It's a bulb that looks and feels like the age-old incandescent with a big difference — energy savings. GE's Energy-Efficient Soft White bulb saves as much as 28 percent in energy costs.
GE has offered halogen bulbs in its portfolio for years, but is currently re-introducing them under the Energy-Efficient Soft White name. This namesake was intentionally chosen to convey the similarities between incandescent and halogen technologies, as GE's incandescent bulbs have been marketed as "Soft White" bulbs for years.
Using halogen technology, the Energy-Efficient Soft White bulb runs using less energy and costs less to operate than the traditional incandescent bulb. At the same time, it performs like incandescent bulbs and delivers nearly the same brightness.
"The unique thing about the Energy-Efficient Soft White is that it's a simple replacement," says Anh Marella, product manager for GE's Energy-Efficient Soft White bulbs. "It can be used in the same applications as incandescents and 
provides very similar light output. Basically, the soft white light you use and love today with incandescent bulbs, you'll have tomorrow with Energy-Efficient Soft White."
The bulb has a tungsten filament just like the incandescent bulb, but is also filled with halogen gas. When a bulb is lit, tungsten from the filament evaporates inside the bulb (a key difference), providing illumination while allowing the bulb to last longer. The halogen gas then carries the evaporated tungsten particles back to the filament and re-deposits them. This gives the Energy-Efficient Soft White bulb a longer life than traditional incandescent bulbs.
The bulbs are housed in A-line shells to look just like incandescent bulbs, plus they're fully dimmable. In addition, while some other energy-efficient alternatives experience a delayed start during the bulb's warm-up phase, Energy-Efficient Soft White bulbs start instantly.
Traditional incandescent bulbs last up to 1,000 hours, and the Energy-Efficient Soft White bulb lasts as long or longer. While almost as bright as an incandescent bulb, this technology requires significantly less energy — up to 28 percent less. To find out how much they can save by making a switch, a savings calculator is available at www.gelighting.com/lighttransforms. Consumers simply input how many bulbs they'll be swapping in what applications, and their potential savings is revealed.
This GE bulb is available in 29-,43-,53- and 72-watt varieties. These varieties replace 40-, 60-, 75- and 100-watt incandescent bulbs, respectively.
Read more about energy-efficient lighting.
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