The goals set for solid-state lighting (SSL) development in 2008 by the Department of Energy (DOE) have been met individually, some even been surpassed, but there is not a single product that can meet all of those targets simultaneously, according to a DOE’s latest annual report on SSL research and development.
The report has detailed the wide range of work in the US aimed at fundamentally changing the country's lighting infrastructure to one based on LEDs instead of bulbs.
The targets previously set by DOE included the development of an LED-based product with 80 lm/W efficacy, a price of $25 per kilolumen, a 50000 hr lifetime and a "warm-white" color-correlated temperature (CCT) of less than 5000K.
"These goals have been met individually," states the report. "In fact, some commercial products have achieved device efficacies greater than 100lm/W." The only problem is that the goals haven’t been achieved at the same time within a given luminaire.
Nevertheless, the DOE report authors are confident that interim goals set for 2010 will be met. The goals include device efficacies of 140 lm/W and a commercial price of just $10 per kilolumen.