The next generation of high-efficiency, cost-saving lighting has arrived in the form of LED lighting technology. While the LED itself was first discovered almost a century ago, with the first practical devices being developed in the early 1960’s in the United States, this technology has now been applied to creating the white light needed for general use in the form of LED lighting.

LED bulbs and LED lighting fixtures combine the use of phosphor materials that transform the monochromatic light from a blue or near-UV LED to broad-spectrum white light, with electrical circuits to drive the LEDs, an optical lens to extract and focus the light, and heatsinks to maintain the LED lamp’s optimum operating temperature.

Verbatim’s first LED lighting products come in the form of retrofit LED bulbs that are available to replace most incandescent and CFL bulbs. The efficiency of an LED lamp is approximately five times that of a standard incandescent bulb, allowing for its initial price point to be more than recovered through lower energy usage and a much longer life span. Also, LED bulbs lessen the need for power generation and do not contain hazardous materials such as mercury.

With lighting in homes and businesses typically accounting for about 20% of all electrical energy use, the conversion of incandescent lighting to LED lighting can have a significant impact on national energy usage and individual carbon footprints.