Cree LED lightbulbs

[sciphi]

I recently purchased one of the new Cree 60-watt equivalent LED light bulbs for use in a bathroom light fixture. $14 at Home Depot. I called Cree's tech support line, was answered promptly by a live person who spoke good American English, and they politely answered my questions. I asked if it was okay for use in damp environments and enclosed fixtures, like a bathroom ceiling fixture. The CS rep said it was fine for that use, so I pulled the trigger.

The bulbs are rated as 800 lumens using 10 watts of power in 60-watt equivalent. There are brighter bulbs out there, just not at the price point. I can't tell a difference in color or brightness between the new LED bulb and the old 60 watt incandescent, at least in the smaller space and ceiling-mounted fixture the bulb is used in. Colors look identical, at least to my eyes.

In summary, it plain works. I'd buy another few if I had more places to use them!

 

[eljefino]

I've got a few of the $6, 1.2 watt edison base frosted LED bulbs from walmart. The light is a little "milky" but otherwise acceptable. My bathroom/ saferoom is perpetually dark (no windows) so I stuck one of these in the integrated fan/light gizmo. Perfect to leave on all the time.

Another is in my wood shed, I leave it on during snow storms etc as a point of reference across my property. Otherwise it gets cold started for a minute while I gather wood mid-winter, abuse for any CFL.

 

[Hokiefyd]

The Cree bulbs are made in the beautiful state of North Carolina. Use them with pride.

 

[ZZman]

LED bulbs will be the big energy saver for the U.S and world.

 

[JHZR2]

Ive been really happy with my LED bulbs. Ive bought philips so far, as they have a DOE award winning US made version.

Is there a Cree-branded light sold at HD now?

 

[bigt61]

LEDs are still very pricey IMO. In applications where the light has to stay on a long time they do eventually pay for themselves. I mostly use CFLs but some new low cost LEDs are on the horizon - they will lower the world's energy bill.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
LED bulbs will be the big energy saver for the U.S and world.


They are not notably different in efficiency from fluorescents.

They may be somewhat more effective, as the light can be directed easily. I recently removed 13W CF reflector bulbs from my "high hats" and went with 14W LED floods. The LED's have roughly the same color temp and have a slight "ON" delay. They are a bit more "glare-y" and seem brighter for the same lumen rating, which I like.

Dimmable too. AND, when I dim them, they don't turn orange or yellow. Just dimmer, Nice! I even put a dimmer on the LED's outside, to kill the glare when I don't need 15 million candlepower out there.

I will be replacing the CF with LED's over time.

 

[MolaKule]

I use Cree light bulbs all around the house.

75mA at 8Watts and it puts out the same light intensity as a 75 Watts light bulb. Great for bench work.

Creee is a very innovative company.

They are now making high powered FET transistors for communications applications.

 

[Quest]

I'm gonna get some cree bulbs next time I'm around the bend (@ homedepot)...

Gonna use them along with my lutron occupancy sensor, which I used to set my CFLs on my 2nd floor where the staircase is.... I wanna switch to LED just to save the relay contact a bit by means of obvious reduction in initial inrush current with those CFLs I'm using.

And also the fact that LEDs are cable of easily over 25,000hrs makes them a very good proposition in terms of very high ceiling potlights (my 2nd floor staircase potlights are over 28' high)

Q.

 

[crazyoildude]

i just put two 60w Cree led bulbs in a fixture i have outside with a dawn to dusk light sensor and they work good..
I do have a question my light switch inside the house has a light in it and it flickers with the new bulbs when off but not with the old regular bulbs any ideas why??

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
Dimmable too. AND, when I dim them, they don't turn orange or yellow. Just dimmer, Nice! I even put a dimmer on the LED's outside, to kill the glare when I don't need 15 million candlepower out there.



Any old dimmer???

I put a "dimmable" LED into the chandelier in our dining room, which has a really old dimmer switch on the wall. Certainly from the age of incandescent everything... It would not dim the dimmable LED...

Id love to be able to dim the chandelier, but with high efficiency lights in it, since it is on quite a bit...

Did you have to buy a specialty dimmer?

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: Cujet
Dimmable too. AND, when I dim them, they don't turn orange or yellow. Just dimmer, Nice! I even put a dimmer on the LED's outside, to kill the glare when I don't need 15 million candlepower out there.



Any old dimmer???

I put a "dimmable" LED into the chandelier in our dining room, which has a really old dimmer switch on the wall. Certainly from the age of incandescent everything... It would not dim the dimmable LED...

Id love to be able to dim the chandelier, but with high efficiency lights in it, since it is on quite a bit...

Did you have to buy a specialty dimmer?
The dimmer is probably not able to reduce the voltage enough to dim the LEDs.

 

[HerrStig]

Cree makes a really bright LED replacement for the PIMA bulbs in AA powered mini Mag lights.

 

[lyle]

I've replaced 26 13W CFL's with these 9.5W Cree's (thank you bonus). They are SLIGHTLY cheaper bought from HD online (in a 6-pack). I like the instant-on and full brightness as compared to the CFL's. In fact, I've replaced almost every CFL in the house with LED's, including floods. The only holdouts are 2 lamps which have 3-way bulbs in them.

The Cree's definitely run cooler compared to the Phillips, EcoSmart, and EarthLED A19 replacements. Hopefully they all live up to their touted lifespan as I will probably never have to replace a bulb again.

 

[Colt45ws]

I just bought a pair of close out Phillips LED 40W equivalent LED bulbs from HD. They were 14.03/ea OTD. Previously I was using a single 60W halogen in this fixture. I dont like CFLs as I havent had good luck with them lasting and the noticeable on delay would irritate me.
Take a long time to hit ROI on them. I just bought them for the novelty mainly.
It was probably costing around .50/month to run the halogen at a best guesstimate of 160hrs/month. So now its .13/month. Take about 30 months based on power savings alone. By that point the Halogen would have had to be replaced once or twice so probably a bit earlier.
If I had seen these Cree bulbs I probably would have bought one or two of them instead.

 

[Vikas]

Strangely, after using them for a while, I now prefer CFL in the bathroom! They take their time to come to full brightness and I like that "feature" now.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude

I do have a question my light switch inside the house has a light in it and it flickers with the new bulbs when off but not with the old regular bulbs any ideas why??


Yeah they bleed a little current through what it would expect to be a large incandescent filament to light their little night light thing. The LEDs are so efficient they don't bleed enough current when "off" (and it's a poor proposition for solid state gizmos anyway).

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Cree makes a really bright LED replacement for the PIMA bulbs in AA powered mini Mag lights.


I got a $10 generic LED like this for my tiny MagLite Solitaire. It went from being nearly useless to causing lingering spots before my eyes. It's an amazing amount of light from a single AAA battery powered baby flashlight.

 

[crazyoildude]

I wonder if there is a fire risk? There is a lot going on inside those bulbs.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I have many CFL bulbs I bought a while ago for a dime each, it will be more than 10 years before I need to buy any bulb. By then LED may be replaced by something else, or the price will drop to about a dime each.