The Home Depot takes LED lighting mainstream with $20 bulbs
Slowly but surely, LED light bulbs have been getting brighter and more efficient, but price has always been a major factor staying their adoption. Back in 2007, a single 308 lumen bulb cost $65, and the more things changed, the more they've stayed the same. Now, out of the blue, The Home Depot has stepped forward with a cost-effective alternative. For $20, the new EcoSmart LED bulb promises a 429 lumen, 40W equivalent with a 50,000 hour expected lifetime, making it cheaper and nearly as powerful as the 450 lumen, $40-50 design industry heavyweight GE unveiled last month. Best of all, it's already available for purchase (though backordered) at our source link. Honestly, we're starting to wonder what the catch is. PR after the break.
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A REVOLUTION IN LIGHTING BEGINS TODAY AT THE HOME DEPOT WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF LIGHTING SCIENCE GROUP'S BREAKTHOUGH ECOSMART LED LIGHT BULBS...BUILT IN THE USA
First LED Bulb to Achieve 50 Percent More Lumens
at Half the Price of Competing Products
New Technology Paves the Way for Highly Efficient, Affordably Priced and
Environmentally Responsible Lighting
Satellite Beach, Florida, May 10, 2010 – Finally, an LED light bulb that delivers high quality lumens at an affordable cost. Starting today, homeowners can lower energy cost without sacrificing light quality by installing The Home Depot's new proprietary ECOSMART LED light bulbs. By revolutionizing the science of light, Lighting Science Group Corporation, a leading American maker of LED-based lighting, has produced for The Home Depot the first affordably priced, yet highly efficient 9 watt A19 LED bulb that is a smart choice to replace traditional 40 watt incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent lamps ("CFLs"). The ECOSMART LED bulb's retail price is $19.97, compared to over $50 for other LED bulbs, uses approximately 80% less energy than a 40 watt incandescent light bulb and is expected to last more than 22 years.* Built in the USA, the ECOSMART A19 LED bulb is the first in a full line of ECOSMART LED products made by Lighting Science Group that will be available exclusively in The Home Depot stores this year.
Independent tests show that the lumen output of the A19 ECOSMART LED bulb is unrivaled-outperforming similar products by 25-30%. The ECOSMART LED bulb is dimmable, available in the familiar A19 light bulb shape, and more energy efficient than an equivalent CFL. Furthermore, unlike CFLs, the ECOSMART LED bulb contains no mercury, is completely recyclable and offers outstanding light quality.
"We believe the ECOSMART LED bulb is the highest quality and longest lasting light bulb on the market-at a very affordable price," said Jorge Fernandez, Merchant-Electrical, The Home Depot. "If one of our new ECOSMART light bulbs is installed in a newborn's room today, it will probably not have to be replaced until the child is ready to graduate college! The ECOSMART LED light bulb represents a huge cost savings to the consumer, both in terms of the reduced use of electricity coupled with savings on replacement costs versus traditional bulbs. At The Home Depot we are committed to providing our customers with innovative merchandise that delivers value and everyday low price."
In most home applications, consumers are expected to save $155 in energy cost over the life of the product and the bulb will pay for itself in less than two years from energy and replacement savings alone.** Furthermore, to ensure consumer confidence and reliability, an independent testing lab approved by the U.S. Department of Energy's CALiPER program has validated the performance of the UL-listed ECOSMART LED bulb.
"The ECOSMART LED bulb is a significant leap forward from Thomas Edison's 130 year-old invention," said Zach Gibler, Chief Executive Officer, Lighting Science Group Corporation. "Consumers now have the freedom to switch to an environmentally friendly and energy efficient lighting solution without sacrificing light quality. Lighting Science Group is proud to be the technology provider behind The Home Depot's ECOSMART lighting products, and deliver an American solution for our energy and environmental challenges."
The A19 ECOSMART LED bulb is available on Home Depot's website (www.homedepot.com) and in stores nationwide.
