The Home Depot Brings the First Affordable LED Bulbs to Market

ATLANTA, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Home Depot®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, today announced it now offers the first affordable 40W equivalent LED – and the widest selection of -- high powered, light emitting diodes (LEDs) bulbs on homedepot.com, leading the lighting revolution well ahead of the 2012 legislation phasing out the use of select incandescent light bulbs.

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"The Home Depot has stepped forward with the most cost-effective LED, employing the latest and most advanced LED technology available," said Craig Menear, executive vice president for Merchandising. "Our partnerships with leading LED manufacturers including: Philips, Lighting Science Group and Cree have enabled us to be the first in the market to offer affordable options for a wide array of fixture types for a consumer's home."

The Company now offers a proprietary brand of LEDs under the EcoSmart name, including a bulb that retails for $19.97 and is a 40W equivalent, offering 429 lumen with a 50,000 hour expected lifetime, making it the most affordable bulb of its kind in the market to date.  In comparison, just two years ago, a 60-watt equivalent cost $90 and a 100-watt dimmable bulb went for $360. In addition, the Company will offer LED bulbs that support many different types of fixtures including: accent lighting, track lighting, room lighting, outdoor spotlights and all are fully dimmable.

By 2012, legislation is requiring that select forms of incandescent bulbs no longer be manufactured in the U.S. and by 2014 most incandescent bulbs will be discontinued, challenging consumers to look for more energy efficient options.

LEDs are innovative technology that help save energy because they use up to 85 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and up to 50 percent less energy than CFL bulbs without sacrificing light quality. In addition to being extremely energy-efficient, their life is exceptionally long, cutting down both operating costs and inconvenience of maintenance.

All bulbs are currently available on homedepot.com and will be in all U.S. The Home Depot stores by the end of September.

The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,244 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. In fiscal 2009, The Home Depot had sales of $66.2 billion and earnings from continuing operations of $2.6 billion. The Company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.

SOURCE The Home Depot