaps the most well known smart bulb maker, but that could soon change thanks to a new entrant: IKEA. That's right, the world's biggest furniture chain is today debuting its own smart lighting range in the UK. As you'd expect, the prices are a lot easier on the wallet.
Your eco-friendly LED lights are drawing an awful lot more moths
Blue-light emitting LED bulbs have taken off with consumers because they have few downsides -- they're bright, use far less energy and last much longer than other types. In fact, the inventors just won a Nobel Prize, proving their huge benefit to consumers and society. But it now appears there's a teeny issue: flying insects. Scientists in New Zealand tested blue-light LEDs (which look white due to a phosphor coating) against regular yellow-hued sodium-vapor streetlights. The result? The LEDs attracted nearly 50 percent more insects, regardless of the brand and type used. While that could be a pain for your next porch party, there's a more serious downside. The researchers said that when used on city street lamps, the bulbs could interfere with the food chain and even draw invasive species like gypsy moths. [Image credit: swburdine/Flickr]
Philips adds web-connected tap switch, white-only lux bulb to Hue lighting lineup
Think you're all done building out your Hue lighting collection? Think again. Philips' latest product is one you're likely going to want to own. The tap switch, available later this year for $60, lets you control connected lights wirelessly by tapping one of four buttons. More impressive, however, is the switch's ability to turn lights off and on without requiring a power source of its own. The device is powered by kinetic energy, so a tap creates enough juice to complete each task. Philips is also announcing a new "lux" bulb, which looks and operates like traditional Hue units, albeit without the 16 million colors. This bulb emits only white light, but it's reportedly very bright. Lux is set to retail for $40 per bulb (compared to $60 for the color version), or $100 in a set of two bundled with a Hue base as well. Like the switch, lux will ship in Europe and North America after the summer.
Philips Hue targets the ultra high end with $3,500 3D-printed luminaires
Philips' Hue collection of app-controlled LED bulbs has never been the cheapest option for lighting a room, but the company's existing products are at least priced to be accessible to many homeowners. That's absolutely no concern when it comes to this latest lineup of lamps, however. The table and pendant luminaries (a fancy word for light fixture) were designed by WertelOberfell and Strand+Hvass. These works of art are still perfectly functional, though -- each is capable of displaying any of 16 million colors, with full wireless control. These 3D-printed fixtures are hardly affordable, however. A selection of table lamps will be available for pre-order beginning March 31st for €2,500 (about $3,500) while the pendant versions will retail for a whopping €3,000 (about $4,150).
Philips Hue gets down with app-controlled BR30 recessed lights
Philips' latest connected lighting product is taking aim at your recessed fixtures. The new Hue bulb, named BR30 to match the existing standard, screws into sockets typically pre-installed in kitchens, hallways and living rooms. They focus output in a beam, compared to the original Hue bulbs, which yield omni-directional light. That detail is the primary differentiator here -- functionality is identical, as is the price tag of $59 per individual bulb or $199 for a three-pack that includes a Hue bridge. As with their siblings, including the LightStrips and Bloom, you can control the LED BR30s from a smartphone, computer or tablet, letting you assign any color and brightness to individual bulbs. They're rated for a 15,000-hour lifespan, and Philips reports energy savings of up to 80 percent over conventional bulbs. You can pick up the BR30 beginning today from Amazon or Apple retail stores, while European customers can now order a GU10 version, which is more common in track lighting. That latter flavor will ship stateside in December.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: rotating house, desktop 3D printer and a Star Trek-style warp drive
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Mid-September is a busy time of year in the world of design as the Solar Decathlon Europe takes place in Madrid and the London Design Festival kicks off -- and Inhabitat has correspondents on the ground at both events bringing us a steady stream of photos and updates. At the Solar Decathlon, Team Portugal designed an innovative house that can actually rotate to follow the sun in order to increase energy production and adjust interior daylighting. Team Valencia developed a modular home that can grow or contract depending on the family's needs. And the team from Tongji University produced an eye-catching house that embraces both Western and Daoist principles. In the competition, Rome's super-efficient MED in Italy house jumped out to an early lead -- but it's still too soon to call the winner so stay tuned.
Samsung introduces Advanced LED light bulbs, preps for zombie apocalypse
Samsung is going to make sure your light bulbs use as little energy as possible, last literally decades and sort of look like a heat sink to boot. The company, which just released its Advanced LED Light Bulbs for the US, has put forth the A19, the PAR and the MR16, each bulb being designed for a specific purpose. The AR19, which is engineered to replace conventional incandescent bulbs, is dimmable and can shine directionally from vanity lights, wall sconces, assorted lamps and more. The PAR, which is also dimmable, is designed with a variable beam angle between 25 and 40 degrees in mind and slated around track and recessed lighting. Finally, the MR16 Bulb is designed to be used in recessed, vanity, and track lighting and arrives in two different base types with adjustable brightness levels. Samsung has priced the bulbs from $19.98 all the way up to $59.98 with a life expectancy between 27 and 36 years; they're currently available at your local Lowe's location, although if Philips gets wind of it, that could change post-haste.
Sharp's energy-efficient LED ceiling lights are hip to be square
If you live in Japan and are looking to lower your household electricity bill, you might have to empty your bank account first. Sharp recently introduced its new line of ELM-branded LED ceiling lights and the highly energy-efficient, square-shaped bulbs won't come cheap -- retailing between 35,000 yen (about $456) and 55,000 yen (about $717). Pulling inspiration from the LEDs used in LCD televisions, the company was able to achieve an industry-leading 81.3 lumens per watt for the smallest of its three designs, and an average life of 40,000 hours for the entire lot . The energy-sipping set of overhead bulbs come housed in an insectproof shell, offering over 100-plus ambient light settings, controllable via remote. You can snag these utility-friendly lights on August 27th, just don't complain at the checkout when you see the price -- we warned you. Peep the video explanation after the break.
Cree shows off 'no-compromise' LED replacement for 60-watt incandescent bulbs
Compact fluorescent (or CFL) bulbs may currently be the dominant alternative to traditional incandescent light bulbs, but there's still a strong contingent betting on LEDs as the true long term replacement. One of the major players in that camp is Cree, which recently teamed up with TESS and Dean Kamen's FIRST organization to have kids distribute LED light bulbs like Girl Scout cookies (seriously), and is now showing off what is says is the "first no-compromise replacement for a 60-watt incandescent bulb." That bulb is dimmable, and emits a "beautiful, warm, incandescent-like color of 2700 K," while delivering more than 800 lumens and consuming less than 10 watts (meeting the Energy Star requirements for a 60-watt standard LED replacement bulb). Unfortunately, there's one big catch -- the bulb is still just a prototype, and Cree says it hasn't yet decided how it will bring it to market, or how much it might cost. Head on past the break for a quick video demonstration.
How nutritious is your light bulb? (in lumens, of course)
No joke -- starting mid-2011, US light bulbs will have nutrition facts of their own. Backed by Congress, the FTC has mandated that light bulbs carry the label at top, allowing buyers to clearly compare brightness, life expectancy and energy cost. Of course, many manufacturers call out these facts already, but hopefully this will keep the rest from confusing potency with power -- by advertising that a mid-range LED unit that slowly sips energy, for instance, is "equivalent to 40 watts."
Are compact fluorescent bulbs causing migraines?
Sure, we know you want to do your part for the planet and all that jazz, but what if conserving energy is killing you? Okay, well, it might not be killing you, but according to a new report out of the UK, it's possible that those new-fangled fluorescent bulbs everyone is telling you to buy these days may be aggravating your migraines, making you nauseous, or causing you physical pain (if you've got lupus). The Daily Mail says that because the bulbs work in the same fashion as typical fluorescent bulbs (which can be irritating to some), the subtle flickering inherent to the technology can cause problems. Britain's Migraine Action Association director Paul Jansen said, "For some people a migraine attack can be triggered by fluorescent lights, video screens, stroboscopic effects and flashing lights." And added that, "We hope that the Government will allow regular light bulbs still to be available to those who need them." On the flip side, compact fluorescent supporters say only older technology or low-energy bulbs have flickering issues, and that new models being produced are clear of problems. Surely that may be the case -- but we need something to blame this stabbing eye pain on.[Via Switched]
