100-watt LED bulb: The competition begins

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Sophie

Those anxiously awaiting 100-watt LED bulbs to join the 40-watt, 60-watt and 75-watt versions that have already hit the market, may not have long to wait!

In May 2012 big manufacturers, including Osram Sylvania, Philips and GE, have indicated that it is their intention to put 100-watt equivalent LED bulbs on retail shelves within the next 12 months. They join others like Switch Lighting who has already announced their 100-watt equivalent bulbs.

LED bulbs, for those who still aren’t sure, require about a fifth of the power conventional incandescent bulbs used. This means, an LED that shines as brightly as a traditional 100-watt bulb in principle requires only 20-watts.

They also don’t come cheap with the average prices for LED bulbs ranging from $40 to $50 (£25 to £30). A hefty upfront expense but don’t panic, the costs do get recouped through energy savings and longevity (since the bulbs are supposed to last up to 23 years).

In this LED game of ‘mine is better than yours,’ it can be hard for consumers to understand the difference between brands and their bulbs.

Here is a table of the figures to help with a comparison of these new 100-watt LED bulbs:

Still confused? We have also tried to give a brief summary of the Osram Sylvania, Philips and GE LED 100-watt bulbs below. To learn more about SWITCH100, the 100-watt LED being released by Switch Lighting, please click here to see our previous blog article.

Osram Sylvania A21 LED 100-watt Bulb

Osram Sylvania, a unit of Siemens, has developed the A21 LED bulb, which they claim is the best of the LED bunch based on a combination of efficiency and light quality.

The A21 LED bulb runs on 20-watts of power emitting 1600 lumens of light. This is less than Philips’ 23-watts but also slightly fewer lumens than Philips’ 1700. (Although both are in the ‘100 watt equivalent’ ballpark when compared to the lumens from an incandescent bulb)

Switch Lighting’s 100-watt equivalent also weighs in at 20-watts but Osram Sylvania says the A21 beats Switch on colour rendition and colour temperature — two areas of performance where LED bulbs are still thought to be inferior to their incandescent predecessors.

When asked how much they’ll charge for the A21 LED, Osram Sylvania gave no clues but simply said that they’re talking to retail partners “to confirm pricing” before the bulbs go on sale this summer.
Source: Smart Planet

Philips EnduraLED 100-watt Bulb

This Autumn Philips will be adding an LED bulb to their EnduraLED line that gives off almost 1700 lumens, about the same amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent, while consuming only 23-watts. Philips has not disclosed the price but it is expected to be around $40 to $50 (£25 to £30).

This latest EnduraLED has a warm yellow colour, is dimmable and more efficient than the Philips LPrize LED. (The LPrize LED operates at 96 lumens per watt, compared with about 74 lumens per watt for the 100-watt equivalent EnduraLED) The existing EnduraLED bulbs are rated to last nearly 23 years based on three hours of use a day and we can assume this new LED bulb from Philips will be the same.
Source: cnet.com

GE Energy Smart LED Bulb

On May 9^th 2012, GE unveiled their 27-watt Energy Smart LED bulb; a dimmable 100-watt replacement bulb that boasts superior low-energy lighting technology with a 25,000-hour (22.8-year) life span, 1600+ lumens and an incandescent shape (A19).

When discussing the new bulb Steve Briggs, LED Manager at GE Lighting, said: “Our innovation team has tackled a previously insurmountable technical challenge: cooling a 100-watt A-19 shaped replacement LED bulb without making it physically bigger. Each subsystem such as optics, electronics and thermals needed to be designed for miniaturization and cooperative performance. We explored the limits of what’s possible and pushed far beyond industry expectations, competitors’ thinking and product offerings.”

GE’s new bulb is expected to hit the shelves of North American retailers during the first half of 2013. Currently no set retail price has been established at this point but Forbes estimates that the 100-watt replacement will be under $50 (£30).
Source: Forbes

As far as I can see all these bulbs are practically neck and neck when it comes to their stats. Once they hit the shelves I suspect their popularity will come down to price and design; energy saving bulbs have always been accused of being ugly and expensive, will any of these bulbs break that cycle?

Summer 2012: SWITCH bulbs to arrive in markets outside the US!

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Sophie

Finally the rumours out! This summer, Switch Lighting will release the first of its 3 general purpose bulbs to lighting distributers and will introduce its 3-way bulb and 240-volt bulb to markets outside of the US!

Switch showed off their new line of production-ready bulbs at LIGHTFAIR International, the “world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference.”

One of the bulbs being showcased at their booth this year is the SWITCH3-Way, a 25/50/75 watt-equivalent LED which the company says can be used as an incandescent replacement in 3-way fixtures.

Switch Lighting also intends to release a new design of LED bulb this summer!

While most LED bulbs place the source of their light at the bottom of the bulb, near the base by the heat sink and socket. Switch’s new design moves this source in the globe at the top half of the bulb. The globe is then filled with liquid, which circulates past the LED surface to cool it, allowing the bulb to run more efficiently and last longer.

According to Gary Rosenfeld, executive vice president of marketing at Switch Lighting, their new design gives off light more evenly, better resembling a more “traditional” incandescent lamp.

In addition to looking just like the bulbs of yesteryear, these new LEDs will use incredibly low amounts of power. Switch’s 40-watt equivalent needs only 8 watts of power, while their 75-watt equivalent needs only 17 watts.

A company executive has also suggested that Switch is working on cheaper, consumer-oriented models to be released some time next year.

While we have no exact dates for release, it is still very exciting news that this summer we might all be able to have SWITCH bulbs lighting up our homes. For anyone who happens to be in the Las Vegas area and simply can’t wait to get a glimpse of these new bulbs, they will be on display at the LIGHTFAIR until May 11.

Source: redOrbit
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SWITCH Lighting: 2012 Silver Edison Award Winner

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Sophie

SWITCH Lighting have done it yet again! Their infamous family of LED bulbs are not short of recognition and now their SWITCH75 bulb has won them a 2012 Silver Edison Award. The Californian start-up won in the Smart Systems category, acknowledged for their innovations and achievements alongside some of the world’s most recognised companies.

We all know the SWITCH bulbs fabulous specifications by now; a stunningly designed bulb that fits into standard light sockets and can be used in the same manner as any incandescent or compact fluorescent light bulb – in any orientation, any fixture, and any location – while only using 20% of the energy a standard bulb requires.

“This Edison silver award is especially meaningful to us because it’s named after the inventor of the light bulb that we’re building upon,” said Tracy Bilbrough, CEO of SWITCH. “It took us a few years of trial and error — the Edisonian approach — to develop the product we have today, so this award seems especially fitting. Edison wrote the first chapter of the light bulb, and we’re writing the next one.”

The Edison Awards represent the spirit of innovation personified by Thomas Edison, inspiring America’s drive to remain in the forefront of creativity and ingenuity in the global economy. This years awards were judged by a panel of more than 3,000 leading business executives including past award winners, members of the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), academics and leaders in the fields of product development, design, engineering, science and medical.

Everyone here at Light Bulbs First wish SWITCH Lighting a hearty congratulations on yet another outstanding achievement. The only question we have is when will SWITCH bulbs be available in the UK?

Click here to find out more about SWITCH Lighting

SOURCE: Business Wire

OLED TVs Arrive: but how do they differ from LED technology?

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Sophie

We have discussed the scientific advances towards creating OLED light bulbs for the home but here is another way the OLED technology is being used!

Ever since the LED TV was introduced in 2009, TV makers promoted and advertised it as a ‘new technology’. When in actual fact, although LED TVs are thinner and the pictures far brighter than plasmas or LCD HDTVs, they are built using the same LCD technology.

All this is about to change, there’s genuinely a new kid on the block as LG and Samsung introduce the first large screen OLED TVs!

So why is this exciting news and how does OLED differ from LED technology?

LCDs are screens of colored pixels that do not create light, and as such, require a light source. With LCDs, this light source is CCFL lamps placed directly behind the panel, adding to the thickness of the TV.

LED TVs are simply LCD TVs that use a different type of lamp made from light emitting diodes, these are smaller and can be placed around the panel beneath the screen bezel to create a thinner TV. LED lamps are designed to shut off completely when the screen content fades to black. Some LED TVs can shut off particular regions of the LED lamps, depending on which portion of the image is black at any given time, providing better contrast than other LCDs.

Meanwhile, OLED really is a new large-screen technology. The flat panel is made up of millions of tiny ‘organic’ LEDs that have carbon within the molecules of the emissive (light producing) layer of the panel. Large-screen OLED panels need no lamps — they are self illuminating. Therefore, OLED HDTVs can be thinner and lighter than the skinniest LED LCDs, whilst having several other advantages over LCD TVs, regardless of whether the LCD is lit by LED or CCFL lamps.

For instance, they provide very wide and consistent colour no matter where you are seated in the room. LED LCDs tend to get significantly dimmer as you move away from the center, and many even exhibit colour shift. OLEDs make very bright images that should “pop” against all other flat screen TVs.

OLEDs are also quite energy efficient, besting all other flat panels in low power consumption. That being said, the expected cost of the first models is at least $8,000 so you will definitely never realize any savings if you buy at first-generation prices!

However, the greatest attribute of OLED is the ability to have the deepest blacks of any flat panel technology. Unlike LED backlighting, which at best can only dim the LCD image in regions, OLEDs can produce a very low luminescence level down the individual pixel. This ability coupled with bright whites is why OLEDs are expected to have the highest contrast of all flat screen TVs. OLEDs are very fast devices, changing intensity faster than the best plasmas and the fastest (240 Hz) LED LCDs. This means there is no risk of motion blur.

In just a few months we expect the first large screen OLED HDTVs to be offered for sale in the US. LG is expected to be in the 55-Inch size class while the Samsung is now rumored to be a 65-Inch screen!

Reverse Vending on the road to Success!

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Sophie

Congratulations to Reverse Vending Corporation (“RVC”) who has been shortlisted in this year’s National Recycling Awards 2012 as the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycler of the Year!

Entrants for the National Recycling Awards needed to demonstrate an effective environment strategy, tangible recycling improvement, innovative and creative solutions and a strong business case to justify their application

To help improve the global environment through recycling, RVC developed the first Light Bulb Reverse Vending Recycling machine in the world, utilising proven existing reverse vending recycling platforms with new unique technologies added.

The National Recycling Awards recognise excellence in all parts of the waste hierarchy and in all sections of the industry, with awards ranging from ‘waste minimisation’ to ‘best recycled product’, and everything in between.

The recycling and waste management industry has made significant progress over the years, moving recycling from a marginal issue right into the mainstream. Households and businesses up and down the country, as well as the Government, now recognise recycling is crucial for the environment, for sustainability and for the economy. The recent waste review once again underlined the UK Coalition Government commitment to supporting and boosting recycling, energy from waste and waste reduction.

IKEA, Sweden, the world renowned and leading international retail corporation is fully committed to increasing its used light bulb and domestic battery recycling rates and has worked closely with RVC on the development of this new recycling technology. It has already installed the light bulb recycling machine in its Wembley, Lakeside, Wednesbury stores prior to a national UK roll-out. RVC will also be installing its unique light bulb recycling machine technology in IKEA stores throughout Europe starting with Germany and Denmark.

RVC believes that its unique light bulb and domestic battery reverse vending recycling technology will make a significant contribution to achieving these national objectives and we wish them the best of luck at the National Recycling Awards in July!

To find out more, please visit Revend Recycling

Smart lights are a bright idea

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Sophie

Imagine lights that not only illuminate but communicate. Fixtures that can detect if you’ve fallen and summon assistance, or change colour depending on the time of day to affect our circadian rhythms, helping us relax or increase alertness.

The Smart Lighting Engineering Research Institute at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is leading a number of research efforts designed to get more from lighting. Working with a $40 million, 10-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), RPI is leading a consortium that includes Boston University and the University of New Mexico in developing and commercialising new technologies with the mission of fully exploiting the adaptive and controlling qualities of light.

Researchers have already made some changes at the RPI campus, switching some bulbs to long-lasting light-emitting diodes, a favourite of the building’s maintenance staff who haven’t had to change a bulb in two years.

The laboratories also include a room with a light panel in the ceiling that could be used to carry images of clouds and sky, as well as “tunable” LEDs that can change colour to suit the mood or task at hand. However, much of what the centre does focuses on energy efficiency.

After the NSF funding runs out in 2018, the centre is expected to become self-supporting. Already, it has 22 industry members and is also seeking to spin out startup companies. One, based at Boston University, is Bytelight, which has developed an optical communications system that it embedded in LEDs. Using the light spectrum it provides more bandwidth than is available in traditional radio frequencies!

OLED: Building a better light bulb, organically!

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Sophie

Scientists study the movement of charge carriers to design an organic LED that is energy efficient and still casts a warm, natural glow!

Incandescent light bulbs are energy hogs but many people prefer them for the cozy quality of light they emit. Scientists from Dresden University of Technology in Germany have set out to build energy efficient organic LED (OLED) lights that could truly rival incandescent bulbs in white-light color quality.

OLEDs consist of many layers of organic materials with different electrical properties. Excited electrons move through the materials and when the electrons are reunited with positive “holes,” they emit electromagnetic radiation in the form of visible light.
To build their white light OLED, the researchers used four separate emitter layers: blue, green, yellow, and red. The different colors are combined to cover all parts of the visible spectrum. Through a detailed study of the movement of electrons through the OLED, the scientists were able to tune the colour and quality of the light by adjusting the height of the layers.

The final OLED, described in the AIP’s Journal of Applied Physics, casts a color of light very near to warm white point A, a standard measure of the white light spectrum reached by some incandescent bulbs. The OLED also has high color stability, meaning the light can be dimmed without noticeably altering its quality.

To read more please visit PhysOrg

Switch100 has arrived!

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Sophie

While manufacturers scramble to launch incandescent bulb replacements, none seem able to produce products that can compete with Switch Lighting. The Californian company has captured the attention of the public before their LED bulbs have even gone on sale!

At the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show Switch grabbed a CES Innovations Design and Engineering award, an honor that came on the heels of making the cover of Wired and being cited as a top-50 invention of 2011 by Time and now they can boast being the first company to launch a 100-watt bulb equivalent.

The company claims the Switch100 is the first “true” 100-watt bulb with 1600 lumen output that offers the same cozy lighting of incandescents.
According to Switch their latest LED bulb:

Has a lifespan of at least 25,000 hours
Uses 80% less energy than an incandescent bulb
Uses 20 watts of input power, and produces 1600 lumens
Has a colour temperature of 4100K, making it ideal for areas which require bright white light
Can be used in any fixture, recessed or fully enclosed
Can be used in any orientation, with no compromise to driver function or lumen output
Is dimmable and turns on instantly

Switch won’t mind if consumers ultimately embrace their products, of course, but initially it seems they are directing their marketing toward large-scale users who spend significant resources not only on the energy that more conventional bulbs use, but also on frequently changing those bulbs in hard-to-get-to locations. “We see the facility management end market as a terrific opportunity because of the significant energy and maintenance savings Switch bulbs provide,” Switch CEO Tracy Bilbrough said in a statement.

Remarkably, Switch did not give a price when they announced the launch of the Switch100 but various reports have suggested it could go for around just $25.

For more details please visit Earthtechling

Philips on the Light Bulb Defensive!

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Sophie

Last week saw trouble brewing in the USA for Philips on the light bulb front, with an article in the Washington Post carrying the headline “Government-subsidized green light bulb carries costly price tag.” Things continued to spiral for the company as right-leaning blogs condemned the $10 million government investment into the manufacture of the Philips bulb that, according to the Washington Post, would retail for a whopping $50 in the general market.

By Friday last week Philips was compelled to issue a press release defending both itself and the Department of Energy, which did indeed invest $10 million for its Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (aka L Prize). Philips dismissed the rumour that the bulb would retail at $50, stating that the actual retail price will be closer to $20. Philips also stated that the lifetime cost of its new bulb is only $82, compared with $213 for a conventional incandescent bulb, based on an electricity rate of 11 cents per kilowatt hour.

One thing is very clear from this incident and that is the real challenge facing the light bulb industry, to change how the general public view bulbs as a product. They need to move away from the idea that light bulbs are cheap and disposable, instead viewing them as an advanced-technology more like minor household appliances that are worth packing up and taking with you when you move.

Meanwhile, undeterred by all the commotion caused by the Philips bulb, the US Department of Energy announced that it is forging ahead with the next phase of the L Prize Competition designed to spur the development of high efficiency LED replacements for spotlights and floodlights commonly used in retail stores and track lighting as well as outdoor security lights.

To read more about this article please visit Triple Pundit

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