Switch Lighting's LED bulbs have similar technical specs to its competitors, but the startup is counting on clever design and good looks to stand out in a crowded field.

The company plans to make its first three general-purpose light bulbs available this summer to lighting distributors and today is expected to introduce a three-way bulb and a 240-volt bulb for markets outside the U.S.

Its first bulbs are replacements for 40-watt, 60-watt, and 75-watt incandescent lamps. Costing between $40 and $50, they are primarily aimed at commercial customers. Switch Lighting is also working on a less expensive consumer-oriented … Read more

General Electric today introduced a 100-watt equivalent LED bulb which is the clearest example yet of how high-tech lighting has become.

The company's Energy Smart LED bulb consumes 27 watts to give off the same amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent lamp. It will be released in the first half of next year. The price has not yet been set.

GE's announcement, made at the Light Fair industry conference in Las Vegas, shows how lighting manufacturers have finally cracked one of the toughest challenges in LED lighting -- making lamps able to give off a lot of … Read more

Philips this fall will release an LED bulb as bright as a 100-watt incandescent lamp, filling out its existing LED line.

The company will add to its EnduraLED line with a lamp that gives off almost 1,700 lumens, or about the amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent, and consumes 23 watts. The product will be available this fall. Philips did not disclose the price but it is expected to be in the $40 to $50 range.

This latest EnduraLED has a color temperature is a warm yellow at 2,700 Kelvin, is dimmable, and has a color rendering … Read more

Philips on Sunday will start selling an LED bulb that sets a new bar for performance -- and price.

The company will release the Philips L Prize LED on Earth Day for $50, which includes an "automatic incentive" from the company. The general-lighting bulb came out of the Department of Energy's L Prize competition to develop long-lasting, efficient, and less expensive LED lamps.

Philips claims its L Prize LED is the most efficient 60-watt LED equivalent and improves on features from Philips own existing LEDs.

It gives off 940 lumens, consumes 9.7 watts, and has a … Read more

Cree is leaning on high design to get LED lighting onto lamp posts.

The company today introduced new lines of streetlights that use long-lasting and energy-efficient LEDs, including AeroBlades lamps which are an array of LED light sources in blade-like strips.

Cree also updated its traditional LED streetlights for overhead lighting and developed a lamp with traditional bulb designed to fit into historic districts.

The products are the first since Cree, which makes LED light sources, purchased Ruud Lighting to expand its lighting fixture business. LEDs are a good fit for street lights in that they last longer than other … Read more

LED producer Bridgelux has teamed with Chevron in a project to highlight the benefits of LED streetlights in cities.

The two companies today announced a program that allows municipalities to upgrade their streetlights to more efficient, long-lasting LED lighting with little or no up-front cost.

The LEDs use about half as much energy as traditional street lighting and require lower maintenance, providing monthly savings that will allow municipalities to pay for the switch, the companies said.

So far, the cities of Dublin, Calif., and Livermore, Calif., where Bridgelux is based, have signed on to test the service.

"Through this … Read more

Lemnis Lighting is taking a foot-in-the-door approach to LED lightbulbs.

The startup company today announced a new line of bulbs, priced at $4.95 and $6.95, respectively, aimed at getting consumers to try out LEDs for general lighting. The bulbs, though, have some limitations.

The Pharox Blu line comes in 200-lumen and 350-lumen versions, both of which give off less light a 40-watt incandescent bulb's 450 lumens. That means that the bulbs, which consume less than 5 watts and 8 watts, respectively, won't give off enough light for many uses, such as lighting a whole room.

The … Read more

To build a better light fixture, startup Soraa started right at the foundation with a different kind of LED chip inside.

The Fremont, Calif.-based company tomorrow will come out of stealth mode and launch its first product, a spotlight which uses efficient LEDs (light emitting diodes). The MR 16 bulb replaces a 50-watt halogen and uses 12.5 watts and it offers a better beam and light quality, said Soraa CEO Eric Kim.

The bulb from Soraa, which has raised more than $100 million in venture capital, is the first in a planned line of LEDs for general lighting … Read more

Cree today introduced an LED lighting component that will bring prices down significantly, but the company has come to realize that only cutting prices won't make LED lighting mainstream.

The company said its latest XT-E White LED delivers an industry-best 162 lumens per watt at room temperature. Boosting the price performance of LEDs results in a cost reduction of about 25 percent at the retail level in a year or two, said product marketing manager Paul Scheidt.

That's significant given that LED lighting has a higher upfront cost than more established products, but Scheidt said the industry's … Read more