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Innovation

Switch Lighting unveils 100W equivalent LED bulb

Switch Lighting has broken the 100 equivalent barrier with a new passively cooled LED light bulb. The company says that the incandescent light bulb's days are numbered.
Written by David Worthington, Contributor

VantageCapital Partners’ backed start-up Switch Lighting has showed its hand: it has designed a liquid cooled 100 watt-equivalent LED bulb that it says will finally put the incandescent light bulb to rest.

The company is demonstrating the bulb at the LIGHTFAIR International Trade show in Philadelphia this week.The A19 lamp produces 1700 lumens of neutral white light.

The bulb’s internals are self cooling, utilizing passive convection to dissipate heat. Components are designed to be reused, recycled, or reclaimed, the company says.

“Nobody in the LED space can produce this incandescent-quality light. The brightest LED you can see on the shelf is a 60 watt-equivalent. We announced our 75 watt-equivalent last month, now we’re announcing the 100 watt equivalent,” Boris Lipkin, CEO of Switch Lighting, said in a prepared statement.

Switch Lighting is planning on offering a warm white version of the bulb after the second half of 2012. It currently sells 40, 60, and 75W replacement bulbs.

My take is that this product is a welcomed and innovative development in lighting technology, but it is not as novel as it sounds. A Phillips spokesperson told me last month that it would be releasing its own 100W equivalent bulb at some point later this year.

Consumers will be more willing to substitute their trusty light bulbs for an alternative that has a similar size and form factor. Unsightly and oversized CFLs aren’t always an attractive choice.

Update: I've contacted Switch Lighting asking about pricing and the bulb's dimming capabilities.

Update II: A spokesperson said, "The price is ultimately up to the retail outlet; however, our suggested retail price is USD$20-$30. The 75 watt-e will be around $20. We expect all the watts (with the exception of warm white) to be in stores in the Fall- 4th quarter."

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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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