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Prize-winning LED bulb sheds light on energy savings, costs

By: Peter Beland//August 4, 2011//

Prize-winning LED bulb sheds light on energy savings, costs

Peter Beland//August 4, 2011//

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Photo courtesy of Philips

After 18 months of testing, Dutch electronics company Philips on Wednesday won the U.S. Department of ‘s Bright Tomorrow Prize of $10 million for developing a more efficient 60-watt light bulb. Its LED bulb matches the brightness of a 60-watt incandescent bulb, but uses a mere versus the 60-watts of the more traditional light source, according to The New York Times. Whereas an incandescent bulb lasts 1,000 to 5,000 hours on average, the LED bulb stays humming for 25,000 hours.

The end result? Huge energy savings – if you can afford the darned thing. According to the , if all incandescents in the country were replaced with the LED bulb, the country would save $3.9 billion each year in energy costs. But with a price tag hovering above $40 when it’s expected to come out early next year, property developers and managers may side with naysayers of the more efficient bulbs over the cost to light up their buildings.

In addition to the $10 million, Philips will also get marketing help from 31 utilities and energy-efficiency programs that will market the product to more than 100 million customers.



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