LightFair

LED bulb makers target 100-watt brightness

With a federal lighting efficiency mandate looming, lighting companies are developing LED bulbs designed to replace 100-watt incandescent lights.

Osram Sylvania today showed off a prototype of an LED bulb that gives off 1,500 lumens--as much light as a 100-watt incandescent--and consumes 14 watts. It also said that its 75-watt equivalent will be available in July.

Another company, Switch Lighting, today announced its own 100-watt equivalent which it said produces 1,700 lumens of white light and will be available in the fourth quarter, according to a representative. A version with a warmer light is due in mid to late 2012.

The announcements were made in conjunction with the LightFair lighting conference, where a number of new efficient LED lighting products are being introduced.

Osram Sylvania said its dimmable 100-watt equivalent will come in the A19 shape and have a color temperature of 2700, similar to an incandescent bulb. The color rendering index, a measure of light quality, will be over 80 and the bulb is rated to last 25,000 hours, or 25 times more than incandescent bulbs.

It has a shape meant to disperse light evenly to make it suitable for many uses, such as desk lamps or overhead lights. The company didn't announce pricing but its current general-purpose LED bulb, a 60-watt equivalent, costs about $40.

Switch Lighting, a venture capital-backed start-up based in San Jose, Calif., has an unusual design to ensure even light and long life. The small coin-size LED light sources are placed around the edge of the bulb, rather than at a single point. … Read more