Solid-State Lighting R&D

L Prize® Competition Drives Technology Innovation, Energy Savings

In challenging manufacturers to develop high-quality lighting products that set leading-edge performance benchmarks for the industry, the L Prize became a gift that keeps on giving.

Lighting accounts for one-fifth of all the electricity consumed in the United States, and most lighting products are far Long-term testing of the L Prize entry was conducted in a specially designed high-tempera- ture apparatus at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. from energy efficient. That’s why, at the behest of Congress, the U.S. Department of Energy launched the L Prize competi- The Winner tion in 2008. The goal was to challenge In late 2009, the L Prize competition MARKET IMPACTS industry to develop high-quality, high- received its first entry—a product from of L Prize Competition efficiency solid-state lighting (SSL) Philips Lighting North America intended products and to move the market to adopt When DOE launched the competition to replace the 60W incandescent bulb. in 2008, most LED replacement bulbs those products much more quickly than The 2,000 samples submitted by Philips were of poor quality and wouldn’t satisfy would otherwise occur. went through a rigorous 18-month evalu- consumers looking for an LED lamp to replace a 60W incandescent bulb. DOE recognized that rewarding inno- ation that included industry-standard vation without regard to practicality photometric testing, stress testing under • Philips’ entry helped catalyze market wouldn’t have an impact on the coun- extreme conditions, and long-term competition and pushed industry try’s energy use. To win the L Prize, it lumen maintenance testing at elevated toward a clear target. As a result, prices wasn’t enough for an entry to meet the temperatures. In addition, field assess- dropped and performance improved competition’s ultra-high standards for ments were conducted by L Prize part- to the point where there are now many competitive LED 60W replacement energy efficiency, output, light quality, ners to see how the product performed in bulbs on the market. distribution, and lifetime—its manufac- real-world settings. turer had to also demonstrate the capac- • Technology advances developed by The Philips entry met all requirements ity for mass production, a substantial Philips for the L Prize entry inspired a and, in August 2011, was declared the amount of which had to be done in the new technology platform, accelerating L Prize winner in the 60W replacement United States. enhancements to the company’s category. The product hit retail shelves successive product designs. Thirty-one utilities and energy effi- on Earth Day 2012. This energy-saving lamp was comparable to a 60W incan- • Philips estimates that this family of ciency organizations from across North products reached sales representing descent in color quality (CRI = 93, CCT America signed on as partners to provide more than $51.3 million in energy real-world insight and feedback to the = 2727 K), light distribution, and light savings in the first two years alone. L Prize competition. output (940 lumens) but consumed less than 10W (a savings of 83%), and at 25,000 hours of testing, the actual lumen maintenance was 100%, with chromatic- ity change at less than .002.

BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES OFFICE BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES OFFICE

Spawning Generations of What is the L Prize? Energy Savings Ed Crawford, head of Lamps and When the L Prize competition was Lighting Electronics at Philips The Energy Independence and Security announced, the performance targets were Lighting North America, credits the Act of 2007 directed DOE to establish the L Prize competition, which is designed to a huge stretch. The few omnidirectional L Prize with pushing his company spur development of ultra-efficient solid- LED replacement lamps on the market to focus its research efforts on LED state lighting products to replace two of were more like 25W or 40W incandescent bulbs—accelerating those efforts today’s most widely used and inefficient lamps in output, with wide variations in three to five years ahead of where technologies—60W incandescent lamps size, shape, and color quality—not to they would have been without the and PAR38 halogen lamps—as well as mention exaggerated performance claims. competition. create a 21st Century Lamp that delivers Today, LED 60W replacement products are more than 150 lm/W. ubiquitous and have light output equivalent • The L Prize for the 60W replacement to a 60W or higher incandescent, and 75W Increasing Our Knowledge category was awarded in August 2011. and 100W LED replacement bulbs are also The L Prize competition has also signifi- widely available. Consumers are benefit- • The PAR38 competition was suspended cantly increased our knowledge about SSL ting from this steady improvement in LED in June 2014 because no entries had technology and its capabilities. In order been received during the 11 months the replacement lamp performance, along with to win the competition, the Philips entry solicitation was available. significant price decreases. had survived more than 8,000 hours of • The complete competition requirements Philips’ L Prize entry helped catalyze accelerated long-term testing in a specially constructed apparatus at Pacific North- for the 21st Century category have not market competition and pushed the whole yet been published. west National Laboratory under elevated industry toward a clear target, setting the ambient temperatures (45° C). After the bar for consumer satisfaction and success. prize was awarded, those samples —which, The technology innovations in the L Prize maticity change (∆uʹvʹ) of the lamps after when new, emitted at least 900 lumens winner—including more-efficacious LED 50,182 hours of operation was 0.002— while consuming less than 10W— contin- chips, electronic miniaturization, better a minuscule difference indicating that there ued to be tested, with 31 of them randomly heat transfer, improved optics, and remote was no detectable color shift, and that the selected to continue the testing through phosphors—have had a lasting impact on light emitted today is indistinguishable more than 50,000 hours of continuous the company’s LED offerings, finding their from the light emitted five years ago. The operation. way into millions of subsequent products fact that the L Prize-winning bulbs were that continue to save massive amounts of The average lumen maintenance for those still going strong after more than 50,000 energy each year. Philips estimated that 31 lamps after 50,182 hours (reached in hours serves as a powerful reminder of after the prize was awarded, this family of August 2016) was 93.0%—well above the the exceptional performance possible with products reached sales representing more commonly used industry benchmark of well-designed LED products, and validates than $51.3 million in energy savings in the 70%—and not a single lamp among them the methods being used for predicting first two years alone. had failed. What’s more, the average chro- performance.

Philips Lighting North America’s L Prize-winning technology has enabled subsequent generations of energy-saving products.

For more information, visit: energy.gov/eere/solid-state-lighting

DOE/EE-1141 • October 2016