New lighting technology

7.1 Technology

Introduce new lighting technology in niche applications where benefits are clearly defined and performance is not overstated. Initial exposure is highly influential in the market and first impressions count for a lot. Often, there are niche applications where consumers will likely be quite satisfied with their purchase. For CFLs, this could have been porch light applications in moderate-temperature climates where performance drawbacks such as buzzing, flickering, color rendering, and fit may have been less of an issue. Early use of CFLs in table lamps may also have been acceptable. Use of early-generation CFLs for general illumination in high-use areas such as kitchens, and spotlight applications, would have commonly been met with consumer dissatisfaction. This early dissatisfaction could result in a consumer that is unwilling to try a CFL again – even once performance has been improved. (See 1.1.2, 2.1.)

Be aggressive about dealing with technology failures that affect main benefit claims. If products are failing prematurely or otherwise not performing as claimed and as expected by the consumer, changes in the product and its marketing should be made immediately before more buyers are “turned off.” (See 1.1.2, 2.1, 3.1.1.)

Performance is more important than appearance. There was some debate with early CFLs as to whether consumers would want something that looked “just like an incandescent,” or whether new designs like twister lamps might succeed. Some early focus groups found that consumers liked lamps with familiar shapes; however, in the long run the nonstandard (i.e., twisters) have sold due to their size and performance. It seems clear that consumers are willing to look beyond an odd appearance if a product performs well. But they are less forgiving of poor initial performance. (See 2.3.) In effect, the light bulbs themselves rarely have an aesthetic because they are hidden in fixtures, but the light delivered by the fixture itself does have an aesthetic, which is heavily influenced by the performance of the bulb.

Know and admit technology limitations, e.g., CFLs can’t provide focused, highly directional, light the way halogen, incandescent, and LED sources can. (See 4.1.)

Manufacturers should work closely with energy efficiency groups to help establish minimum performance requirements that the manufacturers can meet and the efficiency groups are willing to support.

(Lightwise changed requirements on power factor and THD after losing a major manufacturer participant and discovering that the added requirements were increasing product cost without producing a corresponding consumer benefit.) (See 3.2.)

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