It's a 'Package Deal,' When Consumers Buy New GE Halogen Bulbs

If you watch the same news program every night – but one evening, the anchor is out on assignment and a substitute is sitting in his or her seat – will you change the channel or assume that the production, the presentation and the reporting will be largely the same as usual?

Marketing professionals at General Electric Lighting in East Cleveland, Ohio, are betting you won’t reach for the remote control.

And in line with that philosophy, they are offering their new 60-watt energy efficient soft white halogen bulbs in packaging that is nearly indistinguishable from the boxes in which they previously marketed their 60-watt soft white incandescent bulbs.

They anticipate that when loyal customers walk down the lighting aisle at the supermarket, they’ll reach for what looks familiar and reliable.

In fact, General Electric is dealing with the largest change in light bulbs since Thomas Edison patented the incandescent bulb in 1879. On January 1, a U.S. federal law banned the manufacturing of energy guzzling 100-watt standard incandescent bulbs.

And by the beginning of next year, 75-watt bulbs will no longer be manufactured for sale in the United States; followed by the end of 60-watt and 40-watt incandescent light bulbs on January 1, 2014.

With an estimated four billion Edison screw-based light sockets in American homes, the energy savings related to this transition is expected to be huge. After the 100-watt incandescent lamp is phased out, for example, consumers will be able to achieve approximately the same light output by using halogen bulbs of about 72 watts or compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) of about 25 watts.

If the 200 million 100-watt incandescent bulbs sold annually in the U.S. today were replaced with the halogen light bulb, about 4.3 million tons of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases from electricity production nationwide would be eliminated – the equivalent to removing about 750,000 cars from the road.

Looking at it in another way, if 50 percent of U.S. citizens choose halogen light bulbs and 50 percent choose compact fluorescent light bulbs as replacements, the savings would be even greater, with the elimination of 7.8 million tons of carbon dioxide – equivalent to the removal of nearly 1.4 million cars from the roads. This is just the impact of 100-watt light bulbs removed from service.

Less Energy, More Efficiency

The new GE 60-watt energy efficient soft white halogen bulb looks and feels like the age-old incandescent, with a big difference – as much as 28 percent more energy savings. Using halogen technology, the newer bulb requires less energy and costs less to operate than the traditional incandescent bulb. At the same time, it performs like incandescent bulbs and delivers nearly the same brightness – at a slightly higher unit price.

GE has offered halogen bulbs in its portfolio for years, but is currently re-introducing them under the “Energy Efficient Soft White” name. This namesake was intentionally chosen to convey the similarities between incandescent and halogen technologies, as GE’s incandescent bulbs have been marketed as “Soft White” bulbs for years. By adding the energy-efficiency phrase to the halogen version, GE teams hope consumers understand they won’t lose anything by making a switch from standard incandescents – they’ll just save more in efficiencies.

 “The unique thing about the Energy-Efficient Soft White is that it’s a simple replacement,” said Ann Marella, product manager for GE’s Energy-Efficient Soft White bulbs. “It can be used in the same applications as incandescents and provides very similar light output. Basically, the soft white light you use and love today with incandescent bulbs, you’ll have tomorrow with Energy-Efficient Soft White.”

Technology Behind the Bulb

GE’s Energy-Efficient Soft White bulb has a tungsten filament just like the incandescent bulb, but also filled with halogen gas. When a bulb is lit, tungsten from the filament evaporates inside the bulb (a key difference) – providing illumination while allowing the bulb to last longer. The halogen gas then carries the evaporated tungsten particles back to the filament and re-deposits them. This gives the Energy-Efficient Soft White bulb a longer life than traditional incandescent bulbs. 

Key features of the new bulb:

Favorite Incandescent Features Duplicated: Energy-Efficient Soft White bulbs are housed in A-line shells to look just like incandescent bulbs, plus they’re fully dimmable. In addition, while some other energy-efficient alternatives experience a delayed start during the bulb’s warm-up phase, Energy-Efficient Soft White bulbs start instantly. They also emit a warm, inviting white light output very similar to incandescents without running any hotter.

 Energy Savings and Longer Life: Traditional incandescent bulbs last up to 1,000 hours, and the Energy-Efficient Soft White bulb lasts as long or longer. While almost as bright as an incandescent bulb, this technology requires significantly less energy, based on the energy savings calculator at the GE Lighting site.

Best Applications: The Energy-Efficient Soft White bulb is appropriate for most any application, from accent to spotlighting to general lighting. Its warm, white light makes colors appear more vivid in any setting.  

 Variety, Pricing and Availability: This GE bulb is available in 29-,43-,53- and 72-watt varieties—replacing the 40-, 60-, 75- and 100-watt incandescent bulbs, respectively. The new bulbs are offered in Clear, Reveal, Soft White or Soft White Reveal styles at retailers nationwide.

To learn more about the Energy-Efficient Soft White bulb and other energy-efficient alternatives, see this video.