

  (Source: Philips)


I. Koninklijke Philips Wins the L Prize


Philips L Prize

A video on the testing process is seen below:




L Prize award
[Image Source: DOE/Koninklijke Philips]




Philips L Prize Bulb









Note 2:

Sources: DOE, Philips, Light Bulb Emporium [order]

Comments     Threshold


RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By chmilz on 2/27/2012 11:17:12 AM , Rating: 5
I'd consider these as they drop in price. CCFL, while cheap, seem to be less reliable than good 'ol incandescent bulbs, but are full of nasty stuff that makes me cringe when I have to throw them out.

By GulWestfale on 2/27/2012 11:48:13 AM , Rating: 2
i've been thinking of switching s well, and while i'm not going to buy 50 dollar light bulbs anytime soon, i hope that these philips' bulbs will help to lower the cost and improve the performance of other, 'lesser' LED bulbs.

oh, and at the top of the article it says the prize was 20 million, why did philips on get half of that?

By fic2 on 2/27/2012 12:07:58 PM , Rating: 3
You should recycle them. The very few times that I have had one burn out I put it in a ziplock bag and take it to home depot which has a recycling box.

BTW, they aren't "full of" - the amount of mercury in an average CFL is about the size of a period (.).

RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By Schrag4 on 2/27/2012 12:12:05 PM , Rating: 2

I, too, am considering switching to LEDs, but I don't understand why you cringe at that "nasty stuff". Where do you think the mercury in CFLs came from? It's not like we imported it from a different planet. Not only that, but many areas have a place you can drop off old CFLs if you're really that worried about it (and if you're really REALLY worried about it, you can send them somewhere).

RE: I would buy this over CCFL any time.
By AnnihilatorX on 2/27/2012 12:25:31 PM , Rating: 2
Mercury is either mined or from recycled material. That's irrelevant though, mineral mercury is not harmful, but the metallic form is.

The problem is, not everyone does bother to recycle, and some do end up in landfills and ultimately ground water.

Even if everyone recycles, CCFL is still not as good as LEDs for handling. If you drop one, it's still a health hazard. There's absolutely no advantage to them apart from efficiency and cost. The latter is only due to economy of scale. Once LEDs fill the shelves, they will become dirt cheap.

By mindless1 on 3/3/2012 12:18:45 PM , Rating: 2
Answer this: Do you eat fish? The average person who uses CFL bulbs ingests more mercury from fish than they come in contact with from CFL bulbs. Personally I've never come in contact with any mercury from CFLs. None.

There are lots of things in your home and life which are potentially "toxic", you merely have to act accordingly. Don't rub fertilizer all over your body. Don't put drain cleaner in your soup. Don't lick the circuit boards from old electronic equipment.

To put down something because it's not compatible with the human body is irrelevant when it's not meant to be worn or eaten. PS - don't rub your hands all over broken shards of CFL glass either, since you seen to think this is likely enough to mention.

By VahnTitrio on 2/27/2012 1:08:59 PM , Rating: 2
There should be bulbs at the $20 price point that aren't quite as efficient. I think most are about 800 lumens for about 12 watts of power. Also if the bulb meets energy star there should be a mail in rebate.

