HP, Raytheon Reflect MIT Lightbulb Research

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (TheStreet) -- Vladimir Bulovic met with President Barack Obama last month, and they discussed light bulbs.

If that sounds like a waste of time for the leader of the free world, consider that artificial lighting consumes an estimated 22% of the nation's electricity and almost double that share in office buildings. Bulovic, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is trying to do something about that. He has created 45 patented inventions in areas such as organic and nano-structured LEDs, lasers and photovoltaics, all with the aim of building more efficient sources of light.

The work Bulovic and his students conducted in the field of quantum dot lighting (aka "nanocrystals") was the basis of QD Vision, a Watertown, Mass., startup on the verge of launching the first quantum dot/LED lamp, in partnership with Nexxus Lighting(NEXS Quote). The lights "integrate a quantum dot optic with cool white LEDs to produce color-rich, warm white light at the high efficiency of 65 lumens per watt," he says. "Quantum dot lamp lights last five years if continuously left on, longer in intermittent use, so lighting becomes part of the architecture instead of a bi-monthly consumable. The brightness of these lights is equivalent to 75-watt incandescent light bulbs, but they use only a quarter of the energy."

TheStreet.com caught up with Bulovic to discuss the age of artificial illumination, his meeting with Obama, and the role of government and business in early-stage clean-energy projects.

Why is artificial lighting so inefficient?

A lot of it has to do with controlling the mechanism for generating just the right color of light while minimizing waste of energy. For example, in incandescent light bulbs, 95% of the energy goes toward making heat, with only 5 percent resulting in visible light. With fluorescent lights, it's 80% heat, 20% light.