LED Designers, What Are You Waiting For?

February 12, 2008 – Buried in Section 655 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, there are prizes! “Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prizes,” to be specific. The U.S. Government is establishing criteria for LED lighting prizes and the awards that will accompany them–not the cheap metal rings or plastic animals once found in Cracker Jack boxes, but substantial amounts of money.

The 60-WATT INCANDESCENT REPLACEMENT LAMP PRIZE goes to an entrant that produces a solid-state light package simultaneously capable of the following:

• Produces a luminous flux greater than 900 lumens
• Consumes less than or equal to 10 watts with a luminous flux greater than 900 lumens
• Has an efficiency of 90 lumens/watt
• Fits within the maximum dimensions of an A19 bulb
• Fits into a standard single contact medium screw socket
• Can be mass produced

The HALOGEN REPLACEMENT LAMP PRIZE goes to an LED lighting package that

• Produces a luminous flux greater than or equal to 1,350 lumens
• Consumes less than or equal to 11 watts
• Has an efficiency greater than 123 lumens per watt
• Fits within the maximum dimensions of a PAR 38 halogen lamp
• Can be mass produced

Note: for the 60 watt and halogen replacement prizes, these are extracts from the full lists of criteria, which are detailed and go from (A) to (J) in the the full text of the act. If you’re an interested party, you must read the full criteria.

Finally there’s the TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY LAMP PRIZE. Here are the full criteria for the award, which goes to the LED lighting package that

• Produces a light output greater than 1,200 lumens
• Has an efficiency greater than 150 lumens per watt
• Has a color rendering index greater than 90
• Has a color coordinate temperature between 2,800 and 3,000 degrees Kelvin
• Has a lifetime exceeding 25,000 hours

And the awards?

• For the 60-Watt Incandescent Replacement Lamp Prize, $10,000,000
• For the PAR Type 38 Halogen Replacement Lamp Prize, $5,000,000
• For the Twenty-First Century Lamp Prize, $5,000,000

The Federal Government also pledges to replace 60 watt incandescents and PAR Type Halogen lamps with the LED packages described in the awards, and pledges to do so as soon as practicable but no later than five years of awarding the prize.

Fairly obviously, winning one of these prizes will also provide the designer with more than immediate rewards. Also, meeting these criteria will represent a major step forward in the development of LED lighting and its widespread entry into the market.

Find out more about EISA 2007.