GE flicks switch on LED that will last 17 years

Ever since they first entered the market, some consumers have complained that energy efficient bulbs provide a lower quality of light than energy guzzling incandescent bulbs.

But now US engineering giant General Electric (GE) thinks it may have solved the problem with the launch this week of a low wattage LED bulb that provides the same light output as a traditional incandescent bulb but uses less energy while lasting 25 times longer.

The new GE Energy Smart LED bulb is expected to consume just 9 watts while producing 450 lumens, a significant improvement on many current LED bulbs that produce 350 lumens or less.

GE scientists and engineers designed the bulb to include plastic structures that better direct light so that the beams are distributed more evenly. Currently, one of the weaknesses of LED lights is that they tend to focus light in a relatively small area and as a result can be less effective for domestic or commercial lighting.

The company said that the bulb would also prove remarkably durable. Based on an expected 25,000-hour rated life, and average use of 4 hours per day, GE says the bulb should last 17 years – that is 25 times longer than a general service 40-watt incandescent or halogen bulb and more than three times the life of a standard 8,000-hour rated life CFL.

"This is a bulb that can virtually light your kid's bedroom desk lamp from birth through high school graduation," said John Strainic, global product general manager, GE Lighting. "It's an incredible advancement."

GE said the LED also delivers the instant full brightness of an incandescent or halogen bulb and feels cooler to the touch than CFLs and far cooler than incandescent bulbs. The bulb's durable solid-state design also means there is no filament to break, and unlike many CFLs it contains no mercury.

The 9-watt GE Energy Smart LED bulb is set to hit the shops in the US from this autumn and although retailers will set pricing the bulb is expected to cost between $40 and $50 (£26-£33).

The price tag will inevitably raise perennial questions about the mass-market appeal of energy efficient bulbs, but GE is bullish that consumers will be prepared to pay a premium for the long term cost savings the technology offers.

Demand could also be driven by new lighting legislation in the US that will be phased in from 2012 and will see the gradual removal of high wattage, standard incandescent bulbs from the market.

The new federal lighting efficiency standards mean 100-watt bulbs can no longer be made from January 2012, 75-watt bulbs will cease manufacture from January 2013 and 60 and 40-watt bulbs will follow from January 2014. They mirror similar rules already in place in the EU where incandescent bulbs are gradually being phased out.