The Five Brightest Ideas From This Year's Lightfair

Lightfair in Philadelphia this week bills itself as the world's largest commercial and architectural lighting trade show. But for the Consumer Reports staffers who test and report on energy-saving lightbulbs, Lightfair is our geeky go-to for the latest in lighting. As competition for the growing LED market heats up, manufacturers are promising lightbulbs that do more and cost less. Here are five developments from the show that turned us on.

Cree: Warm light at the right price
Consumers want energy-saving LEDs that look like incandescent lightbulbs and are lower-priced than earlier LEDs, says Craig Lofton of Cree. It makes perfect sense and explains why Cree recently introduced a $13 LED at Home Depot that's half the price of some and replaces a 60-watt incandescent. The Cree 60W Warm White Dimmable LED looks a lot like an incandescent and in our initial tests it did what it promised—it instantly gave off a warm, bright light. And its 10-year warranty is unusually long. "If you're going out there with a long-life product, you should put the teeth behind it," says Lofton.

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