LED Bulb Review

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I appreciate the writeup and the replies. Can I request URL for all the recommended bulbs from the responders? I am especially interested in good value for replacing the under cabinet halogen bulbs which run way hot, so I usually don't bother running it. I believe those are two way 12V bulbs but I need to confirm it.
 
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Total up the combined wattage consumed by almost 90 incandescent lamps, that's a HUGE savings on power consumption.

Hopefully you have good luck with them Pop.

I had a similar experience as stated above in regards to cheap, off-brand LEDs. I have a bunch of halogen can lights in the house. Twist lock GU series lamps. I replaced 6 of them with LED replacement lamps from Amazon. All but one stopped working within months. Some even shorter! They either just stopped working or would flash on/off.

Regardless, improvements seem to be coming by leaps and bounds. FWIW, I'm in to tropical fish keeping and LED lighting is the price of high-output T5 fluorescent now.
 
Pop,

if these LED bulbs last say only 9 years, will all these LED bulb replacements be a disappointment?>
 
I have most of my lighting converted to LED, just not as many as Pop.

They are much better than CFL's. I still have incandescents in closets, etc.

I use LED for outdoor Security lighting, too. just 2-5 watts each and I don't use motion detection or other switching... just cause trouble. They're on 24/7 and probably lower energy cost than switched halogens.

Some of those lower wattage lights are great for a hall lamp, bathroom night light, etc. Excellent color compared to CFLs.
 
There seem to be some vocal CFL haters on the Internet, but they've worked fine for me. I select the proper color temp and they generally work quite well. Failures for me are pretty rare.

The only CFLs I've bought that I'm not too happy with are the frosted globes for our bathroom that I bought at HD. Otherwise, they've worked well for me.

I'm sure I'll switch to LEDs eventually, but for now the purchase price isn't worth it to me.
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
There seem to be some vocal CFL haters on the Internet, but they've worked fine for me. I select the proper color temp and they generally work quite well. Failures for me are pretty rare.


Is it now "hate" to speak the truth? I actually have had buckets full of dead CFL's. I posted pictures a couple years ago. I have used most brands. Many did not make one year, most never make it two years. They simply don't last as was claimed, I don't take that personally or spew "hate". It was a claim that did not stand up.
 
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
Pop,

if these LED bulbs last say only 9 years, will all these LED bulb replacements be a disappointment?>


That's a good question. First, I'd need to actually remember that it's been 9 years.

I suppose if I see the payback over 2-3 years, and the other 6-7 years is reaped in energy savings then I'll be happy.
 
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
interesting Pablo, alot of these CFL makers have warranties on their CFL bulbs. FYI


I never even thought about a warranty on a bulb. YIKES!
 
Originally Posted By: datech

I use LED for outdoor Security lighting, too. just 2-5 watts each and I don't use motion detection or other switching... just cause trouble. They're on 24/7 and probably lower energy cost than switched halogens.


I wonder how long those will last. The rated lifetime of the bulb is based on an average of 3 hours use per day I believe. Would suck if those expensive bulbs only last 2 to 3 years that way.
It might be worth adding photo sensors to some of them at least.
 
In general I have stopped purchasing CFLs and now purchase LED's as replacemens. I prefer the color and "instant on" nature of the LED's as opposed to the CFL's. I keep our house cool enough, the time for CFL's to reach full brightness is noticeable and annoying.

That being said, my luck on CFL bulbs has not been great. The original batch of 6 FEIT bulbs I bought for a new chandelier has two that weren't functioning out of the box correctly. One was flickering and the other had the lens fall off. I exchanged one and dropped in an incandescent to replace the one the the lens fell off of.

When the incandescent burned out, I put in a GE LED bulb, and it noticeably buzzes, though the light is fine.

New light fixture in the front hall way got three sylvania LED bulbs, and they buzz noticeably too. Not thrilled with that...
 
I'm going to revise my opinion of the GU10 bulbs I used in the kitchen rail lighting. This lighting is the primary source of task lighting for the food prep areas. There are halogen lights under the cabinets, but I haven't used those since I installed the LED bulbs. I wanted to see what type of light the LEDs produced and if I liked the looks of it for cooking (Something I'm fairly finicky about).

I was cooking some salmon tonight in the cast iron frying pan, and I realized that the colors were much more vibrant with the LED bulbs. I could easily tell when the salmon was done and every detail seemed to stand out in sharp relief. I don't know if this was caused by the slightly whiter color temperature of the bulbs, the color index as compared to the halogens, or just an "LED thing". But there was a significant difference, and I really liked the way details seemed to pop out with the LED bulbs.

I turned on the halogen under cabinet lights, and set the pan with the salmon under them and the difference was noticeable. The colors were slightly muted and not as sharp.

Granted it's only been a couple days, but so far I'm quite happy with all of the LED bulbs that I put in. And I'm especially pleased with the GU10 bulbs in the kitchen rail lighting.
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
interesting Pablo, alot of these CFL makers have warranties on their CFL bulbs. FYI


I never even thought about a warranty on a bulb. YIKES!


A few years back I took them up on a warranty for half a dozen par30 incandescent bulbs that only lasted less than a third of what they were supposed to.
They sent me manufacturer coupons that mostly covered the cost of the replacements. Even the incandescent par30's still cost at least 3 bucks each in "value packs" last time I looked.
 
"I wonder how long those will last. The rated lifetime of the bulb is based on an average of 3 hours use per day I believe. Would suck if those expensive bulbs only last 2 to 3 years that way.
It might be worth adding photo sensors to some of them at least."


Already been running over two years. I left an LED on over the sink for 5 years and I finally removed it because it was dimmer than the current offerings.

I had another LED of the exact same type burn out a year after turning it off every night and back on every morning. Most lights burn the longest when run constantly because of less thermal movement from change in temperature.
 
My front porch is covered so I never had much success with different photocell sensors and did not want to run wires and install one remotely. I though the in-wall timers that replace light switches were OK, but the mechanical innards would go bad after about two years. Plus, I had to keep changing the programming with the changes in daylight hours.

Finally, I just got a 250 Lumen LED bulb which is plenty bright for the front porch. It uses about 4W of electricity and I just removed the wall switch and replaced with a blank cover plate. It's been on continuously for about two years now.

One thing to watch regarding LED bulbs, though. Most that I have looked at in stores state emphatically on the package that they are not suitable for use in enclosed fixtures. The heat buildup causes premature failure. My fixture on the back of the house is enclosed, so I use a CFL in it, though, I would rather use an LED.
 
I have a couple of outdoor enclosed fixtures I put small LEDs in (3 watt) and I removed the fiberglass insulation from the back and drilled small holes for ventilation. They are mounted under the eaves so water won't enter.
 
^That will probably work fine. I think that the caveat applies mostly to the bulbs with built in heat sinks. I have a baby LED bulb like that in my porch light and it does not get hot at all.
 
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I agree with friendly_jacek about the best location for LED is in refrigerator/freezer.


Just wondering about this statement. I have a mixture of incandescent, CFL, and LED bulbs throughout my house. Incandescents, to me, are still fine for appliances, hallways, and water closets (what I call "toilet rooms"). These are locations in which the lights are on for seconds at a time. CFL's have short lifespans in such applications and electricity savings with LED's just can't amount to squat. I suppose if you like the LED light quality better for the refrigerator, that's a different story. Mine has a 40W, 130V appliance/fan bulb in it and I haven't had to change it for ten years. My oven light is still original after eighteen years. For locations in which lights are on for hours at a time I use CFL's and LED's for the energy savings and lifespan advantages.


There are 2 major benefits:

1. Cold white light of LED (I specifically got cold white vs warm white for this application) vs old fashion dim yellow of the underpowered appliance bulbs (for long life).
2. Less heat production that will decrease fridge/freezer run time.

Like I said, I paid little for my LEB bulbs. I would not use expensive ones for such limited use.
 
Originally Posted By: DBMaster

One thing to watch regarding LED bulbs, though. Most that I have looked at in stores state emphatically on the package that they are not suitable for use in enclosed fixtures. The heat buildup causes premature failure. My fixture on the back of the house is enclosed, so I use a CFL in it, though, I would rather use an LED.


Same applies to CFL. The heat will fry electrolyte capacitor. Used in both CFL and LED power supplies.
 
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