Philips has announced that its 22-watt LED lightbulb is the first 100-watt tungsten equivalent bulb to have been awarded Energy Star certification. Often referred to as the A21, which is actually just one of several standard forms for light bulbs that this bulb happens to conform to, Philips' 22-W bulb puts out "nearly" 1,800 lumens for an efficacy of about 82 lumens/watt (lm/W). It's a fine spec, but not too dissimilar to the competition, which raises the question of why Philips' product has been singled out.
The bulb's efficiency is right up there with other 100-W equivalent LED light bulbs we've looked at from Osram Sylvania, GE and Switch. There was some confusion as to the exact efficacy of Osram Sylvania's offering at the time of its announcement, but its Amazon listing now quotes an output of 1,675 lumens giving it a superior efficacy of 84 lm/W, though other sources put the efficacy at 80 lm/W (a note on efficacy and efficiency: technically there's a distinction.) The current specs listed at Switch Lighting's website means its efficacy has to be reined in from the figures we were quoted at the time of our reporting.
The 1,600 lumen output of Osram Sylvania's, GE's and Switch's bulbs is actually worse than that of a 100 W tungsten bulb (about 1,750 lumens). Philips' bulb, on the other hand, exceeds this output. However, the 1,600 lumen output is still sufficient to achieve Energy Star rating, so why is Philips' bulb the only one to have been certified?
The Philips press release gives some insight into the requirements of the certification process for such a product. In addition to the 1,600-lumen minimum output, lamps must achieve a color rendering index of 80 (good, but not great) and a rated life of 25,000 hours (which, it should be noted, is the time it takes half the light sources in a test sample to fail).
However, though definitive spec sheets of these lightbulbs are hard to pin down, a color rendering index of 80 is not particularly onerous, and, given that LED lifespans are frequently quoted at 50,000 or even 100,000 hours, neither is a 25,000-hour rated life. Indeed, a glance at the Switch spec confirms that the bulb meets the Energy Star requirements. It seems very possible, if not downright likely, that Osram Sylvania's and GE's 100-W-equivalent LED bulbs do the same (this report in LEDs Magazine suggests that Osram Sylvania's bulb is indeed up to snuff.)
So, as fine as it is, precisely why Philips' bulb has been certified over Osram Sylvania's, Switch's, and potentially GE's is something of a mystery. If there's a reason similar products have not been certified, this would be useful to know. If there's not, the apparent singling-out of Philips would seem to be a little unfair. We've asked the manufacturers and Energy Star for insights. We'll let you know if we have any more to add.
Source: Philips
The bulb's efficiency is right up there with other 100-W equivalent LED light bulbs we've looked at from Osram Sylvania, GE and Switch. There was some confusion as to the exact efficacy of Osram Sylvania's offering at the time of its announcement, but its Amazon listing now quotes an output of 1,675 lumens giving it a superior efficacy of 84 lm/W, though other sources put the efficacy at 80 lm/W (a note on efficacy and efficiency: technically there's a distinction.) The current specs listed at Switch Lighting's website means its efficacy has to be reined in from the figures we were quoted at the time of our reporting.
The 1,600 lumen output of Osram Sylvania's, GE's and Switch's bulbs is actually worse than that of a 100 W tungsten bulb (about 1,750 lumens). Philips' bulb, on the other hand, exceeds this output. However, the 1,600 lumen output is still sufficient to achieve Energy Star rating, so why is Philips' bulb the only one to have been certified?
The Philips press release gives some insight into the requirements of the certification process for such a product. In addition to the 1,600-lumen minimum output, lamps must achieve a color rendering index of 80 (good, but not great) and a rated life of 25,000 hours (which, it should be noted, is the time it takes half the light sources in a test sample to fail).
However, though definitive spec sheets of these lightbulbs are hard to pin down, a color rendering index of 80 is not particularly onerous, and, given that LED lifespans are frequently quoted at 50,000 or even 100,000 hours, neither is a 25,000-hour rated life. Indeed, a glance at the Switch spec confirms that the bulb meets the Energy Star requirements. It seems very possible, if not downright likely, that Osram Sylvania's and GE's 100-W-equivalent LED bulbs do the same (this report in LEDs Magazine suggests that Osram Sylvania's bulb is indeed up to snuff.)
So, as fine as it is, precisely why Philips' bulb has been certified over Osram Sylvania's, Switch's, and potentially GE's is something of a mystery. If there's a reason similar products have not been certified, this would be useful to know. If there's not, the apparent singling-out of Philips would seem to be a little unfair. We've asked the manufacturers and Energy Star for insights. We'll let you know if we have any more to add.
Source: Philips