| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Founder | Bob Crane |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of employees | 50 (2009) |
| Website | http://www.ccrane.com |
C. Crane is an American electronics retailer based in Fortuna, California. The company mainly deals in specialty radio and lighting equipment and is best known for its GeoBulb line of LED light bulbs.
C. Crane was founded in 1976 in San Francisco, California, by Bob Crane, a former cabinetmaker, and his wife Susan Crane. The "C" is Crane's middle initial, as well as his wife's and children's. [1] The company was initially a furniture design and manufacturing company and only switched to being an electronics distributor in 1983, upon the Cranes' relocation to Fortuna. C. Crane's first electronics product was the "Select-A-Tenna", an antenna manufactured by Intensitronics Corp. of Hales Corners, Wisconsin, for long-distance reception of AM radio broadcasts. The company advertised on late-night radio shows, which served to increase business from AM listeners looking for a better antenna. Later in the 1980s, C. Crane began to distribute radios, such as the GE Superadio, to go along with their antennas. In the 1990s, Bob Crane decided to move the company toward designing its own products, rather than just retailing what was already out there. Following the 1992 Cape Mendocino earthquakes, the company expanded their catalog to include emergency radios and other disaster equipment, such as flashlights. Eventually, C. Crane began to produce its own radios in collaboration with Sangean. [2] [3] At the present radio division of C. Crane specializes in weak signal reception and developed many products to improve the reception of weak radio and internet signals. C. Crane also focuses on high quality audio.
In 1998, C. Crane introduced the "CCTrek" flashlight. This flashlight used two white LEDs as opposed to an incandescent bulb. Realizing the amount of energy LEDs save over regular light bulbs, the company developed and released an LED light bulb in 2001. This was followed in 2006 by the GeoBulb project. [4] The GeoBulb, based solely on LEDs, was released on March 27, 2009. The company claims the bulb has a lifespan of 10 years and draws only 7.5 W of power, and predicted widespread adoption of the bulb would cut energy usage worldwide by one-tenth. [2] [5] [6] Initially, the bulb is targeted at owners of public buildings that need to be lit continuously, in order to save costs associated with having to purchase and replace incandescent bulbs. Reviews of the bulb reflected positively on its energy usage and lifespan but criticized the lights' unnatural color and their high cost when compared to standard incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic which secures the lamp in the socket of a light fixture, which is often called a "lamp" as well. The electrical connection to the socket may be made with a screw-thread base, two metal pins, two metal caps or a bayonet mount.
An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a filament that is heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb that is either evacuated or filled with inert gas to protect the filament from oxidation. Electric current is supplied to the filament by terminals or wires embedded in the glass. A bulb socket provides mechanical support and electrical connections.
A halogen lamp is an incandescent lamp consisting of a tungsten filament sealed in a compact transparent envelope that is filled with a mixture of an inert gas and a small amount of a halogen, such as iodine or bromine. The combination of the halogen gas and the tungsten filament produces a halogen-cycle chemical reaction, which redeposits evaporated tungsten on the filament, increasing its life and maintaining the clarity of the envelope. This allows the filament to operate at a higher temperature than a standard incandescent lamp of similar power and operating life; this also produces light with higher luminous efficacy and color temperature. The small size of halogen lamps permits their use in compact optical systems for projectors and illumination. The small glass envelope may be enclosed in a much larger outer glass bulb, which has a lower temperature, protects the inner bulb from contamination, and makes the bulb mechanically more similar to a conventional lamp.
A flashlight or electric torch, usually shortened to torch, is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, but these have been displaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) since the early 2000s. A typical flashlight consists of the light source mounted in a reflector, a transparent cover to protect the light source and reflector, a battery, and a switch, all enclosed in a case.
Energy Star is an energy-efficiency program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The EPA establishes energy efficiency specifications, and those that meet these specifications are eligible to display the ENERGY STAR logo.
Maglite is a brand of flashlight manufactured in the United States by Mag Instrument, Inc. located in Ontario, California, and founded by Anthony Maglica. It was introduced in 1979. Constructed principally of anodized 6061 aluminum, they have a variable-focus beam. Maglites are produced in several colors such as black, silver, blue, red, green, purple, gold, and different finishes. Originally Maglite flashlights used krypton or xenon incandescent bulbs. Current models have LEDs, although the older models are still widely available.
A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) that provides illumination from the back or side of a display panel. LCDs do not produce light by themselves, so they need illumination to produce a visible image. Backlights are often used in smartphones, computer monitors, and LCD televisions. They are used in small displays to increase readability in low light conditions such as in wristwatches. Typical sources of light for backlights include light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs).
A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also called compact fluorescent light, energy-saving light and compact fluorescent tube, is a fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent light bulb; some types fit into light fixtures designed for incandescent bulbs. The lamps use a tube that is curved or folded to fit into the space of an incandescent bulb, and a compact electronic ballast in the base of the lamp.
The induction lamp, electrodeless lamp, or electrodeless induction lamp is a gas-discharge lamp in which an electric or magnetic field transfers the power required to generate light from outside the lamp envelope to the gas inside. This is in contrast to a typical gas discharge lamp that uses internal electrodes connected to the power supply by conductors that pass through the lamp envelope. Eliminating the internal electrodes provides two advantages:
SureFire, LLC. is an American company headquartered in Fountain Valley, California. Their main products are flashlights, weapon-mounted lights, headlamps, and laser sights. In addition, Surefire produces knives, sound suppressors, earplugs, Picatinny Rails, magazines, and batteries. The company is a major supplier of flashlights, weapon lights, and lasers to the U.S. Armed Forces and its allies, especially for elite special operations groups such as the Navy SEALs. Surefire products are widely used in the U.S. by law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams.
A mechanically powered flashlight is a flashlight that is powered by electricity generated by the muscle power of the user, so it does not need replacement of batteries, or recharging from an electrical source. There are several types which use different operating mechanisms. They use different motions to generate the required power; such as squeezing a handle, winding a crank, or shaking the flashlight itself. These flashlights can also be distinguished by the technique used to store the energy: a spring, a flywheel, a battery or a capacitor.
An LED lamp or LED light is an electric light that produces light using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LED lamps are significantly more energy-efficient than equivalent incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps. The most efficient commercially available LED lamps have efficiencies exceeding 200 lumens per watt (lm/W) and convert more than half the input power into light. Commercial LED lamps have a lifespan several times longer than both incandescent and fluorescent lamps.
Various governments have passed legislation to phase out manufacturing or importation of incandescent light bulbs for general lighting in favor of more energy-efficient alternatives. The regulations are generally based on efficiency, rather than use of incandescent technology.
Electron-stimulated luminescence (ESL) is production of light by cathodoluminescence, i.e. by a beam of electrons made to hit a fluorescent phosphor surface. This is also the method used to produce light in a cathode ray tube (CRT). Experimental light bulbs that were made using this technology do not include magnetic or electrostatic means to deflect the electron beam.
Sylvania Lighting, Havells-Sylvania, and SLI, is an international designer and manufacturer of lighting products, trading as Sylvania. It has plants throughout Europe, Asia, North Africa and Central and South America, and is one of the few lighting companies that produces both lamps and lighting fixtures. It is owned by Shanghai Feilo Acoustics Ltd., having previously been owned by the Indian electrical company Havells.
United States Lighting Energy Policy is moving towards increased efficiency in order to lower greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. Lighting efficiency improvements in the United States can be seen through different standards and acts. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 laid out changes in lighting legislation for the United States. This set up performance standards and the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs in order to require the use of more efficient fluorescent lighting. EISA 2007 is an effort to increase lighting efficiency by 25-30%. Opposition to EISA 2007 is demonstrated by the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act and the Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act. The efforts to increase lighting efficiency are also demonstrated by the Energy Star program and the increase efficiency goals by 2011 and 2013. A ban on the manufacture and sale of most general purpose incandescent bulbs in the U.S. took effect on August 1, 2023.
Solar powered flashlights or solar powered torches are flashlights powered by solar energy stored in rechargeable batteries. Most of these flashlights use light-emitting diodes lamps since they have lower energy consumption compared to incandescent light bulbs.
Nanoleaf is a consumer electronics company specialising in LED lighting. The limited company was founded in 2012 by three engineers, and launched its first two products with crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter.
Edison light bulbs, also known as filament light bulbs and retroactively referred to as antique light bulbs or vintage light bulbs, are either carbon- or early tungsten-filament incandescent light bulbs, or modern bulbs that reproduce their appearance. Most of the bulbs in circulation are reproductions of the wound filament bulbs made popular by Edison Electric Light Company at the turn of the 20th century. They are easily identified by the long and complicated windings of their internal filaments, and by the very warm-yellow glow of the light they produce.
Lucidity Lights Inc., doing business as Finally, is an American company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 2012 by John Goscha, the company makes energy-efficient light bulbs that use induction technology and are being offered as a substitute for incandescents and LEDs. Company appears to be no longer in business.