In the face of California's growing energy crisis, Berkeley Lab researchers specializing in energy efficiency and lighting have developed a new high-performance lamp that can produce the power of a halogen lamp and an incandescent lamp combined with only a fraction of the energy requirement.

Set to hit commercial markets later this year, the energy-efficient table lamp will help homes and offices reduce power consumption while maintaining high-quality lighting.

The "Berkeley Lamp" has a unique two-bulb design that allows the user to control the distribution and intensity of light by selectively illuminating either the ceiling or the desktop, or both. At full power, this two-lamp system matches the combined output of a 300 watt halogen lamp and a 150 watt incandescent lamp, while using only a quarter of the energy. Lab researchers and California utilities are working together to produce the first 600 prototype lamps, which will be tested in offices, residences, and hotels. - end -