Light Bulb Finder mobile app wins EPA contest

With a little bit of planning and the free “Light Bulb Finder” mobile application, most people could be more effective in selecting and buying energy-efficient light bulbs.

On Nov. 8 the Environmental Protection Agency honored  the Eco Hatchery LLC light bulb application as “Overall Best App” in its Apps for the Environment Challenge. The agency named five winners in the competition.

The Light Bulb Finder, developed by Adam Borut and Andrea Nylund of Milwaukee, Wis., was designed to make it easier for users to switch to energy-saving bulbs. It can be used to view bulb images and cost, savings and environmental impacts, and to create shopping lists and buy bulbs online or at stores. It is available for free for Android and iPhone.

In the contest, developers were encouraged to use EPA data to help protect people and the environment, Malcolm Jackson, EPA’s chief information officer, said in a news release. “The winners of the Apps for the Environment challenge demonstrate that it’s possible to transform data from EPA and elsewhere into applications that people can use.”

The other winners are:

• Runner Up, Best Overall App: Hootroot by Matthew Kling of Brighter Planet, Shelburne, Vt.
• Winner, Best Student App: EarthFriend by Ali Hasan and Will Fry of Differential Apps and Fry Development Company, Mount Pleasant High School in Mount Pleasant, N.C. and J.H. Rose High School in Greenville, N.C..
• Runner Up, Best Student App: Environmental Justice Participatory Mapping by Robert Sabie, Jr. of Western Washington University, Bellingham, Wash.
• Popular Choice Award: CG Search by Suresh Ganesan of Cognizant Technology Solutions, South Plainfield, N.J.