As the common household incandescent bulb marches towards extinction (they'll be completely phased out in the U.S. by 2014), the "battle of the bulb" heats up with CFLs, LEDs, and a new long-lasting contender, the ESL bulb, vying to take its place and usher in a new era of energy-efficient lighting.
GE just announced the release of the Energy Smart LED, a new omni-directional, 9-watt bulb designed to replace the common 40-watt incandescent bulb used in bedside and table lamps. According to GE, the life of the Energy Smart LED is 25,000 hours or 22.8 years (based on three hour/day usage) and offers a 77 percent energy savings when compared to 40-watt incandescent bulbs. It's also the first A-Line LED bulb to receive an EnergyStar rating.
The price? Brace yourself: The Energy Smart LED sells for $50. It's admittedly a daunting price to pay for a single light bulb that will live (and perhaps outlive) your bedside lamp, but when you do the math (which GE has thankfully done for us: ) the dramatic cost becomes easier to swallow. With an estimated yearly cost of $1.08 versus $4.82 for a 40-watt incandescent (based on $.11 per kilowatt hour), a single Energy Smart LED can save homeowners $85 over the lifetime over the bulb.
Learn more about this innovative 40-watt substitute over at GE's Energy Smart LED mini-site, , where you can also purchase the bulb now. Or, wait until January when the Energy Smart LED hits retail shelves.
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