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Cree announced breakthrough in LED light bulb
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Friday, January 28, 2011
Cree Inc. claims that it has banished last century’s lighting with a ''revolutionary'' LED light bulb.
Cree has demonstrated an LED-based A-lamp that can meet Energy Star performance requirements for a 60 watt standard LED replacement bulb. This is based on Cree's so-called TrueWhite Technology and remote phosphor technology.
The prototype bulb is dimmable and emits an incandescent-like color of 2700 K, with a CRI of at least 90, according to Cree. It delivers more than 800 lumens and consumes fewer than 10 watts and has been submitted for third party testing to validate the light distribution, lumen maintenance and performance.
No commercially available LED A-lamps meet the Energy Star performance requirements for 60 watt standard replacement bulbs at this level of efficiency and light quality, according to Cree.
“This is a significant milestone for the industry,” said Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and chief executive, in a statement. “In the race to commercialize low-cost, energy-efficient LED bulbs, the industry has forgotten that LED lighting is supposed to look as good as the technology it is replacing. This is the first no compromise replacement for a 60 watt incandescent bulb.”
''We have never announced an A19 replacement before. This is different for Cree and for the industry, because it’s the first that meets Energy Star criteria, which as you know, is the closest thing to standards the lighting industry,'' according to a spokeswoman for Cree.
''So, we’re announcing a demonstration, not an introduction. It hasn’t yet been decided how or if this will be brought to market. Pricing hasn’t been established yet, either but it was designed to be low cost. This was done to show the LED lighting industry that it is possible to create a 60W replacement (more than 800 lumens, consumes less than 10W) that delivers incandescent-like color (2700K),'' she added.
In reality, however, Cree is not the first to the market. In October, Philips’ new high quality LED replacement solution for traditional 60-watt bulbs won recognition from the American Lighting Association (ALA), the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), and the US Department of Energy (DOE).
For both homes and businesses such as hotels, replacing high concentrations of 60-watt lamps with the new Philips offering could save up to 80 percent of the energy used by other conventional light sources. The lamp can save up to $125 over the course of each lamp’s lifetime, which is rated at 25,000 hours of usage. It is also the longest lasting lamp on the market, helping to minimize maintenance costs as well.
Late last year, Lighting Science Group rolled out a new LED A19 bulb that will sell for under $30 and replace America’s most commonly used 60 watt incandescent bulb. Available in January, Lighting Science Group’s 850 lumen, 13 watt LED bulb is 75 percent more efficient than the 60 watt incandescent bulb it replaces and will last close to 23 years. By way of comparison, the company’s new LED bulb cost less, last twice as long and has a higher lumen output than Philips’ recently released 60-watt equivalent AmbientLED A19 bulb.
''I would take issue with Cree’s spokeswoman’s comments that their bulb is the only one that meets the Energy Star standard. LSG’s is available for under $30 dollars, and has been submitted for Energy Star approval—the company fully expects that they will get it—before next fall,'' according to a spokesman for LSG.
By: DocMemory
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