Energy Efficient Incandescent Lamp from General Electric

February 2007

CLEVELAND, - GE Consumer & Industrial's Lighting division, a world leader in the development of energy-efficient lighting products, today announced advancements to the light bulb invented by GE's founder Thomas Edison that potentially will elevate the energy efficiency of this 125-year-old technology to levels comparable to compact fluorescent lamps, delivering significant environmental benefits.

Over the next several years, these advancements will lead to the introduction of high-efficiency incandescent lamps that provide the same high light quality, brightness and color as current incandescent lamps while saving energy and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

The new high efficiency incandescent lamp, which incorporates innovative new materials being developed in partnership by GE’s Lighting division, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and GE’s Global Research Center, headquartered in Niskayuna, NY, would replace traditional 40- to 100-watt household incandescent light bulbs, the most popular lamp type used by consumers today.

The new technology could be expanded to all other incandescent types as well. The target for these bulbs at initial production is to be nearly twice as efficient, at 30 lumens-per-watt, as current incandescent bulbs. Ultimately the high efficiency lamp (HEI) technology is expected to be about four times as efficient as current incandescent bulbs and comparable to CFL bulbs.

Adoption of new technology could lead to greenhouse gas emission reductions of up to 40 million tons of CO2 in the U.S. and up to 50 million tons in the EU if the entire installed base of traditional incandescent bulbs was replaced with HEI lamps.

GE’s announcement was made in conjunction with its decision to support legislation in the EU, the United States and in other areas that would accelerate the introduction of all types of high efficiency lighting products as part of the global effort to promote energy security and reduce emission of greenhouse gases. GE’s HEI would support attainment of the objectives of the European Commission’s Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which aims to reduce Europe’s energy consumption 20 percent by the year 2020.

GE has invested more than $200 million in the last four years on the development of energy efficient lighting, including reduced-powered Miser light bulbs to high-efficiency Par 38 halogen lamps and Energy Smart compact fluorescent lamps. The U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have recognized its contributions to energy efficiency and GHG reductions every year since 2004 with the Energy Star Award, and in 2006 with the Energy Star Award for Sustained Excellence. GE's 67 Energy Star-qualified lighting products sold in 2006 alone will, over their lifetime, reduce consumers’ electricity costs by $1.3 billion and prevent 500 million tons of GHG emissions.