A few months ago I bought an off-the-shelf Philips LED bulb at Home Depot. While I was pleased with the brightness and energy savings, the light looked too artificial in all of the fixtures I tried it in. I had previously been using GE Reveal incandescent bulbs in all of my fixtures because of the more vibrant colors they produced (high color rendering index, or CRI).
I was still interested in the value proposition of LEDs, so I bought a Cree TW (TrueWhite) LED online for about $19. It's a 60W-equivalent; outside of California, they're only sold in 6-packs on Home Depot's website, or as single bulbs from a few online resellers.
You can see from the photo that it has the same neodymium light-blue glass as a GE Reveal bulb. The LEDs are also different from the non-TW line. Unfortunately they have to overdrive these versus their standard 60W-equivalent LED, so they're not as efficient (but still better than an incandescent). The bulb does get pretty warm but has the integrated cooling fins as you can see in the photo above.
Detailed review is below, but if you want the tl;dr version:
Pros:
-doesn't look like an LED
-light-output works well for lamps with shades
-trusted name, made in USA
Cons:
-only available online
-only available in 40W- and 60W-equivalents
-double the price of a normal Cree
Here are the specs:
Wattage: Uses only 13.5 Watts (78% less energy)
Brightness: 800 Lumens
Lifetime: 25,000 Hrs rated lifetime
Lifetime Savings: $128 Lifetime Savings
Yearly Cost: $1.63 (Estimated)
Color Temp (Kelvins): 2,700K
Light Transition: Instant-on
Beam Spread: Omnidirectional
Contents: Mercury free
Dimmable: Dimmable
Certifications: UL Damp Rated
Base Type: E26 Medium Standard Screw-type
Height: 4.4 inches
Width: 2.4 inches
Diameter: 2.4 inches
Weight: 6.0 ounces
The CRI is 92-93, which blows away a normal LED/CFL's rating of 80. For reference, a GE Reveal incandescent is also right around 93.
When illuminated, the light quality and color are excellent. I placed it into a table lamp in my family room that is usually on for 4-6 hours a day. The Cree LEDs are particularly well-suited for lamps with shades because they throw most of their light to the sides and downward, and very little up top. This means the shade and the table below the lamp are well-illuminated and you don't end up with a bright spot on the ceiling above. Other A19-size LEDs throw their light differently, such as the GEs illuminating more uniformly up top.
I have tried the bulb in a few other fixtures: a large floorstanding lamp with a very light colored shade, a floorstanding Tiffany lamp, and even a glass-enclosed ceiling-mounted closet light. I would say that it works best in a lamp with a shade. I'm not sure if this would be a good choice for a bathroom, namely because women may not be used to the type of light it throws (might interfere with the application of makeup). When I had it in my closet, I did like how my clothes and shoes looked more vibrant and the colors were "correct".
Some side-by-side comparisons were also done with the Philips LED I had already bought (in the same fixtures). I always preferred the Cree. The only time I declared it a wash was in my Tiffany lamp, probably due to the bright coloring of the Tiffany glass and the fact that the Cree's upward light output wasn't as good. I'd have no reservations about using the Cree in that lamp, but the upward-firing Philips more effectively lights the room.
I'll probably order a 6-pack of these and replace other lights in my apartment as they burn out. I'm anxious to see if Cree expands the TW line to include sizes other than the A19/A21, and if they can get a 100W-equivalent for one of my bigger lamps. I may also order a Philips L-prize to see how it compares. It claims to offer the same 93 CRI and 800-900 lumens but only consumes 10W. They're discontinued now but can be found online.
You can see from the photo that it has the same neodymium light-blue glass as a GE Reveal bulb. The LEDs are also different from the non-TW line. Unfortunately they have to overdrive these versus their standard 60W-equivalent LED, so they're not as efficient (but still better than an incandescent). The bulb does get pretty warm but has the integrated cooling fins as you can see in the photo above.
Detailed review is below, but if you want the tl;dr version:
Pros:
-doesn't look like an LED
-light-output works well for lamps with shades
-trusted name, made in USA
Cons:
-only available online
-only available in 40W- and 60W-equivalents
-double the price of a normal Cree
Here are the specs:
Wattage: Uses only 13.5 Watts (78% less energy)
Brightness: 800 Lumens
Lifetime: 25,000 Hrs rated lifetime
Lifetime Savings: $128 Lifetime Savings
Yearly Cost: $1.63 (Estimated)
Color Temp (Kelvins): 2,700K
Light Transition: Instant-on
Beam Spread: Omnidirectional
Contents: Mercury free
Dimmable: Dimmable
Certifications: UL Damp Rated
Base Type: E26 Medium Standard Screw-type
Height: 4.4 inches
Width: 2.4 inches
Diameter: 2.4 inches
Weight: 6.0 ounces
The CRI is 92-93, which blows away a normal LED/CFL's rating of 80. For reference, a GE Reveal incandescent is also right around 93.
When illuminated, the light quality and color are excellent. I placed it into a table lamp in my family room that is usually on for 4-6 hours a day. The Cree LEDs are particularly well-suited for lamps with shades because they throw most of their light to the sides and downward, and very little up top. This means the shade and the table below the lamp are well-illuminated and you don't end up with a bright spot on the ceiling above. Other A19-size LEDs throw their light differently, such as the GEs illuminating more uniformly up top.
I have tried the bulb in a few other fixtures: a large floorstanding lamp with a very light colored shade, a floorstanding Tiffany lamp, and even a glass-enclosed ceiling-mounted closet light. I would say that it works best in a lamp with a shade. I'm not sure if this would be a good choice for a bathroom, namely because women may not be used to the type of light it throws (might interfere with the application of makeup). When I had it in my closet, I did like how my clothes and shoes looked more vibrant and the colors were "correct".
Some side-by-side comparisons were also done with the Philips LED I had already bought (in the same fixtures). I always preferred the Cree. The only time I declared it a wash was in my Tiffany lamp, probably due to the bright coloring of the Tiffany glass and the fact that the Cree's upward light output wasn't as good. I'd have no reservations about using the Cree in that lamp, but the upward-firing Philips more effectively lights the room.
I'll probably order a 6-pack of these and replace other lights in my apartment as they burn out. I'm anxious to see if Cree expands the TW line to include sizes other than the A19/A21, and if they can get a 100W-equivalent for one of my bigger lamps. I may also order a Philips L-prize to see how it compares. It claims to offer the same 93 CRI and 800-900 lumens but only consumes 10W. They're discontinued now but can be found online.
