Cree revealed a new LED light bulb that boasts the same output as a 75-watt incandescent bulb while consuming about one tenth of the electricity.
The bulb produces 152 lumens, producing around 1,300 lumens using Cree’s new “TrueWhite” technology, exceeds the performance goals set by the U.S. Department of Energy’s L Prize competition.
They could reduce energy usage in the United States by 16.5 percent. Cree did not indicate how much the new light bulb would cost.
In general, LED lighting is still much too expensive for typical consumers based on cost-per-lumen production, Lux Research analyst Murray McCutcheon told VentureBeat. LED lighting cost around $18 per kilolumen produced, while incandescent bulbs were around $2.20 per kilolumen. LED lighting bulbs probably won’t reach that point until 2015, he said.
LED lighting providers like Cree should capture around 30 percent of the commercial lighting market by 2015. But LED lighting won’t even crack the residential markets until around 2020, when it will have an opportunity to capture around 40 percent of the market, McCutcheon said.