| At the end of October, at the annual Cree shareholder meeting, the company’s chairman and CEO Chuck Swoboda demonstrated an A-lamp LED light bulb with an output of 969 lumens at 102 lm/W efficacy.
According to Cree, this represents the highest lumen output and efficacy reported in the industry.
The light output is equivalent to that produced by a 65-watt incandescent bulb, but the LED version uses only 9.5 watts.
The demonstration A-19-style bulb features the latest Cree production XLamp® XP-G LEDs and TrueWhite Technology, a patented method of delivering warm-white light with superior color rendering and efficiency.
The lamp delivers a 2800 K warm-white light with a 91 CRI. Cree said that all data was verified by third-party testing under steady-state operating conditions.
“We are pushing the industry by demonstrating what’s possible,” said Swoboda. “With every improvement in LED components, new applications become achievable. We are excited to show the world not only what can be done, but what they should expect in an LED light bulb.”
Philips recently became the first company to submit an LED lamp for the US government’s L Prize (see News). The performance requirements for an LED replacement for a 60-Watt incandescent lamp include light output of more than 900 lumens, energy consumption of less than 10 watts, and efficacy of more than 90 lm/W. CRI should exceed 90 with a color temperature in the 2700-3000K range. The Philips lamp is under evaluation.
It remains unclear whether Cree may plan to manufacture LED lamps in the future, or to license its technology and/or sell its LEDs to an established bulb maker (GE, perhaps?) with channels to market. | 
