More LED bulb options

[tmbrown97]

I only have two chandeliers in my house - one in the entry, and one in the dining room - they're both a matching bronze tiered setup - in the entry, it takes 9 A19 bulbs; the Dining Room takes 6 - all full sized A19's pointing up.  The thought of 540 watts running from that entryway light killed me - now it's only like 85; will go to 54 if I update to the Cree's.
 
I guess most chandeliers do use the Candelabra bulbs - but this is just a builder-grade generic that uses the 9 bulbs pointing up with a glass surround to hide the bulb.  In my entry way, it's about a 30x30 room with 20' ceilings and that fixture does light up the room rather well... but I know the Cree's would look 100% better with the filament look and much fuller light coverage.  Problem is, I'm not sure what to do with the 15 leftover utilitechs that I'd have no further use for, and I don't know when I'll care enough to drop $150 on it.

 

[IndyMike]

.....
 
The other thing I hadn't solved for yet was ceiling fixtures.  If you carefully read the packaging on LED bulbs, you'll find that most say they're not for enclosed fixtures; well ceiling fixtures in bedrooms and closets account for another 24 or so bulbs in the house - so another big potential savings... for these I finally found a suitable replacement as well.  Lowes has another Utilitech bulb  - this one specifically says it's suitable for fully enclosed fixtures - and I've found it to be adequate - especially for kids' rooms and closets.  Again, mine are replacing 60W bulbs and these seem to compare just fine even with the 40W equivalent rating.
 
This all started when we realized that at our kids' bath/bedtimes, our power consumption was tripling - because downstairs is all LED and upstairs was all Incandescent; so fixing these closed fixtures and vanity downlights should make a huge different on our power bill since we spend the majority of the month in the $.39/kWh rates.

 
Hello Work2Play,
 
Like you, I've been using the Utilitech bulbs for quite some time now.  Your link to the "closed fixture" compatible bulbs caught my interest.  The Lowes site does indicate that these are "Indoor only or Closed fixture compatible"
 
Unfortunately, if you look at the "specifications" link the message is a bit different: "For indoor or Enclosed outdoor use only"
http://www.lowes.com/pd_472703-75774-LA19DM/LEDG2_0__?productId=4684017&Ntt=utilitech+led&Ns=p_product_price|0
 
Does the bulb packaging indicate they're ok for an enclosed indoor fixture?
 
Thanks,
IM

 

[tmbrown97]

Interesting question - and unfortunately the Lowes.com website is down for maintenance right now; I went over every inch of the packaging just now and it doesn't say anything one way or the other, although it does state "suitable for damp locations".  Most bulbs do clearly indicate that they're not for enclosed fixtures.  Would be crazy for it to be OK for external enclosed fixtures and not indoor - here in Northern California it wouldn't be unheard of for the fixture to be 120° inside with the light off; indoors would definitely be cooler.
 
I wouldn't have bought these without a clear indication that they were for enclosed fixtures - I believe the cardboard shelf-box they were in on the display had enclosed fixtures as one of the suitable fixture types - and it was one of the only options with that as being acceptable.  Now I want to go back though and find some proof that they're really OK - and document it!  Maybe Tuesday I can swing by there again - I have a few other bulbs I need to return anyways (the $30 phillips is bright as heck with a good pattern but really noisy and annoying - great for outdoor bulbs probably).  If I can dig up more info I'll post it.

 

[TonyNo]

Lowes.com says, "Designed for indoor or enclosed use only". I would suspect that's a typo and it shoud be, "Designed for indoor or enclosed outdoor use only".
 
I recently picked up two of these to check out. Grabbed a 5000k and 3000k, and, was surptised at how cool the 3000k was. The other was way too blue.

 

[tmbrown97]

For those following along, the Cree bulbs that have been talked about here and in the Chat room have been a huge step in the world of LED bulbs.  Well 2 days ago, Cree announced the BR30 version coming to Home Depot shelf near you.  Price is a little higher - about $20 for a 9.5W 65W Equiv.
 
http://www.cree.com/news-and-events/cree-news/press-releases/2013/july/br30
 
http://www.homedepot.com/cree
 
I'll get a couple next time I'm out - I have 2 bulbs that can only be changed with an extension ladder so they're the last two BR30 incandescents in the house and they're due for replacement.

Just in case it was never mentioned here, the Crees actually are considered suitable for enclosed fixtures as well. According to Cree, they're intended for use anywhere a traditional LED is used today.

 

[apostolakisl]

Looks nice.  About $10 less than the CR6.  They look to have a shorter life (22.5 years compared to 35, not sure what that means in hours), but put out a few more lumens per watt.  I haven't seen a CRI on it yet.

 

[rsw686]

For those following along, the Cree bulbs that have been talked about here and in the Chat room have been a huge step in the world of LED bulbs.  Well 2 days ago, Cree announced the BR30 version coming to Home Depot shelf near you.  Price is a little higher - about $20 for a 9.5W 65W Equiv.
 

 
Nice find! I'm a fan of the Cree A19 LED bulbs as they produce a light almost identical to a regular incandescent bulb. I'll have to pick a few of these up when they hit the stores.

 

[JimS]

Very interesting.  I did some quick calculations on total cost (cost of bulbs + energy cost).  I used $0.10/kwh which is slightly less than what I pay and probably less than most pay.  The total cost for the LED bulbs is very close to the energy cost for compact flor. bulbs. 
 
Here is my very rough calcs:
 
65 watt equivalent compact flor flood, 8000 hours life, 16W, $10
65 watt LED flood, 25000 hours life, 9.5 W, $20
 
I used 25000 hours - 1 led bulb or 3 Flor. for this life
                    Bulb cost         kWh         Energy cost
Flor                 $30                400             $40
LED                $20               238              $23.80
 
Even if they were to give you the flor. bulbs it would only be $3.80 more for the LEDs and you don't have to change them out as often.  Wonder if I can take back the flor bulbs I bought a while back? 
 
Just a rough look seems to show similar situation for standard A19 bulbs.
 
Sounds like most people prefer the warm white versions?

 

[jhdale]

Not to mention CFLs have the slow warmup issue, gradually lose brightness over their lifetime, and contain mercury. The LED is a better choice.

 

[apostolakisl]

Very interesting.  I did some quick calculations on total cost (cost of bulbs + energy cost).  I used $0.10/kwh which is slightly less than what I pay and probably less than most pay.  The total cost for the LED bulbs is very close to the energy cost for compact flor. bulbs. 
 
Here is my very rough calcs:
 
65 watt equivalent compact flor flood, 8000 hours life, 16W, $10
65 watt LED flood, 25000 hours life, 9.5 W, $20
 
I used 25000 hours - 1 led bulb or 3 Flor. for this life
                    Bulb cost         kWh         Energy cost
Flor                 $30                400             $40
LED                $20               238              $23.80
 
Even if they were to give you the flor. bulbs it would only be $3.80 more for the LEDs and you don't have to change them out as often.  Wonder if I can take back the flor bulbs I bought a while back? 
 
Just a rough look seems to show similar situation for standard A19 bulbs.
 
Sounds like most people prefer the warm white versions?

 
 
You also save on cooling costs if you live in the South.  For every watt you burn inside your house it uses around 1/3 of watt to pull the heat out of the house (more with a crappy old AC unit).  Of course in the North during heating season, you get to save a little on your furnace bill by burning more watts of lights.  Though your furnace is probably way cheaper per btu of heat.

 

[tmbrown97]

With my $.39/kWh, the payback is definitely even faster.  Not to mention, all my light switches are dimmers and you can't dim CFL, then of course there's the issues above.

 

[etc6849]

If you put 9 LED lamps (or even 6) on one dimmer, should one be worried about high inrush current?  I have read that many dimmers cannot handle high inrush current as they were designed for incandescent lamps.  The few LED lamps I've looked at conveniently don't publish the inrush current either.

 

[tmbrown97]

Hard to say - at least in my case, I have two switches that have 9 bulbs each in them and one with 6, and they've never exhibited any issues.  I'm not sure the best way to test inrush - I have a fluke ammeter and a kill-a-watt easy but not sure if any would give me that.  I have no problem tossing a rig w/10 A19 bases and a switch to test this if either of those tools would help me.

 

[Waynedb]

Not to mention CFLs have the slow warmup issue, gradually lose brightness over their lifetime, and contain mercury. The LED is a better choice.

I wish had all the money I wasted buying dimmable fluorescent lights over the years back, I had some fail in as short as two weeks and none of them lasted long enough to save me any money over staying with an incandescent. I have been using 100% L.E.D. for quite awhile now and I have had zero L.E.D. Lights fail.

 

[Waynedb]

If you put 9 LED lamps (or even 6) on one dimmer, should one be worried about high inrush current?  I have read that many dimmers cannot handle high inrush current as they were designed for incandescent lamps.  The few LED lamps I've looked at conveniently don't publish the inrush current either.

I would either call or email support to find out before buying any L.E.D. Lights, I know most of the lights I am using in my cans have an inrush current equivalent of 115 watts so I am limited to 5 per 600 watt dimmer. If they can't answer you I would not trust them in my house.