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Typical Luminous Efficacy and Color Characteristics of Current White LEDs

How do currently available white LEDs compare to traditional light sources in terms of color characteristics and luminous efficacy? Standard incandescent A-lamps provide about 15 lumens per watt (lm/W), with CCT of around 2700 K and CRI close to 100. ENERGY STAR-qualified compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) produce about 50 lm/W at 2700-3000 K with a CRI of at least 80. Typical efficacies of currently available LED devices from the leading manufacturers are shown below. Improvements are announced by the industry regularly. Please note the efficacies listed below do not include driver or thermal losses.

CCT CRI 70-79 80-89 90+
2600-3500 K

23-43 lm/W

25 lm/W
3500-5000 K

36-73 lm/W

36-54 lm/W
> 5000 K

54-87 lm/W

38 lm/W
Sources: Manufacturer datasheets including Cree XLamp XR-E,
Philips Lumileds Rebel, Philips Lumileds K2.


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