The most popular bulb in the world currently is the 60 watt incandescent light bulb, but that may be changing soon. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 directed the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish the Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) competition. The L Prize competition is the first government-sponsored technology competition designed to spur development of ultra-efficient solid-state lighting products to replace common lighting products. First on the list was the ever so popular 60 watt incandescent light bulb. To win this competition the new LED bulbs are put to the test and must meet rigorous technical specifications before being crowned a winner. A few of these are maintaining at least 80% of bulb output across the life of the bulb and produce 150lm/w (lumens per watt). A lumen is how we rate the brightness of a bulb, the higher the lumens the brighter the bulb will be. So I'm sure by the picture you can take a stab at the company that won the $10 million dollar prize + bragging rights, and that would be Philips. The competition that created this bulb was started in 2007 and has since been closed, so why the hell are you writing about this I bet your asking? Well that is because this bulb that one the competition in 2011 is now available for purchase in a store near you. However with new tech like this there is always a premium to pay set at $60 retail. The bulbs will last 25,000 hours or 20 years if you use it an hour a day so I think the price is justified plus there will be some rebates for energy saving etc. to lower the cost. With all this success it has been a bit of a catalyst and another competition is in the midst, this time for the Par 38 bulb. Another popular bulb usually found in outdoor flood lights and garden lights. Hopefully this one will be on sale soon too.
Good post but I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Appreciate it!
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