Bought my first LED bulb

[dparm]

I have a floorstanding lamp in my family room that is on for a good 4-6 hours a day, moreso in the wintertime. Seemed like a good use case for an LED. I replaced the existing 150W GE Reveal bulb I had in there with a Philips LED that puts out about the same amount of light (1600 lumens). It's 2700k temp with a CRI of "80+".

I'm not sure I'm a fan. Coming from the high-CRI Reveal bulb, it looks much more yellow and reminds me of those dreadful CFLs.

Cree has the TW series (93 CRI) and GE has Reveal LEDs (90+ CRI). I may try one of those, but you can't find one with over 800 lumens. Otherwise I will try the brightest Philips L-Prize which supposedly looks more pleasing to the eye...but still only 950 lumens. There are also 3000k LED bulbs from two other suppliers, and they're subsidized by the local electric company.

 

[Rand]

thats because you replaced a reveal bulb with a much higher color temp with a 2700k "warm" led bulb.

I have about 10 of the Cree 10.97@home depot bulbs.

They are great. Esp in those applications where CFL take forever to warm up.. ie garage & unheated breezeway.

You probably want a "daylight"(or higher color temp) version with high CRI to compare more favorably with the Reveal bulbs.

if you find the warmer led's and cfl's dreadful.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Rand
thats because you replaced a reveal bulb with a much higher color temp with a 2700k "warm" led bulb.

I have about 10 of the Cree 10.97@home depot bulbs.

They are great. Esp in those applications where CFL take forever to warm up.. ie garage & unheated breezeway.

You probably want a "daylight"(or higher color temp) version with high CRI to compare more favorably with the Reveal bulbs.

if you find the warmer led's and cfl's dreadful.




Reveal is only 2850k. Very small difference; it has to do with the different CRIs. Neodymium glass has some unusual properties.

 

[OVERKILL]

The Cree bulbs I bought are very white (they are the "daylight" version) which is probably what you are looking for.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
The Cree bulbs I bought are very white (they are the "daylight" version) which is probably what you are looking for.



Those are 5000k, which is going to look like a fluorescent bulb. Probably going to make my apartment look like a hospital or office...

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
The Cree bulbs I bought are very white (they are the "daylight" version) which is probably what you are looking for.



Those are 5000k, which is going to look like a fluorescent bulb. Probably going to make my apartment look like a hospital or office...


HAHAHAH, possibly. they are actually whiter than the fluorescents we have at the office. More similar to what you'd see in a hospital, you are right. Gives that "sterile" feeling, which I like. You may not share in my enjoyment of that look however

 

[stockrex]

dpharm, where did ya get it and how much?
I bought one from IKEA yesterday too, did not try it yet.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
dpharm, where did ya get it and how much?
I bought one from IKEA yesterday too, did not try it yet.


Home Depot.

 

[bepperb]

I like the Cree bulbs. I haven't seen a LED bulb over 1000 lumens, though, so I can't be much help. (edit, I haven't seen one in my home to compare)

 

[zloveraz]

Yeah unfortunately until we have some standards purchasing LED bulbs on the shelves at these big box stores is a [censored], California is actually leading the way in this effort. If you want a decent bulb you might want to look at the Cree TW series, it's one of the first to meet the new California LED standards which is a minimum CRI of 90 and a R9 value over 70.

Here is an article regarding the TW series and a website I've used to fact gather about LED bulbs for sometime now. I started using CCrane bulbs over 10 years ago. Lot of **** out there.

http://www.designingwithleds.com/crees-n...-with-a-93-cri/

Here is a link to the Standards and it's a great read for geeks:

http://www.energy.ca.gov/2012publications/CEC-400-2012-016/CEC-400-2012-016-SF.pdf

 

[dparm]

Yes, as I mentioned I want the TWs. Problem is you can only buy a 6-pack, and they max out at 800 lumens.

 

[Anduril]

Not sure what the point of these is, to be honest. I have CFLs in every light in the house, and LEDs seem to be past the point of diminishing returns in terms of cost/energy savings. Especially when you consider we just got a hot tub that's sucking 8-10 kwh per day (and might be getting shut off soon if we see another $300 bill; it was free). Replacing already 23-watt lightbulbs would just be random noise at that point.

 

[bepperb]

Originally Posted By: Anduril
Not sure what the point of these is, to be honest. I have CFLs in every light in the house, and LEDs seem to be past the point of diminishing returns in terms of cost/energy savings. Especially when you consider we just got a hot tub that's sucking 8-10 kwh per day (and might be getting shut off soon if we see another $300 bill; it was free). Replacing already 23-watt lightbulbs would just be random noise at that point.


The difference is in the quality. The LED bulbs have a better light closer to that of an incandescent. They turn on instantly. They do not contain mercury. If you compare the price of an LED to a dimmable CFL the price is about the same. So there are quite a few benefits besides lumens per dollar.

 

[zloveraz]

Well my article had the link to the single pack online purchase at HD:

http://t.homedepot.com/p/Cree-13-5-Watt-...1U110/204602860

 

[Cujet]

I have a number of LED bulbs. I love the technology. I'm not thrilled with the quality of the less expensive ones. The overhead lighting ones I have to replace "high hats" get bugs inside. That's annoying and 100% unnecessary.

Eventually, high lumen bulbs will be available and will work in my garage door openers. That way, the unreliable and dim bulbs I have in there can be replaced with something good. I tried CFL's in there and they produced enough UV to destroy the plastic covers!

My suggestion with regard to LED's. Purchase good quality ones, for now. The cheaper ones are not working out as well as I'd like.

 

[Nayov]

They don't make 100W equivalent LEDs (what I use mostly) so I'm stuck with CFLs as I prefer 100 Watts. Cost needs to come down dramatically in order to switch teams from CFL to LED because the pay off in electricity savings will never be realistically realized. Example: "60 Watt" CFL uses 13; LED uses 11.

 

[zloveraz]

Originally Posted By: Nayov
They don't make 100W equivalent LEDs (what I use mostly) so I'm stuck with CFLs as I prefer 100 Watts.


Yes they do.... Price is still high at around $20-40 each but why do make 100W equivalent bulbs.

I agree if you have CFL wait until they burn out.

 

[Rand]

FWIW I have 3 of the warm cree in the bathroom overhead. and 1 philips 3000k in the fan(cree doesnt fit inside fan)

the 3000k philips is much much whiter, but nowhere near as white as the daylight cree's I have elsewhere.

I guess my advice boils down to if 2700 is much to warm.. go shopping for a nice 3000k high cri bulb.

Also your eyes will adjust. Although Nothing wrong with using incandescent esp in the winter.

maybe try something like
home depot link

4pack for 24$

you can always put them in basement, garage etc if you dont like them.