Philips Introduces 20-Year LED Lightbulb That Won Top DOE 'L-Prize'

Dutch electronics giant Philips introduced their award-winning 20-year LED lightbulb to U.S. markets on Sunday and is working with suppliers to cut the 10-watt bulb's current $50 price tag in half over the next year, the Associated Press reports.

The bulb's public debut comes after years of development and winning last year's "Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize," a competition launched by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop alternative sources of lighting. One of the stipulations of the competition was that the bulb be sold for $22 or less in its first year on the market.

But even at that price, LED lights faces serious competition from $1 incandescent lightbulbs and CFLs (compact-fluorescent bulbs), which normally retail for around $5 and can last for up to 10,000 hours, according to TreeHugger.

Philips says the cost of the LED lamp is easily offset by savings: if consumers use the bulb for four hours daily, they can save $8 per year on electricity, or about $160 over the bulb's lifespan, the Associated Press reports. And the LED bulbs are less toxic to the environment because they don't contain mercury vapors.

The company said in a press release earlier this year that "If every 60-watt incandescent bulb in the U.S. was replaced with the 10-watt L Prize winner, the nation would save about 35 terawatt-hours of electricity or $3.9 billion in one year and avoid 20 million metric tons of carbon emissions."

The transition from incandescent bulbs to energy-saving alternatives is already underway thanks to legislation such as 2007's Energy Independence and Security Act, which banned 100-watt incandescent bulbs and provided a timetable for phasing bulbs with lesser wattage out altogether. From 2014, all incandescent bulbs using 40 watts of electricity or more will be banned in the U.S., according to the Washington Post.

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Comments

[lighthouse10]

02:43 PM on 05/01/2012

All about that Philips LED Prize bulb, its quality issues,
and how Philips won the US Govmt prize for it:
http://dunday.com/2012/03/lots-of-public-money-for-doubtful.html

The lobbying, the evading of rules, the poor quality of the bulb on
testing - as referenced with competition rules, patents, lobbying
finance records, the prize committee's own lab test document etc

[Charles Elk]

01:28 PM on 04/24/2012

As a person that works nights and keeps those hours, the longer lasting and efficient bulbs appeal to me. I'll keep my eye on these and once my CFLs burn out hopefully these will be an adequate replacement.

[lemmyk73]

01:09 PM on 04/24/2012

People- turn off you rlights when you do not use them and you will save just as much money.

Stop allowing the Feds to mandate how you live your life. They have already mandated these bulbs will be the stanrdard by 2014. They are focing us to buy $50 bulbs.

Start buying candles folks.

Also, this tech was financed by our tax $'s. We already paid for the bulbs.

How much $ did Phillips give to the Obama campaign anyway?

[French Toast]

02:25 PM on 04/24/2012

I, for one, feel taken advantage of. I'm still fuming that the gubbermint mandated an end to the once mighty whale oil industry.

[lighthouse10]

02:49 PM on 05/01/2012

Lemmy,
Lobbying finance by Philips:

with Senate disclosure records etc.
http://dunday.com/2012/04/more-on-philips-lobbying-for-ban.html.

[ASRock78]

07:51 AM on 04/24/2012

I don't understand why they want to market this as some ground breaking measure when the first light bulbs ever produced had the potential of last over 100 years. There is actually still one going strong in California and it has reach it's 110th +/- year.

[HighInfoVoter]

12:02 PM on 04/24/2012

And that incandescent bulb puts out a tiny fraction of the light, and significantly more heat, than an equivalent wattage led.

100-watt LED is as illuminating as 600-watt incandescent. That is what's most notable.

The lifespan estimates are actually very conservative, to allow for adverse, poorly ventilated, conditions. Using the 4-hr/day standard in the article, LEDs could last 100+ years (that's using the lifespan of some LEDs is projected at 150,000 hrs).

[ASRock78]

08:20 AM on 04/25/2012

Very interesting factoids! Thanks for sharing :)

[MIKEinNYC]

07:38 AM on 04/24/2012

I have considered LED light bulbs but the lumens that they put out are too low, especially for the money.

[MIKEinNYC]

07:36 AM on 04/24/2012

If this is so good for the nation then the government might want to consider offering us tax incentives like credits for buying these expensive bulbs, just like it now does with other energy saving items like new doors and windows, efficient HVAC equipment, insulation and hybrid cars.

[BLinCincinnati]

12:31 PM on 04/24/2012

Duke Energy has been giving away free CFL for a few years now. I get letters in the mail every few months offering them, all I have to do is request them. I would assume they would offer the LED ones once the price drops a bit.

[duckzilla]

01:38 AM on 04/24/2012

advances in light bulbs????

the very 1st lightbulb ever created still lights up. it's featured in the Smithsonian. why can't we buy something like that?

create a never-ending flashbulb like edison did then tell me about the advances.

[Tom95134]

01:17 AM on 04/24/2012

A 10-watt bulb for $50? Who are they kidding? Of course the 10 watts may be power consumption. The author of this article could have given some information on the number of lumins out of this $50 bulb. If it's more like a 50 or 75 watt incandescent then it might be worth it.

[HighInfoVoter]

12:06 PM on 04/24/2012

"If every 60-watt incandescent bulb in the U.S. was replaced with the 10-watt L Prize winner..."

RTFA

[Buckywunder]

01:07 PM on 04/24/2012

The new Philips LED puts out 940 lumens at 10 W.

A traditional incandescent lamp (bulb) puts out 14-15 L/W or 840-900 lumens.

It's meant to be a 60 W equivalent. A 75 W incandescent puts out 1,300-1,400 lumens so LEDs are probably being developed for these as well.

[empiresentry]

09:02 PM on 04/23/2012

Philips was the only entrant.
Contest guidelines had strict cost limits for commercialization(take it to market). In second $16, in third yr $8
Phillips Received $5,547,844 in Stimulus Money For Projects Involving Solid State
LED Lighting.
Philips received DOE Grant worth $1,837,168 In February 2010. “The objective of this project is to develop high efficiency LEDs for illumination.”
Philips received a DOE Grant worth $1,802,713 for the same project In July 2010.
Since Q3 2008, Philips Has Spent $4.476 Million Lobbying Congress And The Administration For Solid State Lighting Research Appropriations And Energy Star Specifications For Solid State Products.
In 2011, Philips spent over $1.79 Million in lobbying “Appropriations For Bright Light For Tomorrow Prize.”
Doe announced the contest without having the approved funding for it. The Appropriations Committee was forced to allocate funding to preserve crediblity after the announcement by DOE. (Report For Energy And Water Appropriations Bill FY 2012, June 2011)
and.... Philips unable to prove it will l st twenty years.

[ScottV]

12:18 PM on 04/24/2012

So do you have a point to make?

[lighthouse10]

02:51 PM on 05/01/2012

Yes there is more such finance info here
http://dunday.com/2012/04/more-on-philips-lobbying-for-ban.html

[Conservative666]

08:06 PM on 04/23/2012

The light bulb in my closets cost .50 and lasts 10-20 years. Why do I have to get rid of it?

[ScottV]

12:18 PM on 04/24/2012

Nobody said you did.

[Conservative666]

06:03 PM on 04/24/2012

There can't be made/sold after 2012?

[French Toast]

02:29 PM on 04/24/2012

I'll bet there are a great many things in that closet of yours.

Like clothing.
.

:)

[Conservative666]

06:04 PM on 04/24/2012

:)

[Anthony Dodd]

05:08 PM on 04/23/2012

For hotels and such, where changing bulbs can take a crew days/weeks with ladders, if the bulb lasts twice as long as its competitors, they institution cuts their 'changing' budget in half.

[EQ8Rhomes]

10:26 PM on 04/23/2012

Not to mention Parliament buildings and legislatures world wide!

[RealityMyFriend]

04:40 PM on 04/23/2012

They are late into the game apparently and trying to feel special. I have replaced all of my light bulbs already with LED's for under $100. Different brand. They all have a 10 year guarantee. Oh and I got them at Lowes, I'm sure Home Depot has them too.

[portfolio]

04:30 PM on 04/23/2012

These make sense now for new homes as the cost can be amortized over the life of the bulb.

[DeanWormer]

03:47 PM on 04/23/2012

They probably shouldn't advertise that it's a DOE Award winner....

[portfolio]

04:28 PM on 04/23/2012

Why?

[ScottV]

12:20 PM on 04/24/2012

I worked for the DOE for a number of years, great organization.

[cmacattack]

03:12 PM on 04/23/2012

Several years ago when CFL's were just coming on the market and were a lot more money than they are now. After much debate, I broke down and replaced every bulb in my house with them. My electric bill dropped by half and i've never regretted the high cost plus they last 10 times as long and it's very rare that i ever have to change one. Some of them do take a little bit to reach their full brightness but it's a small price to pay for the high savings.

[portfolio]

04:28 PM on 04/23/2012

I like my CFLs, but I've had trouble with their longevity.

I recently had 3 bulbs go out in one month.

[RealityMyFriend]

04:42 PM on 04/23/2012

You can get LED bulbs cheaper and they do last a long time. I replaced mine last year and they are all still working no problem. Savings about 30 a month.

[-swift]

10:06 AM on 04/24/2012

You have to do a little research. Some brands don't last as long as they claim.