First it was a challenge to make LEDs that created truly white light instead of that yellowish or bluish glow, but that problem has long been solved. Now the race is on to enhance their efficiency. Cree Inc. just raised the bar, producing a white LED that can crank out 131 lumens per watt. This is not just idle talk, either—the achievement was confirmed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.


This feat leapfrogs Japan-based Nichia Corp., which in March of this year announced a white LED capable of 100 lumens per watt. All this remarkable efficiency is a far cry from everyday incandescent bulbs which suck up gobs of energy and create lots of heat, all the while only giving up 10 to 20 lumens per watt. Heck, even compact fluorescents can only do 50 to 60 lumens per watt.

These ultra high-efficiency LEDs will prove themselves to be valuable not only in solar lighting fixtures, but in everyday uses around the home and everywhere else, too. Now if they can just get the cost of manufacturing these LEDs down to a reasonable level, the energy savings could be world-changing.


New Record for LED Lumens-per-watt. The End is Near! [Dvorak Uncensored]

