Eco-friendly lighting might actually start being some use, with the launch of an LED lightbulb from GE that’s claimed to produce nearly as much light as a 40-watt incandescent bulb, while lasting more than 25 times as long.
The new bulb, due on the market late this year or early next, consumes just nine watts and provides a 77 percent energy saving, says GE. If turned on for four hours a day, it can run for 17 years.
The bulb is designed to direct light downward on the intended surface and all around – not just out the top of a lampshade, like many current LED bulbs.
“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 for GE Lighting. “It’s an incredible advancement that’s emblematic of the imagination and innovation that GE’s applying to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.”
One thing it won’t be is cheap – it’ll cost an eye-watering $40 or $50, says GE. But with the manufacture of standard incandescent bulbs due to be phased out in the US over the next three years, GE reckons it will find a market.
Says Strainic: “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.”
