Via inhabitat.com, 29/08/2011
Lighting Science Group and Dixon Technologies India have unveiled the world's first 60-watt equivalent LED lightbulb for under $15! We all know how much electricity LED bulbs save, but up until now, cost has been a major deterrent to people buying them. With their new, cost-effective product, LSG and Dixon hope to change all of that. The cheaper bulb will be available in India by the end of the year and will hit the rest of the world markets early next year.
The high-performance, omnidirectional A19 bulb is the first in a series to come from this new union, which will include street lights, outdoor and industrial lights, and replacement bulbs. It will use 85% less energy than the 8 million conventional incandescent light bulbs used in India and 35% less than the additional 3 million compact fluorescent lamps which contain toxic mercury.
We already know LED lights make an outstanding difference in efficient energy use, but production on a large scale for a great price has the potential to change India's industrial persona all together. The country is expected to build 80 new coal-fired power plants in the next 5 years to keep up with growing electricity needs. Simply changing the lightbulbs to LEDs could reduce this demand by 40%.
Moreover, the production of the LED bulb could mean an incredible boost for the Indian economy. The Indian government is targeting LED light production as it is quickly growing into a $100 billion global industry. Jim Haworth, chairman and chief executive officer of Lighting Science Group said, “As India undergoes an infrastructure transformation in the next few years, the country has an unprecedented opportunity to leapfrog the rest of the world by becoming an early, large-scale adopter of LED technology.”
Both Lighting Science Group and Dixon Technologies are braced for their new bulb to become one of the best-selling lighting products in the world.
