I came across this article where Panasonic has announced a new line of LED bulbs that has expected lifetime of 19 years. This estimate expects five and half hours of usage per day. I hope the way this is measured is not the same as laptop battery life calibrations.
Panasonic also claims an estimated $23/year/bulb savings. However, this Slashdot article puts the cost of the bulb at $40.
These bulbs are hitting the stores in Japan from October 21st, 2009. The comments in the Slashdot article compares benefits of Compact Florescent to LEDs. CFL bulb at $2 and 10 years life expectancy and equal energy savings looks like an cheaper alternative. But some users seem to have their CFL replaced within 2 years. So, as I suspected, the test environment to measure life expectancy, is too ideal to be true. Still, its definitely better than incandescent bulb and more accessible than LEDs.Labels: CFL, EverLed, LED bulbs, Panasonic