

  (Source: Philips)


I. Koninklijke Philips Wins the L Prize


Philips L Prize

A video on the testing process is seen below:




L Prize award
[Image Source: DOE/Koninklijke Philips]




Philips L Prize Bulb









Note 2:

Sources: DOE, Philips, Light Bulb Emporium [order]

Comments     Threshold


RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By Reclaimer77 on 2/27/2012 1:43:43 PM , Rating: -1
In theory CCFL's never break either. Problem is what usually fails isn't the bulb, but the electronics powering the bulb. The power supply, ballast, etc etc.

Same thing with LED's. The bulbs won't break, but they will fail all the same when the cheap electronics making up the power supply give out. Which they will.

One might think for $50 they are buying a higher quality product, but in the case of LED's, sadly that's not the case. At this price point, this is a very bad buy. LED manufacturers are making wild claims they simply can't back up, based on half truths. Even if the bulb makes it the quoted "50,000 hour MTF". What they aren't telling you is even if the bulb lasts that long, it's light output will be around 70% less than what it was when new. LED's themselves die hard, but they DO fade away.

I have reasons to believe it will last much much longer than the rated figure.

Could you give us these reasons please? I would like to hear them, because nobody else familiar with the industry and electronics seems to be making such claims.

RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By ChronoReverse on 2/27/2012 1:54:48 PM , Rating: 3
Did you notice that one of the requirements for the prize was >70% light output at 25000 hours? And that this bulb still got over 99%?

RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By Reclaimer77 on 2/27/12, Rating: -1
RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By tayb on 2/27/2012 2:55:21 PM , Rating: 4
What if I am using this for a facility where the lights are to remain on 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. This will pay for itself several times over the course of a few years.

RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By tayb on 2/27/2012 3:28:40 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe a diamond showroom with overhead lights that always remain on? Car showroom? I can think of plenty of cases where a light like this, even at $50, could save you a lot of money long term.

RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By tayb on 2/27/2012 4:49:59 PM , Rating: 2
You're absolutely right. Please continue telling me how right you are.

RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By Spuke on 2/27/2012 6:57:06 PM , Rating: 2
I think he has a point but might not be coming across very clear. You wouldn't be using this type of bulb in a commercial setting. Or maybe I'm reading him wrong. I would not pay $50 for a LED bulb BUT I have two of the older 12.5W and they cost me $30 each. As bulbs have blown out, I have replaced them with these.

A bit OT but maybe not, I have a RV and have replaced all of the interior lighting with LED's mainly for power savings while camping off grid. Saved 260W total there. Lots of RVers are switching to LEDs for the same reason (solar installs are popular too...primarily the off grid RVers).

RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By mcnabney on 2/27/2012 11:25:07 PM , Rating: 1
$50 for a 60W equivalent bulb. That might be fine for a lamp or a ceiling fan with five of them, but these are nowhere near what the market needs. The damn prize was pathetically easy to win - no minimum costs and the light output doesn't meet typical household needs.

By Spuke on 2/27/2012 11:47:50 PM , Rating: 2
Actually they do which is why I have these (the older one's mentioned). There's been a ton of blatant false advertising on LED's (CFL's too) but they finally meet (at least Philips does) incandescents. Actually, you don't need these $50 one's, the older $30, 12.5W versions work perfectly (and are TRULY 60W equivalents) and have been coming down in price. You can get a 4 pack of these on ebay for $84.

By mindless1 on 3/3/2012 12:14:28 PM , Rating: 2
No it won't, because those situations are not using 60W incan bulbs otherwise.

Everyone keeps overlooking the obvious answer. 4' long tube fluorescent bulbs. 40W type has higher lumens /watt and cost about $1 each. Incredibly they've been around for years and lots of homes use them and yet everyone wants to pretend they don't exist or something.

Madness! If we're not sticking with incan bulbs there is no reason to continue to gravitate to the edison incan bulb socket, ESPECIALLY if the bulb itself costs more than the average fixture does.

RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By McDragon on 2/27/2012 3:03:09 PM , Rating: 1
Yeah, go buy a 1$ lightbulb...Just don't use your brain to calculate how much that will cost you over the lifetime of the bulb.

By someguy123 on 2/27/2012 3:24:06 PM , Rating: 2
The cost of these LED bulbs are more likely to drop with manufacturing improvements over the course of a year than the cost savings of having an LED bulb plugged in 24/7. So yeah, it would be better to buy a dollar bulb and swap them out once these bulbs become cheaper.

That said these are also pretty damn expensive, even for LED. You can purchase 2-4 similarly rated LED bulbs at $50, though obviously their lifespan not quite as proven as philips at this point. At this price these things only make sense in areas difficult to maintain.

By Skywalker123 on 2/28/2012 8:19:31 PM , Rating: 1
Your boyfriend and you take turns sucking each others johnson for free, thats why you won't pay 50 bucks.

By erple2 on 2/27/2012 2:26:02 PM , Rating: 5
LED's themselves die hard, but they DO fade away.

Then I'll just go buy some incandescent bulbs. I've heard that it's better to burn out than to fade away.

