ClearLite is a company looking to make CFL light bulbs safer and more ecologically friendly. Liquid mercury is one of the downsides of using a bulb in aquarium as well as home lighting that can cause some serious environmental and health concerns if the bulb is broken. While ClearLite is making bulbs strictly for traditional uses, the technology and message they are trying to get out is pretty solid. You can get the benefits of more efficient CFL lighting with less health and environmental risks.
The ClearLite bulbs replace the liquid mercury with amalgam — a mixture of mercury with another metal (think dental fillings). The company also boasts having lead-free bulbs as well and have even come up with a line of ArmorLite that is its mercury and lead-free design encased in a protective silicon shell to trap the glass debris in case it accidentally breaks. ClearLite also makes a variety of color temperatures and including a reflective flood design so this may be another option for those of us using CFL floodlights in refugium applications.
The cost of entry in the CFL and fluorescent market is making it easier for us to plop these types of bulbs into our homes but accidental breaks can cause some concerns especially around our youngsters, so its good to see companies taking a look at safer ways to get things done. While we are seeing the wave of LED lights taking the market, metal halides and fluorescents are going to be around for a while so we hope this environmentally-friendly outlook may spread out into other lighting markets.
