According to GE, LED Light Done Right

[xcel]

Technology of GE LED 40-Watt replacement bulb outshines others.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - May 14, 2010

GE’s upcoming LED - 40W of standard incandescent output with just 9W consumed. Bests the CFL by 1W for a similar output.

Big Problem: Retail pricing is expected to be in the $40 to $50 range… Does the term “WTF” mean anything to anyone reading this

As soon as consumers see GE’s new Energy Smart 9-watt LED bulb on retail store shelves later this year, they’ll know it’s different from the "snow cone" designs of other LED incandescent replacement bulbs. The GE bulb’s unique fin-like design allows it to operate differently, distributing light like a traditional 40-watt incandescent bulb while delivering excellent light output over its 25,000-hour rated life

GE’s new LED bulb—which will last 17 years based on its rated life and four hours use per day—is expected to receive ENERGY STAR® certification as an omni-directional LED replacement lamp. That means it emits light all around the bulb. The certification requires excellent efficiency, light output, color and life, as well as uniform distribution of light in all directions surrounding the bulb, except in a narrow range of angles near the base of the bulb.

“Our new LED bulb is an engineering marvel that will deliver incandescent-quality light for years upon years in any room of a home,” says Steve Briggs, vice president of marketing and product management, GE Lighting. “Your kids can literally grow up while this light serves its purpose in their bedroom desk lamp—from kindergarten through 12th grade.”

What’s up with the fins?

The fins that cradle the GE Energy Smart LED bulb look ultra cool while performing a cooling function: they’re connected to the LEDs inside the bulb to draw heat out, keeping the LEDs cool to ensure a longer life and greater efficiency. The fins also keep the surface of the bulb cooler than comparable incandescent bulbs.

“The typical design of most LED A-line bulbs on the market has a thermal-management component mounted only on the bottom half of the light bulb, while the top half is similar to a snow cone shape,” says Briggs. “We designed and tested several variations of the snow cone approach, but none provided the incandescent-like all around light that ENERGY STAR requires without overheating the LEDs. Our fins envelop the glass bulb in a way that preserves a uniform distribution of light while keeping the LEDs cool.”

GE Lighting Physicist and Principal Engineer Gary Allen invented the new GE LED bulb and perfected its design with the help of a globally dispersed innovation team.

“We wanted our new LED bulb to provide a light distribution, light quality and aesthetic appearance as close as possible to our popular GE Soft White incandescent light bulb,” says Allen. “The idea was to deliver what customers love—soft white light—in an LED bulb that deals with the directionality challenge that’s typical with LEDs.”

Performance

GE’s new LED bulb produces 450 lumens (the LED Energy Star® threshold to be considered a 40-watt incandescent replacement effective August 31, 2010), provides 77 percent energy savings and lasts more than 25 times as long as a standard incandescent bulb. The LED bulb also better directs light downward and all around, performing similarly to the incandescent bulbs that consumers have known and used forever. “Snow cone” LED bulbs tend to project light just out the top of a lampshade, because LEDs are inherently directional light sources.

By harnessing GE’s industry-leading LED technology and consumer feedback, the new LED bulb delivers both form and function that looks better aesthetically, enhances heat removal more efficiently and distributes light uniformly in all directions. For additional details and estimated pricing on the new LED bulb, click here.

Quality

GE is addressing the issues of LED quality and reliability by pushing for a universal set of LED performance standards. Much of its work with NEMA, the Department of Energy/ENERGY STAR, ANSI, Intertek and IESNA centers on the development of measurement, efficiency and performance guidelines that clarify LED standards. A proven expert in the LED category, GE has sold more than 25 million linear feet of LED lighting.

[saturnsc2]

a 1 watt savings?

The type of cfl bulbs I used to buy *store brand* the 40 watt equiv. bulbs used to be 9 watts, now for some reason they are 10. I don't know if people complained that they were not bright enough or why they raised it...

[Butterfly Mage]

I noticed that once CFLs started getting popular, their life expectancy dropped. My first batch of CFLs lasted 6-7 years. Their replacements all lasted 12-18 months. Can we expect the same from LED bulbs? Personally, I cannot afford to replace a dozen $50 bulbs every 12-18 months. If they become mandatory,I'll just start using candles. Wiccans NEVER run out of candles!!!

[ALS]

Heck I still have two lamps in my living room that have the old round O fluorescent bulbs in them. They have to be 10 to 15 years old. The CFL's in two others burn out about every two or three years.

[PaleMelanesian]

I just bought a new pack of GE spiral bulbs. I have 20 stockpiled already and never have to change them, but they were on sale!

I noted the changes since the batch last year: 1w higher consumption (13 vs 12 I think), and 10,000 hours life instead of 8,000 hours.

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Originally Posted by saturnsc2

a 1 watt savings?

The type of cfl bulbs I used to buy *store brand* the 40 watt equiv. bulbs used to be 9 watts, now for some reason they are 10. I don't know if people complained that they were not bright enough or why they raised it...

For more powerful LEDs you save on the extended lifetime, not on the power consumption. High cost but low maintenance is why they are used much more by businesses then in homes.

Big energy saving with LEDs come when they allow you to use them as a less powerful light or as a point source, such as in Christmas decorations or path lights.

[robert]

Originally Posted by ItsNotAboutTheMoney

For more powerful LEDs you save on the extended lifetime, not on the power consumption. High cost but low maintenance is why they are used much more by businesses then in homes.

Big energy saving with LEDs come when they allow you to use them as a less powerful light or as a point source, such as in Christmas decorations or path lights.

Yupper, took them a lot of time and energy to mess up the life expectancy of LED's.
The fact of LED's is the less wattage...the longer life.
Also the life of an LED will last much longer if never turned off.
The shock of on and off wears out the components.
Specific frequencies dictate a filtering component to combat the fluctuating grid supplied power.
If people knew that a battery supplying the consistancy...of power...filters the frequencies already...the emergeny back-up lighting units you see in stores, public places....last up to 10 years....bulbs rarely go bad...built in transformers for filtering grid suppied electricity.
Lenses that are designed to broadcast the light.
The back up system is designed to have 24 hours of reserved energy supply.
When attched to motion on and off sensors...the baseline cost of basic lighting is reduced tremendously.
These units have to meet a much higher quality standard due to the fact they have so many certifications as lighting units to use for safe escapes when fires break out...or electricity supply is lost.
Just thought some peoplle would like to know.

Robert

[Parasite]

I had a friend buy a new house, then put in all CFL bulbs. A year later half had needed to be replaced. Checking further, voltage measurements at outlets were 124+ volts. They lived in an area that had very high voltage, but still within the electrical company's "Spec". We have a very strong suspicion that this was burning out the bulbs meant for 115-120V.

CFLs are very affected by voltage, but LEDs less so. I hope they can last. I have some lights that I would almost pay $40 to not to have to change.

[Jough96Accord]

Already said but, I have the 9w bulbs from Home Depot, 40w replacement, and they work way better than the bulbs that a energy company installed at my house (and they used 15w bulbs).

This came from my light bulb manu website -

10,000 hours - the typical life expectancy of a CFL bulb.
8,000 hours - the typical life expectancy of a covered CFL bulb.
750 hours - the typical life expectancy of an incandescent bulb.

A quick google search turned up 9w CFL's that output 300-500 lumens, are rated for 110v-130v, and pretty much any color temp you want. And all for just a couple bucks, not $50.00.

What's the point of LED bulbs for room lighting? Mercury?

[saturnsc2]

well the mercury is a huge concern for me...especially after my kids broke a cfl bulb playing around not long ago. Unfortunately until led bulbs come WAY down in price at least in the kids rooms I am going back to incand. . By the time led bulbs are cheap enough for me to afford them the kids will probably be grown lol