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Transforming the

lighting landscape
The L Prize Competition

The Energy Independence and Security Act of

2007 directed the U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE) to establish the Bright Tomorrow Lighting

Prize (L Prize) competition. The legislation challenges industry to develop replacement technologies

for two of today’s most widely used and inefficient

products: 60W incandescent lamps and PAR 38

halogen lamps. It also calls for development of a 21st

Century Lamp that delivers more than 150 lm/W.

The legislation establishes basic requirements and

prize amounts for each category. Up to three winners

are possible in each category, with the first to meet

all requirements receiving the cash prize. To draw on

lessons learned from past lighting market introduction experiences, DOE worked with leading energy

efficiency programs and utilities to tap their deep

expertise in developing a comprehensive technology

competition program.

L Prize product submissions must meet strict technical specifications to ensure compliance with the

general requirements outlined in the legislation, with

additional details specified for quality, performance,

and mass manufacturing. Lighting products meeting

the competition requirements will consume only

about 17 percent of the energy used by most

common incandescent lamps today.

The competition also includes a rigorous evaluation

process for proposed products, including product testing by independent laboratories and field assessments

in real world conditions. For more details on the

competition requirements, visit www.lightingprize.org.

Competition Requirements

60W Incandescent Replacement Lamp

• More than 90 lm/W

• Less than 10 watts

• More than 900 lumens

• More than 25,000 hour life

• More than 90 CRI

• Between 2700– 3000 K CCT

PAR 38 Halogen Replacement Lamp

• More than 123 lm/W

• Less than 11 watts

• More than 1,350 lumens

• More than 25,000 hour life

• More than 90 CRI

• Between 2700–3000 K CCT

21st Century Lamp

• To be defined in a future L Prize

Program Announcement

Transforming the lighting landscape

Lighting products meeting the competition

requirements will consume only about 17% of

the energy used by most common incandescent

lamps today.

The L PrizeSM competition is the first government-sponsored technology

competition designed to spur lighting manufacturers to develop high-quality,

high-efficiency solid-state lighting products to replace the common light bulb. The

competition will recognize winning products as the best of the best, offer immediate

market potential for sales (opportunities for federal purchasing agreements, partner

program promotions, and incentives), and award a cash prize.

The L Prize competition aims to substantially accelerate America’s shift from

inefficient, dated lighting products to innovative, high-performance products. Just

as Thomas Edison transformed illumination over a century ago, the L Prize will

drive innovation and market adoption. DOE welcomed the first competition entry in

September 2009.
Entry

Package

Submission

Evaluation Part 1:

Performance testing

Evaluation Part 2:

Manufacturing capability assessment

Lumen maintenance testing

Field assessments

Stress testing

L Prize

Winners

Announced

Intent to

Submit

Competition Process

To download the complete competition requirements, visit www.lightingprize.org.

Leaders for Change in Illumination Technology

A growing number of utilities and energy efficiency organizations in North America have signed

on with the U.S. Department of Energy as L Prize partners, agreeing to work cooperatively to

promote high-efficiency solid-state lighting technologies. These partners are prepared to assist in

evaluation of product submissions and to implement incentives and promotions to stimulate

additional sales for the award-winning products.

Product evaluation

During the competition, these program partners will assist in product evaluations by conducting

field assessments of proposed products and providing input to the overall evaluation process and

selection of the winners.

Product promotion

Program partners will also play an important role in promoting and developing markets for

the winning L Prize products. Product promotions might include utility incentives, collaborative

marketing and educational campaigns, retail partnerships, and demonstrations.

Join us

Learn more about becoming an L Prize partner at www.lightingprize.org.

Potential to reach 100 million consumers L Prize Partners

Ameren Illinois Utilities

Cape Light Compact

Commonwealth Edison

Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund

Connecticut Light & Power

DTE Energy

Efficiency Vermont

Energy Trust of Oregon

Eugene Water and Electric Board

green Tbiz, Toronto Association of

Business Improvement Areas

Long Island Power Authority

Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance

(covers 13 states)

National Grid

Natural Resources Defense Council

New York State Energy Research

and Development Authority

Northeast Energy Efficiency

Partnerships (covers 8 states)

NSTAR Electric

NV Energy

Pacific Gas & Electric

Platte River Power Authority

Progress Energy

Puget Sound Energy

Sacramento Municipal Utility

District

San Diego Gas & Electric

Seattle City Light

Southern California Edison

United Illuminating Company

Wisconsin Energy Conservation

Corporation
Visit www.lightingprize.org for

more details on competition

guidelines and how to become

a program partner.

About Solid-State Lighting

Solid-state lighting has the potential to reduce lighting energy use by one-third percent, and to revolutionize

the efficiency, appearance, and quality of lighting. No other lighting technology offers so much potential to

save energy, at a time when our nation needs bold solutions to vastly reduce our energy consumption.

The U.S. Department of Energy has made a long-term commitment to provide national leadership to

advance research, development, and market introduction of solid-state lighting. The L Prize competition aims

to accelerate the development and market adoption of innovative, high-performance products that will save

significant amounts of energy and millions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy Savings and Environmental Impact: 60W Incandescent Replacement Winner

If every socket in the U.S. converted from 60W incandescent lamps to the 10W L Prize winner, the

country would save approximately 34.0 terawatt-hours of electricity in one year, and avoid 5.6 million metric

tons of carbon emissions. That’s enough electricity to power the lights of 17.4 million U.S. households.

Energy Savings and Environmental Impact: PAR 38 Halogen Replacement Winner

If all 141 million reflector lamp sockets in the U.S. converted overnight to use the new L Prize lamp,

the country would save approximately 15.6 terawatt-hours of electricity per year and avoid roughly 2.6

million metric tons of carbon emissions. These savings are equal to the annual electricity consumption

of the entire state of Wyoming.

January 2010

1 Printed with soy ink on recycled paper.

For more information contact:

EERE Information Center

1- 877- EERE- INF (1- 877- 337- 3463)

www.eere.energy.gov

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