Environmental Leader

While 74 percent of Americans have switched to an energy-saving light bulb in 2009, the vast majority don’t know about the impending federal phase-out of incandescent bulbs, starting in 2012 with the 100-watt bulb, according to Osram’s second annual SYLVANIA Socket Survey.

Despite higher pricing, the majority of respondents say they are likely to purchase a CFL, halogen or LED bulb in the future, citing energy savings as an important factor.

Other findings show that CFLs continue to be second only to traditional lighting and are used in 71 percent of homes in the U.S., followed by halogens in 40 percent of homes.

LEDs are starting to make some headway with 12 percent of respondents using the technology.

The report also indicates that consumers are even more price sensitive this year with more than half (52 percent) considering it as a key purchasing factor, which is a 12 percent spike from 2008.

As for the phase-out of incandescent bulbs, the majority of consumers (66 percent) plan to switch to a new technology light bulb, according to the survey. Only 13 percent have plans to buy extra 100-watt bulbs before the phase-out, while 16 percent say they will switch to lower wattage incandescent light bulbs. Energy consumption per bulb is also an important factor for 91 percent of respondents.

A recent Osram study shows that LED lamps are more energy-efficient than light bulbs even when the energy used during the manufacturing process is factored into the equation.

The phase-out of traditional incandescent bulbs is also driving new product innovations. As an example, Osram Sylvania says it was the first to market with a 40-watt true replacement LED bulb and recently unveiled a 60-watt replacement LED bulb.

Building on OSRAM’s study, Cree has developed a white paper (PDF) that further explores the energy use from different lighting applications, including the different demands from downlighting and spotlighting situations.

In lighting product news, LEDnovation recently expanded (PDF) its EnhanceLite LED replacement lamps with an A19 LED lamp for 100-watt incandescent and CFL replacements. The company claims the 9.8-W A19 Design White lamp delivers the world’s highest lumen output for an LED replacement lamp.

The A19 LED lamp is equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent lamp while consuming only 9.8 watts for a 90 percent reduction in energy consumption, says LEDnovation. The lamp has a total efficacy of 84 lumens per watt, while delivering 830 lumens, which means there is no sacrifice in light output to achieve the power reduction.