News & Analysis
Comment
katgod
Some people are early adopters of any new technology. There is something to be ...
katgod
Because it will save everyone money including the government and it will reduce ...
$10M L Prize goes to Philips for 60W replacement LED bulb
Margery Conner, Smart Energy Designline
8/3/2011 1:38 PM EDT
Philips Lighting North America has won the first award under the Department of Energy’s L-Prize competition. Philips submitted its entry in 2009 and the DOE has been field testing the bulbs for the past 18 months. The bulbs had to meet or exceed these requirements: greater than 900lm at 10W or less for an efficacy of greater than 90 lm/W at a color-corrected temperature (CCT) of 2700-3000K and a color rendering index (CRI) of at least 90. The Philips bulb exceeded all these requirements during the 18 month trial.
In the announcement of the award, no mention was made of pricing; However, the original requirements called for a target retail price of $22 for the first year it was offered for sale, $15 for the second year, and $8 in the third year. Philips has said it plans to offer the bulb for retail sale as soon as early 2012.
Philips will receive a $10 million cash prize as well as L Prize partner promotions and incentives. To date, 31 utilities and energy efficiency program partners stand ready to promote and develop markets for the winning product. Up to two additional entrants in this category may be eligible for program partner promotions – in effect increasing the number of possible qualifying products to three.
The bulb uses a clever remote phosphor system to gain a spherical distribution of light, unlike earlier sno-cone LED bulbs. For a tear-down of a similar Philips bulb, visit:
Remote Phosphors: Philips LED bulb, Tear-down.
|
|
|
|
|
esyoung
8/3/2011 5:14 PM EDT
Congratulations. But why is the government writing this check (for a commercially viable product that will make lots of profit) when it can't pay its debts??
Sign in to Reply
Code Monkey
8/3/2011 6:39 PM EDT
It's actually the government's job to promote the general welfare. Putting up the money for the prize was an investment on behalf of the bulb-using public.
Sign in to Reply
katgod
8/10/2011 2:29 PM EDT
Because it will save everyone money including the government and it will reduce our need for foreign energy.
Sign in to Reply
RGRU
8/3/2011 9:19 PM EDT
So where can I buy this?
Sign in to Reply
chanj
8/4/2011 2:22 PM EDT
I hope the promise of price reduction comes true. I have seen Philips selling $50.00 LED light bulb. A similar CFL costs about $9.00 from the same brand and $0.99 from an unknown brand.
Sign in to Reply
elctrnx_lyf
8/4/2011 2:27 PM EDT
I started reading this post thinking about a regular CCFL lamp. But surely this sounds much different. Hope to see this soon on the market but I'm not ready to buy it for $22 :)
Sign in to Reply
pixies
8/4/2011 5:10 PM EDT
I may buy a couple just because it looks so much cooler.
Sign in to Reply
hm
8/4/2011 5:32 PM EDT
What is exact CRI for this LED bulb? 90 or higher is good number for LED lamp but if the have achieved 96-98 CRI, that will be very really useful.
Will they also provide different CCT required for differertn climates?
Sign in to Reply
green_is_now
8/10/2011 1:16 PM EDT
If it is mre than 10$ this will not sell mainstream.
I did not buy any of these until they came down under 9.99. I only bought them because I am a techy-EE that has been preprogrammed with all the LED hype in these rags.
Sign in to Reply
katgod
8/10/2011 2:39 PM EDT
Some people are early adopters of any new technology. There is something to be said for being the first to own something. Agree, LED bulbs won't be everyones list of must have but they are going to change our lighting world in a positive way.
Sign in to Reply