| Solid State Lighting Last 10 Times Longer Than CFLs with NO Harmful Mercury |
| | Solid-state lighting, or SSL, could be the next big thing in residential lighting. SSL refers to a type of bulb—or lamp, in industry parlance—that uses the movement of electrons through a semiconductor material to generate light. The semiconductor is in a solid block form, hence “solid state.” Because there’s no filament that heats up (and eventually burns out), SSL is up to 50 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs, claim manufacturers. SSL is also said to last as much as 10 times longer than compact fluorescent lighting and contains none of the potentially harmful mercury that has brought CFLs image down to earth and made recycling them a hassle.Read the full Consumer Report. article. |
| | 5/02/2008 7:36 PM (427d 6h 5m ago) |
|
| Buyer’s Guide: Espresso Makers Reviewed by Consumer Reports |
| | Get excellent espresso, and maybe save money, by slinging shots at home.Consumer Reports judged seven pump-style machines on many aspects, including taste, convenience, brew temperature, speed, and, where applicable, frothing. The tested machines, all automated to some extent, are expensive relative to what is available on the market. But because typical lower-end steam or stovetop machines don't generate a sufficient level of pressure to make good espresso, it might be worth the extra money to buy a pricier pump version. Indeed, all of the machines we tested produced a very good cup of espresso. |
| | 3/31/2008 10:09 PM (459d 3h 32m ago) |
|