Back in 2008, the Department of Energy (DOE) launched the Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) competition, as instructed by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The L Prize challenged the lighting industry to develop an efficient LED to replace the common 60 watt incandescent bulb. Any entries received were put through rigorous short-term and long-term performance testing. The winning bulb was required to produce more than 900 lumens and also have a 25,000 hour life. In addition, it must also have a Color Rendering Index (CRI) higher than 90 and a Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) between 2700K and 3000K-all while using less than 10 watts of electricity!

For some time after the competition was launched, Philips was the only manufacturer with in entry. Their September 2009 entry went through 18 months of testing addressing everything from product life to extreme conditions. A few other manufacturers expressed interest in the competition, but were unable to produce an entry within the window of time needed for testing.

On August 3, 2011, the DOE announced Philips Lighting North America as the winner of the L Prize competition. As the winner, Philips has received a $10 million cash prize and additional promotions and incentives from L Prize partners.

Here at Bulbs.com, we are equally proud to offer their prize winning LED to you. It's here!