GE Reveal Bulbs - New, Cheap MH or not?

[LiQuiD]

I was shopping the other day and saw a blue incandescent bulb, actually many of them. The are made by GE under the name "Reveal". It stated that the new bulbs filter out the yellow light to produce more natural true light. Could this be the start of a new line of cheapo MH lighting?

 

They do not state the color temperature of the bulbs, but here are a few quotes from their web site at www.gelighting.com/na/pressroom/pr_reveal.html

 

 

"Today, industry leader GE Lighting announced the introduction of GE Reveal™, "the bulb that uncovers pure, true light" to be rolled out this fall. GE Lighting is launching the Reveal light bulb line in response to consistent feedback from consumer research- involving more than 4,000 test consumers. According to test consumers Reveal bulbs improved the quality of light in their homes by providing crisper, cleaner lighting that was pure and true. Light from Reveal bulbs made objects appear richer in color and more vivid…less yellow."

 

The bulbs look almost actinic off and do give off a very nice "white" light unlike the traditional yellow.

 

Even if it does not have a good color temperature, these bulbs may look good in nanos by giving the ripple efffect as from MH for much less money.

 

If anyone knows anything about these bulbs, please post!

[Alexis]

They are not bright enough since they are just regular incandescents. The color temp is about 4000-5000k.

[OscarBeast]

With a filtering glass, the PAR value could be farily low, but incandescent bulbs like that aren't usually that bright anyway.

[Alexis]

The idea of using a blue colored filter/glass to improve the color temp of incandescent light is not a novel one. Old operating room lights have used this same technique for decades for improving the color rendition during surgery.

[LiQuiD]

I know you both stated not bright enough and or enough power. So what you are saying is a 100 watt bulb is not "bright" enough. I am not really getting this. Not bright enough meaning wattage? 100 watt incandescent over my tank would be very bright even for incandescent except for the yellow factor from most. I don't mean to seem like a jerk, I just don't fully understand. Another quote from there site even states flood lights are available.

 

"GE’s Reveal bulbs will initially be available at home centers, mass merchandisers, hardware stores, supermarkets and drugstores in the U.S. and Canada this fall with 22 different light bulb types, including four-packs of 40-, 60-, 75- and 100-watt light bulbs. Reveal bulbs will also be available in three-way, flood lights, vanity globes and candelabra lights, among other styles. With a retail price range of $2.99 to $6.99 across the full line, Reveal bulbs are priced so that all consumers can enjoy their many benefits"

 

Would the flood light be "powerful" enough or am I totally not understanding this whole thing? Sorry again just don't understand things like "PAR"

[Alexis]

With 100 watts of incandescent light, about 90% of that is converted into thermal energy which doesn't help your photosynthetic corals.

 

You need to compare the lumen output of the lights.

[jackdp]

Using wattage as a measure of brightness is really misleading. The wattage is merely the amount of power that the bulb will consume. Brightness should really be measured in lumens. For instance, a 40 watt normal incandescent house bulb puts out 490 lumens. a 13 watt Compact fluorescent lamp can generate 900 lumens. A 75 watt metal halide lamp can generate up to 6000 lumens. The lumens will vary depending on the design of the lamp. The color temperature of the new lamps may be more white/blue than older lamps but they most likely don't generate any more light.

[LiQuiD]

Thank you.

 

Well then I guess I will be scratching the new bulbs.

[jackdp]

If all you are looking for is that nice ripple effect then the new bulbs may be worth a try. Used with CF lighting, they wouldn't really hurt, except maybe for extra heat. Its not like they will be burning a hole in your pocket.

[Christopher Marks]

Those lamps have a gas in them which changes the color to make the light more white. I use them in my office, quite nice. But their output is no where close to a MH. While you would get the neat shimmer effect on your water, it's not going to provide much for your corals, and as others said, you're getting a lot of heat output.