News Article
GE launches LED bulb to replace 40-watt incandescents by 2014
New bulb will last 17 years and consume only 9-watts while delivering nearly the same output as current incandescent and halogen bulbs
GE Appliances & Lighting which provides lighting to commercial, industrial and residential sectors has unveiled the Energy Smart LED bulb which is designed to distribute light like an incandescent bulb.
Providing energy savings of 77% over the traditional 40-watt bulb, it will be available by early 2011 and is expected to retail between $40 to $50. The new product has been designed to provide better direct light in all directions and not just out of the top as most current LED bulbs are prone to do.
New U.S. lighting legislation preventing the manufacture of traditional bulbs will come into force from 2012 and the table below shows when the incandescents will have to be replaced.
Incandescent power | Cannot be made from
100-watt | January 2012
75-watt | January 2013
60 and 40-watt | January 2014
The 40-watt incandescent LED replacement offers 450 lumens while currently available LED bulbs produce 350 lumens or less. Other advantages of LEDs over incandescent light sources include improved robustness, smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability. They are however relatively expensive and require more precise current and heat management than traditional light sources.
"This is a bulb that can virtually light your kid s bedroom desk lamp from birth through high school graduation," says John Strainic, global product general manager, GE Lighting.
He added "Consumers have been reluctant to move away from less efficient incandescent bulbs because they love the light quality. This new GE Energy Smart LED bulb will address that lighting preference head-on and give consumers yet another option to light their homes and businesses."
Providing energy savings of 77% over the traditional 40-watt bulb, it will be available by early 2011 and is expected to retail between $40 to $50. The new product has been designed to provide better direct light in all directions and not just out of the top as most current LED bulbs are prone to do.
New U.S. lighting legislation preventing the manufacture of traditional bulbs will come into force from 2012 and the table below shows when the incandescents will have to be replaced.
Incandescent power | Cannot be made from
100-watt | January 2012
75-watt | January 2013
60 and 40-watt | January 2014
The 40-watt incandescent LED replacement offers 450 lumens while currently available LED bulbs produce 350 lumens or less. Other advantages of LEDs over incandescent light sources include improved robustness, smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability. They are however relatively expensive and require more precise current and heat management than traditional light sources.
"This is a bulb that can virtually light your kid s bedroom desk lamp from birth through high school graduation," says John Strainic, global product general manager, GE Lighting.
He added "Consumers have been reluctant to move away from less efficient incandescent bulbs because they love the light quality. This new GE Energy Smart LED bulb will address that lighting preference head-on and give consumers yet another option to light their homes and businesses."
