LED Bulbs

[signal15]

Are there any *realistic* replacements for PAR-30 incandescents yet? The brightest one I've found is actually a GE bulb at Walmart that puts out 300 lumens and takes 10 watts ($42). My Ushio PAR30's are 75 Watts and put out 1100 lumens, which is nearly 4 times the amount of light.

I bought a 7W Philips bulb at Home Depot the other day as a PAR20 replacement for a small recessed light above my fireplace. It works quite well, even though it's only 140 lumens. Nice crisp white light at 3100K. But you'd need a TON of them to light a whole room.

DealExtreme has an E27 base with heatsink for about $10, a 120v LED power converter/driver for $7 or so that fits into the base, and Cree stars for pretty cheap. I think you could probably get about 700 lumens out of them, but it's unlikely that the power supply is UL listed. Plus, they don't list color on any of their LED stars. I have a couple of flashlights that use those stars and they are closer to 6500K or so, which is WAY to bluish for indoor lighting.

Is anyone making a decent replacement for incandescent PAR bulbs? I bought some CFL PAR replacements for my outdoor recessed lighting, but they kind of suck.

 

[gatchel]

Cree LR6, hands down, is an awesome LED bulb. I'm not sure about outdoor recessed. I think they are damp rated but not wet rated. You'll have to check.

They also run about $90 bucks a piece. I have 5 of them in my kitchen.

 

[mdonovan]

Cree LR6, hands down, is an awesome LED bulb. I'm not sure about outdoor recessed. I think they are damp rated but not wet rated. You'll have to check.

They also run about $90 bucks a piece. I have 5 of them in my kitchen.

I know it's a subjective question, but how do you feel the Cree lights compare to incandescents in regards to color? I really like the nice warm light that incandescents give off, vs the harsh white light of florescent bulbs. Do you have the warm or neutral white? This page: http://www.polar-ray.com/Cree-LR6-GU24_p_36.html has an interesting pdf showing comparisons between various bulbs. They also have a list of tested dimmers.

My state is deregulating electricity next year, and rates are predicted to go up in the 30% range, so I'm considering LED bulbs. I wouldn't even consider the florescents. I agree with signal15: they suck.

Matt

 

[signal15]

Cree LR6, hands down, is an awesome LED bulb. I'm not sure about outdoor recessed. I think they are damp rated but not wet rated. You'll have to check.

They also run about $90 bucks a piece. I have 5 of them in my kitchen.

I know it's a subjective question, but how do you feel the Cree lights compare to incandescents in regards to color? I really like the nice warm light that incandescents give off, vs the harsh white light of florescent bulbs. Do you have the warm or neutral white? This page: http://www.polar-ray.com/Cree-LR6-GU24_p_36.html has an interesting pdf showing comparisons between various bulbs. They also have a list of tested dimmers.

My state is deregulating electricity next year, and rates are predicted to go up in the 30% range, so I'm considering LED bulbs. I wouldn't even consider the florescents. I agree with signal15: they suck.

Matt

The color on that Cree is listed as 2700K. Standard incandescent halogen PAR bulbs range from about 2650K to 2950K. So it's right in the range. After doing some color comparisons, I prefer 3000-3100K. But this Cree bulb is certainly the color you are looking for. I looked it up on another site, and it puts out 650 lumens, as compared to my Ushio's 1100 lumens. But those Ushio bulbs are amazingly bright.

One nice thing about dimming LED bulbs, is that the color should not change as they dim. If they are rated at 2700K at full brightness, they should still put out 2700K at half.

How does one fit these in a 6" can? Does the can need replacing? Or do they screw in?

I doubt we'll see 1100 lumen LED bulbs until the Zinc Oxide stuff hits the market (if ever).

 

[signal15]

Wow, and looking at that comparison on the page above.... The 3500K bulbs are the way to go, the 2700K bulbs look way too dim. I wish they had a comparison of PAR instead of BR bulbs though.

 

[ano]

Wow, and looking at that comparison on the page above.... The 3500K bulbs are the way to go, the 2700K bulbs look way too dim. I wish they had a comparison of PAR instead of BR bulbs though.

I have 15 Cree LR6 2700K They arr simply fantastic. They actually have a sensor inside that adjusts the color temp. so they maintain color temp over their life. I would stick to 2700K is you want it to look like an incandescent bulb.

 

[mdonovan]

Wow, and looking at that comparison on the page above.... The 3500K bulbs are the way to go, the 2700K bulbs look way too dim. I wish they had a comparison of PAR instead of BR bulbs though.

I have 15 Cree LR6 2700K They arr simply fantastic. They actually have a sensor inside that adjusts the color temp. so they maintain color temp over their life. I would stick to 2700K is you want it to look like an incandescent bulb.

I may have to order one to try out. I have a stash of incandescents I bought to hold me over until something better than CFL comes out. I do like a lot of light, but not blinding white light. Hmmmm... decisions decisions.

Matt

 

[signal15]

Wow, and looking at that comparison on the page above.... The 3500K bulbs are the way to go, the 2700K bulbs look way too dim. I wish they had a comparison of PAR instead of BR bulbs though.

I have 15 Cree LR6 2700K They arr simply fantastic. They actually have a sensor inside that adjusts the color temp. so they maintain color temp over their life. I would stick to 2700K is you want it to look like an incandescent bulb.

I like my light a bit whiter than 2700K. 3100K is about perfect, so it's halfway in between the Cree offerings. Yellowish light puts me in a crappy mood. I wish I could get a couple of demo units to try out. I'm a bit skeptical that 600 lumens is going to provide enough light for me. The guy that built my house knew nothing about lighting and there are not enough lights in each room. The beams don't even overlap. So right now, 1100 lumen bulbs are a workaround until I can get around to putting in more cans.

You can have the most beautiful room in the world, and if it's not lit properly, it's going to look like crap.

 

[gatchel]

Cree LR6, hands down, is an awesome LED bulb. I'm not sure about outdoor recessed. I think they are damp rated but not wet rated. You'll have to check.

They also run about $90 bucks a piece. I have 5 of them in my kitchen.

I know it's a subjective question, but how do you feel the Cree lights compare to incandescents in regards to color? I really like the nice warm light that incandescents give off, vs the harsh white light of florescent bulbs. Do you have the warm or neutral white? This page: http://www.polar-ray.com/Cree-LR6-GU24_p_36.html has an interesting pdf showing comparisons between various bulbs. They also have a list of tested dimmers.

My state is deregulating electricity next year, and rates are predicted to go up in the 30% range, so I'm considering LED bulbs. I wouldn't even consider the florescents. I agree with signal15: they suck.

Matt

I feel that they are the best to date. I have a bag of crappy LED and CFL lamps that have led me to this point.

If you are interested I took one apart a while ago.

http://www.cocoontech.com/forums/index.php...amp;hl=Cree+Lr6


FWIW. Cree makes two color temperatures in the LR6 model, 2700K and 3500K.


Also something else new to read about. Cree seems to be on the right track.

http://www.creelighting.com/PressRelease.aspx?ID=36

 

[programmergeek]

I just put several pharox led light bulb 6w and 4w in my house. Love them do a search they have great reviews best of all there is a promo now wher ethe 6w dimable is $40 ea you need to get them from the manfacture though amazon doesn't have them yet they only hve the 40w for $34. I would guess it is similat to about a 60w bulb pretty bright, I was impressed. Color temp is good as well.

 

[Quixote_1]

Speaking of LED bulbs, does anyone know of any affordable under-cabinet LED lights? Every light bar that I've seen has been over $200 each and I find that a little steep. I bet they only cost 10 or 15% of that to manufacture.
Maybe I should just buy some high-intensity LED bulbs and wire up my own in some sort of aesthetically pleasing housing...

 

[signal15]

Speaking of LED bulbs, does anyone know of any affordable under-cabinet LED lights? Every light bar that I've seen has been over $200 each and I find that a little steep. I bet they only cost 10 or 15% of that to manufacture.
Maybe I should just buy some high-intensity LED bulbs and wire up my own in some sort of aesthetically pleasing housing...

I bought a bar of these to test with from DealExtreme. It cost me about $8. Item# 5256

It's bright, but probably around 6000K or so for color. Too blue for under cabinet lighting, but might be good for a workbench area. They have some other ones available also that might be different colors.

Ushio also makes some LED undercabinet lighting, but it's ridiculous expensive. I'd have to spend over $1k to do my kitchen with that stuff.

 

[rbroders]

I am using LED ropelights for my under cabinet lights. The bulb spacing is 1" and they consume 0.8 watts/foot. Not sure the lumen efficacy, but they are pretty bright. They give the mcd rating of the bulbs (5000-6500), but don't give beam angle so you can't convert to lumens. I'd guess 50 lumens/foot.

The 1/2" rope is easy to hide under the lip of the cabinet, but they are only cuttable in 39.5" segments, so you have to return the excess to the wall. Still, it worked quite well for my install. Unfortunately I think they shipped cool white (5000K) instead of warm white (3000K), and I'm not happy with the color. There is no label, so its hard to tell exactly what the color is. There are some "ultra-warm white" (2700K) available as well.

If you buy a whole spool 150', it is only a little more than $2/foot.

--Bob

 

[Quixote_1]

Thanks for all of the great advice. I'll explore those options. I may win some points with the girlfriend if I come up with a satisfactory solution!

 

[Geordon]

Cree LR6, hands down, is an awesome LED bulb. I'm not sure about outdoor recessed. I think they are damp rated but not wet rated. You'll have to check.

They also run about $90 bucks a piece. I have 5 of them in my kitchen.

I know it's a subjective question, but how do you feel the Cree lights compare to incandescents in regards to color? I really like the nice warm light that incandescents give off, vs the harsh white light of florescent bulbs. Do you have the warm or neutral white? This page: http://www.polar-ray.com/Cree-LR6-GU24_p_36.html has an interesting pdf showing comparisons between various bulbs. They also have a list of tested dimmers.

My state is deregulating electricity next year, and rates are predicted to go up in the 30% range, so I'm considering LED bulbs. I wouldn't even consider the florescents. I agree with signal15: they suck.

Matt

The color on that Cree is listed as 2700K. Standard incandescent halogen PAR bulbs range from about 2650K to 2950K. So it's right in the range. After doing some color comparisons, I prefer 3000-3100K. But this Cree bulb is certainly the color you are looking for. I looked it up on another site, and it puts out 650 lumens, as compared to my Ushio's 1100 lumens. But those Ushio bulbs are amazingly bright.

One nice thing about dimming LED bulbs, is that the color should not change as they dim. If they are rated at 2700K at full brightness, they should still put out 2700K at half.

How does one fit these in a 6" can? Does the can need replacing? Or do they screw in?

I doubt we'll see 1100 lumen LED bulbs until the Zinc Oxide stuff hits the market (if ever).

We have 5 CREE LR6 installed in our house. Depending on sales, paid betwen $75 and $88 apiece from Polar-Ray (exceptional customer service, BTW). We originally bought 1 each of the 2700 and the 3500 to install over our kitchen island. The 3500 was too white. The 2700 appears identical to the 65W PAR30 floods we replaced, except brighter, if you can believe it. After several months, Polar-Ray had a better price, so we bought 3 more, and installed 1 over the kitchen sink and 2 over our master bath double-vanity. Eventually, we plan to replace the remaining 5 cans in our kitchen. The 5 we have replaced with CREE get the most use, and I now feel like I am wasting electricity whenever I turn on the other bank of 5.

As to your question about fitting in a 6" can, you unscrew the existing bulb, pull the trim out, pop out the Edison base, screw the CREE into the base, connect the ground wire, and slide the whole she-bang back up into the can. The trim is integrated into the LED fixture.

I wish these were half the price, but otherwise, I love them. BTW, I had tried CFL floods, and they sucked royally. Were slow to get up to brightness, were blue-white, and were not very bright. Of course, they were much cheaper, and environmentally hazardous.

Geordon