GigaOM » Albeo

Cree launches an LED bulb for under $10

Katie Fehrenbacher — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 15:31:29 +0000

LED chip and parts maker Cree has launched a line of low cost LED bulbs that will be sold at Home Depot, and one even retails for under $10. Some of the cheapest LED bulbs out there sell for $20, and Cree calls its new ultra cheap LED line “the biggest thing since the light bulb” (and it trademarked that phrase, too).

Cree makes the bulk of its revenue from of selling LED chips and components to other LED bulb and lighting makers. The company is profitable and doing well.

On Tuesday Cree also announced a better-than-expected earnings, raising its guidance for its fiscal third quarter, and reported better than expected profit and revenue for the current quarter. Cree earned $20.4 million on revenue of $346.3 million for the most recent quarter. Along with those strong earnings Cree saw its shares jump 12.5 percent in morning trading (as much as 19 percent earlier this morning).

Cree is selling three new LED bulbs: 1). a 40-watt, warm white replacement for $9.97, 2). a 60-watt, warm white replacement for $12.97, and 3). a 60-watt day light for $13.97. Cree says the bulbs save 84 percent of the energy that would be used by comparable incandescent bulbs, last 25 times longer, and come with a 10-year warranty.

As we explained in our research report for GigaOM Pro (subscription required), the LED market has hit a turning point, particularly for commercial and industrial building owners who are installing LEDs because it makes financial sense. Check out our report on LEDs (digest here), written by Ucilia Wang, and here’s our podcast discussion about the report.

It’s been a harder sell to get consumers to buy LEDs, but with new cheap products like this line from Cree that will slowly change. Still, consumers expect super cheap bulbs — compact fluorescents can sell for a buck or two, and incandescents for well under a $1.

Other companies that sell low cost consumer LEDs include GE (which bought LED startup Albeo last year), Philips and Lemnis Lighting, which introduced a bulb last year for under $5. Worldwide sales of LEDs rose 2.1 percent to $13.7 billion in 2012 from $11.3 billion in 2011, and will grow to $16.4 billion by 2017, according to Strategies Unlimited.

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Home LEDs starting to look more normal

Katie Fehrenbacher — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:00:39 +0000

Good bye to Philips yellow, groove-laden LED bulb.

Lighting giant Philips says it’ll start selling a newly designed LED bulb in the new year that actually looks like a normal light bulb. Philips’ current LED bulb that can replace a standard 60 watt incandescent bulb is bright yellow and has silver grooves lining it (see left). Philips will start selling its new white LED home bulb (that doesn’t have those grooves) starting in 2013 at Home Depot stores (see right).

Philips says due to a new air cooling technology that it’s developed called AirFlux, the company was able to eliminate the silver grooves (called heat sink fins) on the former bulb. The company also ditched the bright yellow color, which I always found a little off putting.

Philips’ newly designed normal-looking LED bulb

The new “normal” bulb will cost $25 — which isn’t bad in the LED world — and at launch time interested customers can get $5 off that sticker price. The new bulb is also more energy efficient than the old one.

LEDs are continuing to drop in price and become more mainstream for both industrial and commercial sectors, as well as residential homes. According to GigaOM Pro and Pike Research, by 2020 LEDs will make up nearly half (46 percent) of the $4.4 billion U.S. commercial lamp market.

Startups are also making some headway in the LED market. GE recently bought a startup called Albeo, which makes LED fixtures and platforms. I’ve been testing out the liquid-cooled LED bulb by Switch.

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GE acquires LED startup Albeo

Katie Fehrenbacher — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 19:26:12 +0000

If you haven’t been following the growing buzz around LEDs — energy efficient and long-lasting lighting technology — then this bit of news will no doubt make you take notice: on Monday GE’s lighting division announced that it’s acquiring LED startup Albeo Technologies. The companies didn’t release terms of the deal.

Albeo is a venture-backed startup, based in Boulder, Colorado, that once described itself to us as the Dell of LEDs. The company makes LED fixtures and control systems, and buys the light emitting diodes themselves from big LED manufacturers. In 2007, Albeo switched its focus from the residential market to selling LED systems to industrial and commercial customers.

Good move. According to GigaOM Pro and Pike Research, by 2020 LEDs will make up nearly half (46 percent) of the $4.4 billion U.S. commercial lamp market. According to The Denver Business Journal, Albeo’s revenue have blossomed 430 percent over three years, from $2 million in 2009 to $10.6 million in 2011.

Albeo has found a growing amount of customers with industry like commercial-scale refrigeration, data centers, parking garages, and warehouses — anyplace where companies want to extend the life of the lights as long as possible, and also are large enough to benefit from the energy savings of the more efficient LEDs. LEDs are significantly more efficient than both incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs.

For industry and commercial companies LEDs are starting to be a clear winner. For the residential market — not so much. Most residential LED bulbs are expensive enough that home owners don’t yet see the benefits of the long term energy savings.

Albeo was backed by Denver-based Green Spark Ventures. Update: Braemer Energy Ventures invested in Albeo, too. Exits in the cleantech world have been few and far between.

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