Any good non-directional LED bulbs?
- Thread starter mdonovan
- Start date
apostolakisl
Senior Member
My Home Depot carries a 40 watt eq "ecosmart" bulb. I have read that this is made by Definity. The bulb is assembled in China (of US parts), not the US as Definity advertises on their website. Perhaps the 60 watt version will be branded Definity and will be made in US, but HD does not have it nor have the sales reps even heard of Definity.
Not every Home Depot has the same merchandise. I know that some HD sold Insteon in the stores for maybe 6 months or so a few years back and then it was on clearance and then gone. Some carry Leviton and some carry Eagle Electric outlets and switches etc. depending on what part of the country you are in.
I think it is test marketing in some cases and in others the mfg buy shelf space.
Back to the topic I would love LED bulbs but there are to many cheap versions out there with poor quality light and the better ones are just to expensive compared to a CFL (still not great light but reasonable price).
I think it is test marketing in some cases and in others the mfg buy shelf space.
Back to the topic I would love LED bulbs but there are to many cheap versions out there with poor quality light and the better ones are just to expensive compared to a CFL (still not great light but reasonable price).
apostolakisl
Senior Member
According to the press release May 13 2010, the 60 watt eq bulb is going to be available in the third quarter. I guess that means it could be out any time, but these things seem to go the way of . . . .weeellllll, maybe by the fourth quarter.
"The DEFINITY LED retrofit bulbs will be available through lighting distributors and directly from Lighting Science Group in the third quarter of this year. To see Lighting Science Group's new DEFINITY 9 watt A19 LED bulb visit booth # 2335 at LightFair International 2010, May 12-14 in Las Vegas, Nevada."
The press release indicated that it was to undergo independent testing prior to its release.
Also, the bulb is not listed on Definity's own web page. So, I am not sure how HD has/had it. I do hope it passes the independent tests and turns out to be as good as it looks. I would definitely replace quite a few of my incandescents at $30 a piece if it pans out.
"The DEFINITY LED retrofit bulbs will be available through lighting distributors and directly from Lighting Science Group in the third quarter of this year. To see Lighting Science Group's new DEFINITY 9 watt A19 LED bulb visit booth # 2335 at LightFair International 2010, May 12-14 in Las Vegas, Nevada."
The press release indicated that it was to undergo independent testing prior to its release.
Also, the bulb is not listed on Definity's own web page. So, I am not sure how HD has/had it. I do hope it passes the independent tests and turns out to be as good as it looks. I would definitely replace quite a few of my incandescents at $30 a piece if it pans out.
easytimhal
Member
I bought 2 of the 40 watt about 3 weeks ago, they are bright
Interesting. I should have read a bit closer. I agree, I hope they do pan out. It sounds like what I'm interested in. We'll see...
I'm not in a huge rush to replace them, so I can wait until I find one I like.
Matt
apostolakisl
Senior Member
How do they dim? Is it a nice even rate down to zero? Does the color change with dimming?
FYI... I recently bought from HD for 20 bucks. I plan to buy more. Good light color, just a tad bit whiter than an incandescent but very close, I like the color. I don't plan to use them on a dimmer but put it on one very briefly, dims pretty well, not all the way to zero though. One thing I noticed though was that, when dimmed, it maintains the same light color, unlike incandescents which actually turn more and more orange as they are dimmed. So when dimmed, they definitely mismatch any incandescents that you might have in nearby fixtures. Assuming the reliability turns out to be good, I think they are a great bulb.
I saw the Ecosmart bulbs there also, but only 40 watt, not 60. LSG *does* make this bulb, but it's not their Definity bulb. Specs on it say that it puts out 450 lumens or so. The Definity bulb is supposed to put out nearly double that.
However, Lumens means almost nothing. They should be measuring luminance and giving a candela rating, as it's more in line with what you actually see.
However, Lumens means almost nothing. They should be measuring luminance and giving a candela rating, as it's more in line with what you actually see.
Fyi... I was referring to the 40w equivalent ecosmart (rebranded LSG), same bulb and same lumen rating as 40w equiv definity. The 60w equivalent of course is rated higher lumens.
apostolakisl
Senior Member
That was what I was afraid of on the dimming. I have some Cree lights in the can and find that the dimming is not what you would want. I really like the warm orange light that you get from a dimmed incandescent. And at least with the Cree lights, they don't dim that much before they suddenly go to zero.
If the big problem is dimming just add a few can lights with incandescent 30w lights in them and hook up a dimmer to them. Just like you can't find incandescent lights with anywhere the efficiency of the CREE lights, you can't find super efficient LED lights that dim, so the only way you will be truly happy would to get both. To me, the one you use 99% of the time is most important as there are many solutions to the other, like candles, but each to his own.
lightingdziner
New Member
Hello everyone!
This is my first post on the board, so be gentle on the newb.
I am a lighting designer here in LA, CA. I also do home automation.
I attened Light Fair International ( running joke this year there was LED Fair International) this last spring in Las Vegas, and it was all LED lamps, and fixtures.
It was overwhelming! I mean EVERYTHING was LED.
I must have seen 10K LED lamps (bulbs).
All of the manufactures stated that their bulb dimmed, had a good warm color, blah blah blah.
EVERY! and I mean EVERY retrofit lamp I looked at had problems. Not one dimmed well. They would have color shift once you start dimming them, they would flicker at lower levels, and would not start in a low dimmed position without a POP to get it started.
Now I am not saying there are not some really good looking retrofit lamps. I was really impressed with temprature color (kelvin), color rendering index (High CRI), lumes / watt, But I would never dim any of them. I have used lots of LED lamps in landscape lighting, retail lighting, office lighting, and hospitality.
I LOVE LED technology! It is our future!
But when it comes to dimming retrofit lamps, I would never give any of my clients anything that is on the market today. Tomorrow maybe?
There are however some really great LED recess cans, and fixtures out there that do dim very well. All of them are using the Lutron Hilume LED driver.
Lutron now has a section tool on their website that will show you who is partnering with them.
The new Lutron website kinda sucks, but you can also call their 24/7 tech line for LED questions.
Also if you want to stay up on LED technologies, there are some great resouces out there for you. The DOE has great information. There is also Lighting FACTS online, And LEDs MAgazine is a great online magazine.
This is my first post on the board, so be gentle on the newb.
I am a lighting designer here in LA, CA. I also do home automation.
I attened Light Fair International ( running joke this year there was LED Fair International) this last spring in Las Vegas, and it was all LED lamps, and fixtures.
It was overwhelming! I mean EVERYTHING was LED.
I must have seen 10K LED lamps (bulbs).
All of the manufactures stated that their bulb dimmed, had a good warm color, blah blah blah.
EVERY! and I mean EVERY retrofit lamp I looked at had problems. Not one dimmed well. They would have color shift once you start dimming them, they would flicker at lower levels, and would not start in a low dimmed position without a POP to get it started.
Now I am not saying there are not some really good looking retrofit lamps. I was really impressed with temprature color (kelvin), color rendering index (High CRI), lumes / watt, But I would never dim any of them. I have used lots of LED lamps in landscape lighting, retail lighting, office lighting, and hospitality.
I LOVE LED technology! It is our future!
But when it comes to dimming retrofit lamps, I would never give any of my clients anything that is on the market today. Tomorrow maybe?
There are however some really great LED recess cans, and fixtures out there that do dim very well. All of them are using the Lutron Hilume LED driver.
Lutron now has a section tool on their website that will show you who is partnering with them.
The new Lutron website kinda sucks, but you can also call their 24/7 tech line for LED questions.
Also if you want to stay up on LED technologies, there are some great resouces out there for you. The DOE has great information. There is also Lighting FACTS online, And LEDs MAgazine is a great online magazine.
apostolakisl
Senior Member
Welcome and thanks for your insight.
Would you suggest a particular place to buy some of the Lutron Hi Lume LED's for retrofitting recessed cans? I have tried the CREE and am very happy. . . except for the dimming. If there is another brand that actually dims like a traditional bulb and is otherwise just as good as the CREE (and doesn't cost more), I would consider replacing my whole house.
