GE plans global debut of LED bulb to replace 100-watt incandescent

GE Lighting will illuminate a light-emitting diode replacement for the 100-watt incandescent light bulb this week.

GE said the GE Energy Smart LED incandescent replacement bulb, including the coming 100-watt replacement, offers smooth, incandescent-like dimming, minus the stepped dimming, flicker, shimmer, pop-on, drop-off or even inaction that plague other LED bulbs touting a dimming capability. GE's LED bulbs also feature an aesthetically pleasing incandescent size and shape, and a design that allows for a soft-white appearance when turned off, a consumer preference that GE discovered through market research.

Developed at its LED lab in East Cleveland, Ohio, the LED bulb packages 27 watts of input power in a standard ''A-19'' bulb shape. The GE Energy Smart 27-watt LED bulb incorporates proprietary synthetic jet technology that was made possible by GE's collaboration with ecomaginationSM Challenge winner Nuventix, creator of LED cooling technologies for energy-efficient lighting.

Nuventix, with its SynJet technology product line, has been providing thermal management solutions since 2003 for chips in LED lighting to computing, providing quiet and energy efficient cooling solutions in a variety of sizes and form factors.

LEDs are semiconductors that produce light. They must be cooled to ensure long life. In collaboration with GE, Nuventix developed a method for moving air to cool LEDs using an oscillating membrane, called a synthetic jet (an alternative to a fan), which fits within the envelope of the A-19 bulb shape.

''We expected our collaboration with GE Lighting would power some big advances in the application of lighting,'' notes Jim Balthazar, CEO and president of Nuventix. ''Once we came together last year, our teams wasted no time getting in the lab to build on the genius of GE's LED bulb design, and to incorporate a synthetic jet solution that enabled GE to leapfrog its competitors. We're a leader helping a leader, and it's going to benefit consumers that want high quality LED lighting that performs as promised.''