Philips "Super Bulb": The world's most energy-efficient LED bulb

Global resources are declining and environmental damage is becoming increasingly serious. Therefore, energy conservation becomes more important. Adhering to this concept, the US Department of Energy began a competition three years ago to encourage major lighting product manufacturers in the country to develop new products with higher efficiency and more advanced technologies to save energy for households and industries.

This is the famous Illuminating Tomorrow lighting competition award. Washington has just announced the winners of the 2011 contest. Philips Electronics Co. of the United States won one of its awards for the production of a more efficient light bulb that can replace the current 60-watt light bulb used in the United States.

After several months of hard work, Philips has developed an LED light bulb that meets the stringent requirements of competition regardless of efficiency, quality, longevity, or price.

The lamp consumes only 9.7 watts and has a service life of 250,000 hours (the current standard for ordinary lamps is 60 watts, and has a lifetime of 1500 hours). It can maintain the same illumination as a normal light bulb. Although the initial price was set at around 30 euros after being put into the market in 2012, manufacturers expect the price to fall to a quarter of the initial price within 10 years.

We can understand the significance of this new product by calculating the following: The United States sells 425 million 60-watt light bulbs each year. Therefore, replacing these ordinary light bulbs with new super bulbs means that energy can be saved by 83%, which translates to $3.9 billion a year in currency. In addition, it can also prevent 20 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This energy savings is equivalent to three times the amount of electricity used in Washington, DC every year and can provide lighting for 18 million households.

As a bonus, Philips will receive a $10 million bonus to help the company produce its first "super bulbs."