Cree sells efficient LED downlight through Home Depot
Prices for energy efficient and long-lasting LEDs inch downward. Home Depot is now offering a downlight made by Cree for under $50 online.
LED lighting company Cree on Wednesday is expected to announce it is supplying downlights to Home Depot for sale online, adding another LED to the retailer's lighting offerings.
The downlights, which fit into a six-inch recessed lighting can on ceilings, use 10.5 watts and put out as much light as a 65-watt incandescent bulb. The price for the lights, available under Home Depot's EcoSmart brand, is $49.95.
In addition to being more efficient, Cree says these bulbs give off familiar light to people accustomed to incandescents and they will last for 35,000 hours, which could be 30 years.
Cree said that the CR6 downlight, first introduced earlier this year but now available at retail, will have a rating of 2700 Kelvin and CRI (color rendering index) of 90. In addition to making its own bulbs, Cree supplies components to other lighting companies, including General Electric which plans to introduce a general-purpose LED bulb later this year.
Downlights, often used in kitchens, are well-suited for LED technology because the light tends to be directed, rather than diffused more evenly like incandescent bulbs. There are 20 million downlights sold every year in the U.S. and there are 500 million installed, according to Cree.
Earlier this summer, Home Depot began selling LED bulbs designed for general lighting online. A 40-watt equivalent LED, made by Lighting Sciences Group, is expected to be available in stores for under $20 next month.