LED Bulbs

[Neurorad]

I would get a night light it will still draw less just because you are at 20% you are usally still buring 60% power. Get a 1w led off amazon for $10. and hook it up much better way to go.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[signal15]

So last night on my way home, I stopped at Home Despot and picked up a Philips AmbientLED PAR30 bulb to test out in my kitchen. It's 11W, 418 Lumens, 3000K.

I put it in one of the 6" recessed cans in my kitchen, replacing a Ushio 75W PAR30 rated at 1100 Lumens.

The ceilings are 9 feet, and looking directly below the light at the floor, it was just as bright as the Ushio. However, it did not spread out nearly as much due to diffusion from the trim up in the can. So, my cabinets in the corner of the kitchen had NO direct light on them. When my wife walked into the kitchen, she immediately noticed that I had replaced the bulb and started yelling at me about how much it sucked. I didn't think it sucked that bad, but there really was not enough light hitting the cabinets. I didn't get a chance to get photos of the difference because my wife took it out when I walked out of the room. Plus, my camera is crap and probably wouldn't show much anyway.

A couple of thoughts:
- 418 Lumens is not enough for a PAR30 replacement. If the house was designed with 418 Lumen bulbs in mind and had extra can lights, then it might work out. But most houses were designed for incandescents that put out much more light.
- My Ushio bulbs are about $7-10 each. I don't have dimmers that ramp on/off in this house, so I'm burning through 1-2 bulbs a year in *each* can in the most used rooms. That's a LOT of money worth of bulbs. Couple that with the electricity used in the Ushio's, and a 15 year life on a $50 bulb doesn't sound too bad.
- These Philips bulbs are NOT dimmable. I don't know if I would buy a bunch of them if they were not dimmable. People with HA dimmers or even regular dimmers are not going to be very keen on replacing them all just to use LED bulbs.
- I really really need a light meter that measures in lumens.

So, I'm returning this bulb. It's not bright enough to be worth $50 to me. If the lens on it spread the light out more, then it would be very very dim compared to the Ushio bulbs. However, companies that make these bulbs should definitely consider a replaceable or adjustable lens system on these. When I return the bulb, I might pick up the PAR38 version of it which is 600 Lumens to see how it works out. I have no idea if it will fit with the trim rings I have though.

 

[ano]

So last night on my way home, I stopped at Home Despot and picked up a Philips AmbientLED PAR30 bulb to test out in my kitchen. It's 11W, 418 Lumens, 3000K.

I put it in one of the 6" recessed cans in my kitchen, replacing a Ushio 75W PAR30 rated at 1100 Lumens.

I think at this point the CREE LR6 is the can light replacement to beat. Its in every way as bright as the 75W lights its tries to replace and it draws a total of 9W by my measurements. Its semi-dimmable. Goes to about 30% without a problem, but if you want 5%, like was said, you better off adding a second light to perform that function.

 

[signal15]

So last night on my way home, I stopped at Home Despot and picked up a Philips AmbientLED PAR30 bulb to test out in my kitchen. It's 11W, 418 Lumens, 3000K.

I put it in one of the 6" recessed cans in my kitchen, replacing a Ushio 75W PAR30 rated at 1100 Lumens.

I think at this point the CREE LR6 is the can light replacement to beat. Its in every way as bright as the 75W lights its tries to replace and it draws a total of 9W by my measurements. Its semi-dimmable. Goes to about 30% without a problem, but if you want 5%, like was said, you better off adding a second light to perform that function.

The PAR38 version of the bulb I got puts out 600 Lumens, the same as the Cree bulb.

Does the Cree give you a "cone" of light, or is it heavily diffused?

 

[ano]

So last night on my way home, I stopped at Home Despot and picked up a Philips AmbientLED PAR30 bulb to test out in my kitchen. It's 11W, 418 Lumens, 3000K.

I put it in one of the 6" recessed cans in my kitchen, replacing a Ushio 75W PAR30 rated at 1100 Lumens.

I think at this point the CREE LR6 is the can light replacement to beat. Its in every way as bright as the 75W lights its tries to replace and it draws a total of 9W by my measurements. Its semi-dimmable. Goes to about 30% without a problem, but if you want 5%, like was said, you better off adding a second light to perform that function.

The PAR38 version of the bulb I got puts out 600 Lumens, the same as the Cree bulb.

Does the Cree give you a "cone" of light, or is it heavily diffused?

The Cree bulbs put out a wide angle of light, equal to a typical incandescent floodlight bulb.

 

[gatchel]

I saw the home depot LED bulbs recently too. I decided to not bother based on the price and the lack of lumens.

I'll say it again... to this date, the Cree LR6 is the best recessed retrofit bulb I have seen.

 

[ano]

I'll say it again... to this date, the Cree LR6 is the best recessed retrofit bulb I have seen.

I have both the bulbs and the stock and both have been pretty impressive.

And while the LR6 is pretty incredible, the ones they are testing now are really incredible, approaching 100 Lumens per watt. Walmart must be impressed as well. They are replacing their ceiling lighting with Cree lights in 650 stores. The Cree bulbs not only last longer, but they are claimed to be 82% more efficient than the metal halide bulbs they replace.

 

[signal15]

I'll say it again... to this date, the Cree LR6 is the best recessed retrofit bulb I have seen.

I have both the bulbs and the stock and both have been pretty impressive.

And while the LR6 is pretty incredible, the ones they are testing now are really incredible, approaching 100 Lumens per watt. Walmart must be impressed as well. They are replacing their ceiling lighting with Cree lights in 650 stores. The Cree bulbs not only last longer, but they are claimed to be 82% more efficient than the metal halide bulbs they replace.

Any word as to when Cree will release a retrofit that puts out more than 600 lumens?

 

[Mark S.]

I agree - nobody even come close to the Cree LR6. It is just as bright, or brighter than an incandescent 65W. The spread is also equal. Color is great, in either 2700K or 3500K.

I have tried several other LED spots (R20, R30). They all suffer from either low output, or narrow dispersion angle, or both.

The secret seems to be Cree's own LEDs. Look for Cree LEDs, no matter who makes the lamp.

If you are looking for an LED downlight, don't waste your time with anything other than an LR6.

Mark

 

[signal15]

I wish someone would release one based on the SSC-P7 LED. A single LED puts out 900 lumens. I have a flashlight that uses one, and it's insanity. Easily 10 times brighter than a 3D Maglite. If you shine it down on a concrete floor or other light colored floor, it's too bright to even look at the floor. Mine has a wide fixed spread on it, and I can still light up houses 1/4 mile away. Uses rechargable Li-ion batteries. Color temp is about 6500K though, which is way too white for interior lighting, it would have to be mixed with red and yellow LEDs to bring it down to 2700-3100K.

Check out the LED stuff on http://www.dealextreme.com There is some great stuff there for dirt cheap. It just takes like 3 weeks to get it from Hong Kong. They have some Cree based PAR bulbs with an edison base, but no info on the color temps or lumens.

 

[mdonovan]

I wish someone would release one based on the SSC-P7 LED. A single LED puts out 900 lumens. I have a flashlight that uses one, and it's insanity. Easily 10 times brighter than a 3D Maglite. If you shine it down on a concrete floor or other light colored floor, it's too bright to even look at the floor. Mine has a wide fixed spread on it, and I can still light up houses 1/4 mile away. Uses rechargable Li-ion batteries. Color temp is about 6500K though, which is way too white for interior lighting, it would have to be mixed with red and yellow LEDs to bring it down to 2700-3100K.

Check out the LED stuff on http://www.dealextreme.com There is some great stuff there for dirt cheap. It just takes like 3 weeks to get it from Hong Kong. They have some Cree based PAR bulbs with an edison base, but no info on the color temps or lumens.

What is the brand name of your flashlight? I'd like a super bright light.

Matt

 

[briankelly63]

Here's one:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.19113

 

[signal15]

I wish someone would release one based on the SSC-P7 LED. A single LED puts out 900 lumens. I have a flashlight that uses one, and it's insanity. Easily 10 times brighter than a 3D Maglite. If you shine it down on a concrete floor or other light colored floor, it's too bright to even look at the floor. Mine has a wide fixed spread on it, and I can still light up houses 1/4 mile away. Uses rechargable Li-ion batteries. Color temp is about 6500K though, which is way too white for interior lighting, it would have to be mixed with red and yellow LEDs to bring it down to 2700-3100K.

Check out the LED stuff on http://www.dealextreme.com There is some great stuff there for dirt cheap. It just takes like 3 weeks to get it from Hong Kong. They have some Cree based PAR bulbs with an edison base, but no info on the color temps or lumens.

What is the brand name of your flashlight? I'd like a super bright light.

Matt

I'd the get following items from them:
18074 (battery case)
5790 (batteries)
936 (charger)
12623 (flashlight)

For my G2 tactical light that I already had, I bought these also:
3273 (rechargeable batteries so I wasn't paying $12 everytime they went dead)
11836 (Cree R2 drop in LED module)

I hardly ever use the G2 anymore. The 12623 is way better quality and performs better. And it was less than half the price.

 

[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...

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.

I finally got around to ordering a couple of small light bars from these guys about 5 1/2 weeks ago and just received my order. I must say that I am quite impressed by the amount of light that these little things generate. The temperature is a little cool for my tastes, as you mentioned, but I think they would be great for under cabinet lighting. They are very thin and would be easy to conceal or place them in a discrete location. Maybe I can put some coloured acrylic on the housing I build to make the light appear a little warmer.
I bought 2 of SKU 13087 (8W 128-LED 15ni 450-Lumen Aluminum Alloy Light Strip - White (12~12.5V DC)) for $25.90 each. I'll probably be ordering another dozen or so.

Thanks again for pointing me in that direction.

 

[signal15]

Why aren't there cheap HID bulbs for residential use? I just purchased a HID retrofit kit for my wife's car and it cost me $50. Included ballasts, wiring harness, and bulbs that fit in the OEM housing.

They had another set for $30, but the ballasts were a bit larger, otherwise the same thing. Lifetime warranty on them also. So, if I can buy all this stuff for $30, why can't they make these cheap for indoor residential use?