Inaccurate Lumen Ratings On LED Light Bulbs

[k1xv]

I only purchase Phillips LED bulbs for the house. The other brands fail prematurely, and create RF noise. As an amateur radio operator, RF noise is simply unacceptable.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Very often you can see what appears to be the same product photo but with different specs from different sellers. It's all lies and it's probably hard to convince Amazon to do anything about it.

You are best off going to Lowes / HD to buy the bulbs. They are on clearance half the time anyway.

 

[Hall]

My 2006 car as far as I know has original incandescent bulbs.

My '08 G35 has Xenon headlights and they lasted 130k miles and 11 years. Think aftermarkets will last anywhere close ?

 

[billt460]

You are best off going to Lowes / HD to buy the bulbs. They are on clearance half the time anyway.

That's where I bought the bulb I ended up replacing.

 

[billt460]

I’ve had led bulbs fail in less than a year. Even if on 24 hours a day it’s nowhere near what’s claimed.

I have 3, 400 lumen LED bulbs that have been burning 24/7 for the last 4 years in my garage. I think they are supposed to be drawing around 18 watts a piece. (or so says the box).

I can't remember the make, but I'm sure they're made in China. I'm not sure if turning them on and off daily would shorten their life, or not.

 

[bobdoo]

"There is no way the new bulb is twice as bright. (3010 vs. 6000)"

Your eyes can see in starlight, and full noon sun. Your perception is logarithmic. Twice the lumens IS twice as bright, but you don't perceive it that way.

 

[John105]

I have 3, 400 lumen LED bulbs that have been burning 24/7 for the last 4 years in my garage. I think they are supposed to be drawing around 18 watts a piece. (or so says the box).

I can't remember the make, but I'm sure they're made in China. I'm not sure if turning them on and off daily would shorten their life, or not.

When I first bought 3157 LEDs for my wife’s GM because they kept burning out (and eventually melting their sockets—one failed the next day!), I tested myself and found it drew the 3.7 watts per specs. The originals were 27 watts.

In a sense it would be nice to get the draw down as the BMW H8 incandescent drls are 35 watts per side, but properly designed (first failed at age 10, and second at age 17.5–no heat problem).

I’ve noticed home LEDs can get quite hot. And they have gotten smaller. The originals were quite heavy and got hot, and sometimes couldn’t fit into light fixtures.

Since I work in NJ, I buy bulbs at Costco. The utility subsidizes them. A 6
Pack of chandelier bulbs for $2.99 and such. Really crazy cheap. That’s where Costco charged sales tax on the full, not subsidized amounts, and issued gift cards years later…

 

[Rogueman2016s]

I have a few high lumen LED bulbs outside on a dusk till dawn photocell.

This could be your bulb issue. Jump out the photocell see if the bulbs output changes.

 

[97prizm]

This is getting as bad as a lot of the lumen ratings on Amazon LED Flashlights. I have a few high lumen LED bulbs outside on a dusk till dawn photocell. On one of my carriage lights in between the garage doors, I had a 3010 lumen rated LED bulb. (It's the one shown in the top link).

I replaced it with what is supposed to be a 6000 lumen "corn cob" LED bulb. (The one shown in the lower link). There is no way the new bulb is twice as bright. (3010 vs. 6000). They are both the same Kelvin rating, ("Daylight" not that yellowy "Soft White").

This is blatant false advertising. I honestly can't tell if it's any brighter at all. Then they keep trying to rate them using these silly "watts equivalent" ratings, that's supposed to compare the LED brightness, to that of a larger wattage incandescent light that isn't even being sold any longer.

It reminds me of that silly "Drams Equivalent" they rate shotgun shell power by. Comparing them to the equivalent of black powder from back in the 19th century, black powder era. That no one remotely cares about, or understands for that matter.

All of this seems to be getting worse as time passes. I love LED bulbs, but they really need to get their act together on how they rate these things in regard to brightness. Now they're all over the map.... Either by accident, or on purpose to boost sales... OK, rant over.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-Ultra-B...QCVwqDsGL0FsGCK1kzsRADobHXcwwZ1BoC9QgQAvD_BwE

Amazon.com

That's why I stick with GE or Cree LED bulbs. They have a heavy heatsink so the LEDs and circuitry stay cool. I'm just disappointed that there seems to be very little variation of Kelvin temp offered in led bulb form. If you have a way to measure lumen output I'd be curious to see what your bulbs actually are.

 

[billt460]

This could be your bulb issue. Jump out the photocell see if the bulbs output changes.

The photocell changes nothing. They're the same brightness as the identical bulb in a direct switched socket.

 

[billt460]

That's why I stick with GE or Cree LED bulbs. They have a heavy heatsink so the LEDs and circuitry stay cool. I'm just disappointed that there seems to be very little variation of Kelvin temp offered in led bulb form. If you have a way to measure lumen output I'd be curious to see what your bulbs actually are.

Heat has never been an issue with any LED bulb I have used. Past or present. Including the ones I have on a timer in my shed, or the several I have in my attic.

The LED bulb in my shed is on a timer, and is pretty much dusk until dawn. And that shed gets even hotter than my attic. Well into 3 digits during the dead of Summer.

All of my LED's come from either Lowe's or Home Depot. The only exception are these supposed 6000 lumen "corn cob" bulbs I bought off Amazon.