by Shane Henson — September 9, 2011—A new LED bulb produced through a joint venture by Lighting Science Group and Dixon Technologies is expected to transform the lighting markets in India and emerging countries, continuing the worldwide trend towards more energy-efficient lighting. The technology offers an eco-friendly option to facilities managers searching for a way to better light their facilities while significantly reducing costs.
The two companies recently unveiled the Lighting Science Definity bulb, a high-performance, omnidirectional 60-watt equivalent A19 LED bulb, at a conference in India. It will be available in India by the end of the year and will be sold worldwide by Lighting Science Group early next year.
According to Lighting Science Group officials, the bulb fits perfectly into existing screw-in light sockets and creates a clean, bright light level equivalent to a conventional 60-watt incandescent bulb, but uses 85 percent less electricity and is designed to handle the variable quality of power in India and other emerging economies.
Even compared with relatively efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), the new bulb uses 35 percent less electricity and, unlike all fluorescent lights, contains no toxic mercury. At a retail price that is below $15, the payback from electricity savings versus traditional incandescent light bulbs is eight months, and the LED bulb has an expected life of approximately eight years.
“With 800,000,000 incandescent light bulbs and 300,000,000 CFLs sold in India each year, the market is ripe for these highly efficient, long-lasting and nontoxic products,” said Atul Lall, deputy managing director of Dixon Technologies. “The economic and environmental implications of this partnership are significant: old-style light bulbs use 60 billion units of electricity each year, seven percent of India’s total, and our Lighting Science Group Definity lamps could save over 70 percent of that, equivalent to 32 coal-fired plants with 500MW capacity.”
