What can you do if you’d like to use an energy efficient light bulb, but you think that they look funky? How about a LED bulb that looks and functions almost exactly like an incandescent filament bulb?

Panasonic has introduced a clear bulb with a standard base that looks almost identical to an incandescent. It has a warm 2700K light color, similar to an incandescent. It has the lifespan (40,000+ hours) you would expect from an LED. And it only uses 4.4 watts of power, but produces 210 lumens, the light equivalent to a 20-watt incandescent.

This bulb also has a color rendering index (CRI) of 80, which is similar to other LEDs and good CFL bulbs. And, as with other LED bulbs, the bulb contains no mercury.

The release date and anticipated pricing aren’t available yet, but similar bulbs have been in the $20 to $50 range when first introduced, and prices have gone down as production makes them more available.

The Panasonic bulb is only a 20-watt equivalent, but it would seem reasonable to expect that a 60-watt version will be along in a couple of years. This bulb is also not dimmable. But for most purposes, this should remove one of the last objections to non-incandescent light bulbs.

[+] More specs on Panasonic LDAHV4L27CG LED Bulb.

Credits: Panasonic.

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