An LED That Mimics an Old Standby

[phantom power]

The device (which the lighting industry calls a lamp, not a bulb) uses 12 watts, 80 percent less electricity than the standard 60-watt incandescent, and emits nearly as much light. (Watts are a unit of power; light is measured in lumens.) It’s supposed to last 25,000 hours, which is about three years of continuous use, or about 11 years if used for six hours a day.

The company has not announced the price, but L.E.D.’s meant to replace 40-watt bulbs are expected to be in the $20 range.

Rick Leaman, the chief executive of Osram Sylvania, would like some help selling them. He said the company had surveyed its customers and determined that, two years after Congress voted for the coming phase-out, 74 percent of the public is oblivious to it.

“We haven’t moved the needle in awareness,’’ Mr. Leaman said. And when lamps start to disappear from store shelves, “there will be a big backlash,’’ he said.

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/an-l-e-d-that-mimics-an-old-standby/