Lighting Sciences Group today introduced an LED bulb designed as a replacement for a 60-watt incandescent that will be available next month for under $30.

The company announced the bulb at a ceremony at its Satellite Beach, Fla., headquarters, where it manufactured its 1 millionth LED light with the familiar "A" shape of an incandescent bulb.

The light dispersal from Lighting Sciences 60-watt equivalent LED, which consumes 13 watts.

 

A 40-watt equivalent LED bulb has been available through Home Depot since earlier this year, priced just under $18. The 60-watt replacement category is more significant because it's one of the most popular for lightbulbs, with hundreds of millions sold every year.

Lighting Sciences said that its latest A19 bulb will give off 850 lumens and consume 13 watts, and that it will last 50,000 hours, or almost 23 years assuming 6 hours a day of use.

The A19 will be available under the Definity brand through lighting distributors in late January and be available in Home Depot stores in March, according to a representative from Lighting Sciences Group.

The light of the company's existing A19 bulb is a white light at 3000 Kelvin, rather than the warmer yellow light of incandescent bulbs.

Lighting manufacturers are embracing LED technology because it offers a good technical path for improving efficiency, even compared to compact florescent lights. Right now, LED bulbs are slightly more efficient than EnergyStar-certified CFLs when measured on lumens per watt. LEDs are projected to last many times longer than CLFs and don't contain mercury. Lighting Science Group said its LED bulbs can be recycled.

In terms of price, Lighting Sciences appears to be one of the most aggressive, and industry executives expect the price to decrease steadily over the next few years.

Philips started selling its Ambient A19 LED, which gives off 800 lumens of warm light, through Home Depot this month for $40. Osram Sylvania will start selling its 810-lumen LED bulb through Lowe's for just under $40.

General Electric earlier this month started selling a 40-watt equivalent online for $50. It is seeking to differentiate itself with a design that better disperses light, making it suitable for desk lamps and other applications that require even light distribution.