(Credit: Mypharox.com)

Last week Lemnis Lighting grabbed headlines in the United States when it began selling the Pharox60 LED, a light-emitting diode product that the company describes as the “first true replacement for the incandescent bulb.” Indeed, there are many noteworthy features of the Pharox60.

The company says the bulb gives off a warm light, is dimmable and is 90 percent more energy efficient than an incandescent. And while the $40 price tag may seem steep, the bulb lasts an estimated 25 years and pays for itself in energy savings after the first three, according to Lemnis.

But one claim in particular — that the Pharox60 uses just six watts of electricity but gives off enough light to replace a 60-watt incandescent — caught the attention of Green Inc. The light output of the Pharox60 is 336 lumens, which falls well shy of the amount of light given off by most 60-watt bulbs.

“Hopefully, consumers know that 336 lumens is low output for a 60 watt,” said James Brodrick, manager of the solid state lighting program at the Department of Energy. “Roughly, it should be 850 lumens or better.”

When Green Inc. asked about the claim back in May when the bulb was previewed at a lighting industry trade show, Warner Philips, the founder of Lemnis, said that the light output was comparable to that of a 60-watt incandescent, depending on where the bulb was used and for what purpose.

This week, Mr. Philips continued to stand by this position, adding that if you use the Pharox60 in a directional way (“either pointing down from recessed cans, or pointing up from a relatively low position, e.g., a coffee table”), the 60-watt claim is a fair one.

However, in a follow-up conversation, Mr. Philips conceded that the way information is presented on the Pharox60 label “might insinuate that it could replace any 60-watt incandescent.” This was after he had consulted with officials at the Department of Energy and Energy Star.

“We’re considering changing the packaging,” Mr. Philips told Green Inc. “It might even be misleading.”

Mr. Philips said the equivalency claim was based on how the light functions from a “consumer experience approach,” rather than a technical one. In focus groups conducted by the company, he explained, people felt that the light from the Pharox60 was comparable to that of a 60-watt incandescent.

“If you show people the quality of light without getting into technical specifics, they say, ‘Wow, this is great,’” Mr. Philips said.

Lemnis thinks the Pharox60 could be the first product to qualify for the soon-to-be started Energy Star program for LED replacement bulbs. Under the draft specifications, however, the Pharox60’s light output would need to increase appreciably to get to the 800 lumens required to qualify as a replacement for a standard 60-watt incandescent, or the 450 lumens required to replace a standard 40-watt bulb.

The company will begin considering changes to the label right away. “We don’t want to be misleading,” Mr. Philips said. “It would be a very short term advantage.”