Text-Alternative Version: L Prize Partners Video

Following is a text version of the L Prize Partners video.

James Brodrick, Lighting Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy: Our L Prize partners-- these are utilities and regional efficiency groups--have joined with DOE in looking at shepherding this technology forward. They are the field test participants. They took effort to find the location, make sure that the lamps all got in, do some measurements, ask some people what they thought. They also have helped us in writing specifications and expectations, and after the award is made, then they'll be part of the players who bring the product to the market.

Title: Why are you an L Prize partner?

Gabe Arnold, Senior Consultant, Optimal Energy: It's very clear to us that these LED light bulbs are going to be the bulb of the future, and it's just really important that we start to gain some of that feedback from people right now.

Liesel Whitney-Schulte, Commercial Lighting Program Manager, Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation: We want to make sure that we're offering support to a product that the customer is going to find reliable and acceptable, that it's going to be aesthetically pleasing, it's going to meet their application needs to appropriately replace the light source that they're looking at, in this case an A-19 60 Watt incandescent lamp.

Chad Bulman, Program Manager, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance: At this point, what we're really interested in doing is proving that this sort of advance in residential lighting is possible.

Kelly Cota, Lighting Program Manager, National Grid: We love, as utilities, data. We love evaluation. We love anything that we can receive from, especially the Department of Energy that can showcase claimed energy savings on an actual project.

Title: Where did you field-test L Prize bulbs?

Margaret Song, Residential Program Manager, Cape Light Compact: We really focused purely on residential, single-family and multi-family.

Gabe Arnold: A disabled and elderly housing facility.

Liesel Whitney-Schulte: Several restaurant sites. They're different types: one is more of a boutique-type of gallery restaurant, and another is a fast-food restaurant. We also put some in hotel applications, common areas.

Kelly Cota: Those spaces that bridge the gap between residential and commercial.

Chad Bulman: A large enclosed fixture in a ceiling in a large open ballroom space.

Liesel Whitney-Schulte: One where the light source is hidden in a nice frosted glass shade.

Chad Bulman: Sconce fixtures on the wall.

Liesel Whitney-Schulte: Some in open-style fixtures where the lamp is actually exposed.

Margaret Song: Desk lamps, floor lamps, and bathroom vanities.

Title: What was the outcome?

Margaret Song: Generally-speaking, people have been very pleased.

Chad Bulman: The light output was evaluated as being as bright as it needed to be. The color temperature of the light was surprisingly good for LED products, which tend toward the cooler color temperatures. The folks who had evaluated the light or had taken a look at the light said that they overwhelmingly would recommend it to others.

Gabe Arnold: Everybody was really quite interested and I was very surprised at how many were aware of this LED technology already, and were asking questions about it when they heard what we were doing.

Kelly Cota: You really have to look at the environment it's going into and the application of the product, meaning if it's a downlight, wall sconce, or a decorative pendant. So, I think we're having a learning curve as well, along with the customer.

Chad Bulman: We've actually been talking to a lot of lighting professionals and those who have close ties to the industry--people like architects and lighting designers and that sort of thing, and we've gotten really good feedback as far as the quality of light goes. We're seeing the L Prize product up in fixtures where these lighting designers were afraid to try out energy-efficient products in the past.

Title: What impact will the L Prize competition have?

Margaret Song: It's really helpful, as a whole, to understand what's happening in different applications, and the more that we can educate customers on where to put those applications, the better for the customer, for us as an energy-efficiency partner, and for the manufacturer, because we're learning before we even deploy.

Kelly Cota: We're also transforming the market into a different way of thinking, that yes, it's reducing your carbon footprint and yes, you're going to save because it doesn't have mercury-base, but can it really work into the environment that you have? You have to look at dimming concerns. So, we want to see all of that data piled into one, and that's what the L Prize can do for us.

Chad Bulman: If Philips can pull it off, then they can show the rest of the lighting industry that it's possible, that they should be moving in this direction if they want to walk with the leaders. What we're doing here is trying to advance the lighting industry toward better efficacy, better quality of light, and more flexibility in the way that you apply your lighting.