Could a light bulbchange my life? Or atleast make it smella lot better? WhenI heard about theO-ZoneLite, a com-pact fluorescent bulb with a screw-in base that pur-ports to reduce bacteria, mold, viruses, fungi, smoke,and household odors, I was skeptical. But I’ve got odorissues in my house (most notably, two kittens and a

very smelly litter box), so I was willing to check it out.This US $40 light bulb’s claim to fame is its external ti-

tanium dioxide coating. The scientific basis for this coatingis the 1967 discovery in Japan by two chemists, KenichiHonda and Akira Fujishima, that titanium dioxide is aphotocatalyst that can break down organic materials drift-ing into contact with it. The bulb is being built and soldby O-ZoneLite in Deerfield Beach, Fla.

My first test spot was the upstairs bathroom, since thebulbs over the mirror were easily accessible. The upshot?The light emitted was nice, bright, and pleasant—the23-watt O-ZoneLite replicates the warm light of a 100-W in-candescent bulb. I thought maybe the room smelled a littlefresher, but the change wasn’t dramatic, and I couldn’t swearI wasn’t experiencing a placebo effect.

I figured the downstairs bathroom—the cat room—wouldbe the true test. I left the light on for hours with little effect,but this turned out not to be a fair trial, because the bulbrequires air circulation to work, and the light fixture I put thebulb into is nearly airtight.

Next the bulb went into a pole lamp in the TV room, asmall room that gets little fresh air and can smell musty. Alittle better? I thought the air right around the light smelledfresher: the manufacturer calls it a “just-rained scent.” I hadno way to measure the effect on viruses or bacteria.

The verdict? A nice light, a little pricey, but the lifetimeof energy efficiency—claimed to be 10 000 hours (thoughthe titanium dioxide coating starts to dissipate after 6000hours), compared with about 750 hours for an incandes-cent bulb—makes up for the price. I’m leaving the bulb in theTV room; that’s where sick kids end up, and cold and flu sea-son has arrived, so I’ll take any help I can get. But I’m notthrowing out my regular air freshener just yet.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE HTTP://WWW.OZONELITE.COM.

TO

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A BETTER

LIGHTBULB?

A titanium dioxide

coating gives this

light bulb the power

to eat germs and

odors BY TEKLA S. PERRY

February 2005 | IEEE Spectrum | NA 49

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