Royal Philips Electronics on Thursday unveiled its 12-watt EnduraLED light bulb, the industry’s first LED replacement for a 60-watt incandescent light bulb.
The product, which was unveiled the bulb at the Lightfair International tradeshow, addresses one complaint about LED light bulbs introduced thus far: that they replace bulbs few consumers use.
Sixty-watt bulbs, on the other hand, are the most commonly used incandescent model, with 425 million sold in the U.S. each year — approximately 50 percent of all bulbs.
Philips says its LED equivalent offers up to 80 percent energy savings and last 25 times longer, while delivering 806 lumens. It’s also dimmable.
The new bulb uses “remote phosphor” technology to deliver soft white light and a relatively conventional shape.
One remaining question: price. Philips didn’t release pricing for the bulb, but this is perhaps the most important specification.
After all, if the bulb is prohibitively expensive — and it will likely cost in the ballpark of $50 — it will neither make economic sense nor encourage homeowners and businesses to make the switch, even at scale.
It will be available in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Here’s a video about the lamp, featuring Philips Lighting innovation director Jim Anderson:
Related on SmartPlanet:
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- How fast can LEDs replace fluorescent light?
- Incandescent bulb efficiency improves, but falls short of CFLs, LEDs
- LED lighting could save U.S. homes $120 billion, DOE report says
