Entry NO. 10

Entry No. 10

09 May 2013

Author: Wes Thompson

Philips “EnduraLED” wins Department of Energy’s L Prize

The US Department of Energy held the first ever government-sponsored technology competition called the L Prize, where they sought entries in lighting innovation. The challenge was to find the lowest energy bulb while maintaining quality of light, color, and intensity equal to a standard 60W incandescent.

The proposal/prototype from Philips met the requirements with a bulb that used under 10W, making them the winner of the $10 million prize.

[IMAGE: National Geographic]

After the competition, the bulb underwent 18 months of rigorous testing to look at the viability of making it available to consumers. It was tested under extreme temperature and humidity conditions, vibration simulations, and changes in voltage. The Department of Energy estimates that if every bulb in the US converted standard 60W bulbs to Philips EnduraLEDs, 35 terawatt-hours could be saved in one year. That’s the energy equivalent of lighting almost 18 million households.

[IMAGE: Apartment Therapy]

At the end of the testing, the only down side is price. Each bulb cost roughly $18, as opposed to $3 for some inexpensive CFL bulbs. They estimate that the price will continue to go down, plus the added incentives of the quick payback in energy savings.

[IMAGE: Popular Mechanics]

[IMAGE: Inhabitat]