New light bulb that lasts 20 years to go on sale in the US.

A new light bulb from multinational Phillips will be sold in the US for as much as $60, but it is a perhaps the most environmentally friendly ever made, lasting 20 years and using LED technology. It is hoped the price of the bulb will come down to $20 in the future.

The new bulb won the ‘Bright Tomorrow’ competition organised by the US department of energy and is designed to be an alternative to traditional incandescent light bulbs. The competition aimed to find a light bulb that was energy efficient, yet gave off the same type of ‘warm’ light which makes traditional bulbs so attractive to consumers. This has been one of the key stumbling blocks in making energy efficient bulbs more widespread.

Even though the bulbs are more energy efficient than previous LED bulbs, there is stiff competition from fluorescent lights, which are significantly cheaper. Sales of the older incandescent light bulbs are being phased out, with Europe already banning them and the US moving towards a ban for bulbs 40 watts and above by 2014.

The incandescent bulb traditionally had an efficiency of 5 per cent or less, with the rest of the energy being turned into heat, rather than light. Halogen incandescents are around 9 per cent efficient, fluorescent lamps around 20 per cent efficient and LEDs even more so. This can translate to an 85 per cent cut in carbon footprint if a building switches to LED bulbs. It is hoped that new developments like this will make that change a reality.