Philips to Launch 23-watt LED Bulb to Replace 100-watt Incandescent
The Light Fair convention kicks off in Las Vegas this week so there will be any number of related announcements coming soon. Lighting giant Philips is starting things off early with the announcement of their 100W-equivalent LED bulb, the AmbientLED 23W. The model produces 1700 lumens, putting it at a very respectable 73.9 lm/W.
The company will add to its EnduraLED line with a lamp that gives off almost 1,700 lumens, or about the amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent, and consumes 23 watts. The price isn’t disclosed but it is expected to be in the $40 to $50 range.
This latest EnduraLED has a color temperature is a warm yellow at 2,700 Kelvin, is dimmable, and has a color rendering index of 80. The existing EnduraLED bulbs are rated to last nearly 23 years based on three hours of use a day.
This 23-watt Philips LED bulb follows the introduction last month of its 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 CRI at 93, is substantially higher than the EnduraLEDs, too. Its suggested retail price is $60 but Philips is offering a $10 rebate to make it available for $50. Utility rebates for buying efficient products can bring costs lower, too.
The bulb will be dimmable and the color temperature will be 2700K (warm white), making it a reasonable choice for household lighting. The color accuracy (rated by the color rendering index, or CRI) will be 80, which is a reasonable number, but not particularly high. It would be fine for general use but too low for times when high color accuracy is needed, as in an art gallery or photography studio. This is the same CRI as the company’s popular 60W AmbientLED, so they likely share a phosphor material and LED setup, while the L Prize winner has some subtle tweaks to it. For example, it uses a mixture of red and blue LEDs, as opposed to just blue ones.
Philips has not announced the lifetime of the AmbientLED 23W, but it has noted that the bulb will last “up to 25 times longer than a traditional incandescent” which can be taken to mean 25,000 hours. That’s a standard number for LED bulbs and the requirement for Energy Star qualification, which Philips expects the new bulb to achieve.
About Royal Philips Electronics:
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity.” Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs over 120,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 22.3 billion in 2010, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
