Any LED bulb gurus here? (house lighting)

[SZR48207]

I've been able to get by with incandescent bulbs up until now, but I'm ready to move to LED.

My needs:

- 60W equivalent (most of my fixtures are multi-bulb)
- Non-dimmable
- A19 or A21 size
- Daylight or Soft White

I'm comparing bulbs between brands, and there is quite a spread in price per bulb. Amazon Basics bulbs matching these specs can be had for around $1.50 per bulb. Sylvania is $0.95 per bulb. GE's Reveal/Refresh line are over $2.00 per bulb. All claim 13 years of life and ~800 lumens.

Does the brand even matter?

 

[mk378]

I would suggest that since they aren't very expensive you can buy a few different kinds to try out. It has gotten to the point where first cost is a relatively minor concern in the choice of an LED bulb, especially since the decision could be with you for years. This is the sort of thing where your own personal reaction is important. I like the light quality of the GE bulbs, they seem in a side by side comparison to be more light than some cheaper ones with the same lumen rating.

 

[AZjeff]

Don't buy cheap, no-name ones.

 

[Quest]

IMO RE: LED brand doesn't really matter, for they are all OEM'ed from china and they don't last that long anyways.

For continuous running, 60Watt equiv LED bulb can typically lasts between 6mnths (due to thermal-runaway of an SMD LED piece (they are in series fashion); to about 1.5yrs (before they flicker and die, for non-dimming type, the electrolytic filtering cap failed).


If your intention is to keep them running and max. out their service life, do keep the receipt handy for warranty claims.

p.s.

my best colour rendition is GE Reveal type LED bulbs; for longevity, I'd go for CREE buib (I have them for 3+yrs now in bathroom and still running )

Q.

 

[dadto2]

I'm not an expert, but I can tell you my experience. I've got several LED bulbs in use, bit 60w and 100w equivalents. None are name brand. They are whatever cheapies I picked up at Walmart or Aldi. The oldest have been in service about 4 years. (The post by the driveway is lit on average 4 hours/day every day for 4 years) I have yet to burn one out yet. They are instantly full brightness, no need to warm up as the CFL lamps did. I'm told that they don't suddenly fail as incandescent or CFLs do, but they start to dim over time. I have no perceptible dimming yet.

The LEDs are safer for the environment then CFL, they contain no Hg. Use only a fraction of the energy. (I think 8 or 9 watts for the same lumens as a 100w incandescent)

I don't see any reason to by a higher-priced name brand.

I've also started using the LED replacements in my T8 fixtures. I was replacing the florescent tubes every 6 months, I'm on about 2 years with the LED replacements, and still going strong.

Daylight is harsh, soft white is very close to what you get from incandescent.

Disclaimer - I have not yet tried a dimmable LED, so I don't know if there is a difference between name brand or generic in that style.

 

[tony1679]

I've tried many. GE, Philips, Feit, etc. My favorites far and away are actually Great Value LEDs at Walmart. I despise Walmart FWIW. Ironically they were the cheapest too, bought countless 4 packs for $2.xx.

 

[Rat407]

Originally Posted by Quest
IMO RE: LED brand doesn't really matter, for they are all OEM'ed from china and they don't last that long anyways.

For continuous running, 60Watt equiv LED bulb can typically lasts between 6mnths (due to thermal-runaway of an SMD LED piece (they are in series fashion); to about 1.5yrs (before they flicker and die, for non-dimming type, the electrolytic filtering cap failed).


If your intention is to keep them running and max. out their service life, do keep the receipt handy for warranty claims.

p.s.

my best colour rendition is GE Reveal type LED bulbs; for longevity, I'd go for CREE buib (I have them for 3+yrs now in bathroom and still running )

Q.

It is my understanding that CREE bulbs are manufactured here in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.

 

[glock19]

I replaced all of the light bulbs in my last house, and built my current house entirely with LED bulbs. I have a mix of OSRAM, Sylvania, GE, SATCO, Utilitech, and Amazon Basics bulbs and besides temperature color I can't tell any difference between them. Some bulbs are over 5 years old at this point and still I haven't had one die yet. I would just go with the cheapest option.

 

[javacontour]

Even the dimmable bulbs give odd results.

I put a dimmable bulb in my over the range microwave as I got tired of changing them out. The way the circuit works in the microwave, I went from off/dim/bright to dim/medium/bright

Even in the off position on the microwave, there must be a voltage present to light the LED.

They were sold as dimmable bulbs and the previous microwave I had there didn't have the issue with the other bulb in the package. Some dimmer circuits require a minimum load to work properly and I suspect the new model microwave is one of these.

 

[Skippy722]

I like the GE HD bulbs, they give the best color IMO. I had some cheap ones and they can make colors look a little weird.

 

[HangFire]

I tried a dimmable appliance bulb in my microwave, or tried to. The base was right, the bulb didn't fit. Too tall.

I choose LED lighting like any other, by the spectrum. I prefer warmer, more yellow light. GE makes a "Relax" midrange LED bulb that is just right for me. Quality and long life remain to be seen, but have had some almost a year now.

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted by Skippy722
I like the GE HD bulbs, they give the best color IMO. I had some cheap ones and they can make colors look a little weird.


Where are these sold. I checked Home Depot and no GE's. Don't think I saw GE at Menard's or Lowe's either. I would like to try them.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted by tony1679
My favorites far and away are actually Great Value LEDs at Walmart.

Mine too. And I've never had a bad one. I had these in my outside front and back patio fixtures in the home I just sold for over 2 years, and currently in our new home we just moved into this past July. They're on from dusk until dawn every night.

I've found the "Daylight" gives off a nicer, clearer light than the "Soft White". Most of the "Soft White" LED's I've come across are far too yellow. YMMV.

 

[KGMtech]

I've always gotten far less life from LED lights than the box claimed. No I have not made a warranty claim to this point, but will going forward. Doesn't seem to matter what brand, GE, Sylvania, Phillips, Noma, all made in China and all are prone to early failure in my experience.

 

[JTK]

I believe I've tried every brand listed in the above posts. I've been using LED replacement bulbs for close to 10yrs now. Basically as my CFLs fail, they get replaced with LED. I've had no-name cheapys fail and I've had name brands fail. They're all built cheaply regardless of brand or duty. There is no need to spend more than a buck or two on a ~60watt equivalent bulb.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

As long as you're not outfitting some ceiling fan brands with vertically-mounted candelabra bases, just buy the cheapest and best-available bulbs in the color temperature you want. You have to remember that ANY lightbulb's life is dependent upon the ambient temperature of its environment/enclosure and the number of times it is flipped on and off. I too have tried maybe 6 different brands and don't have a favorite, other than the cheapest one available that meets 2 things: the color temp I'm looking for, and the max lumens for the given wattage I'm buying.

For the vertically-mounted ceiling fan with low-profile glass globe, it took a special short-element incandescent, and even the shortest LED I could find was too long. So I found one that had a built-in 360* diffuser since it was pointing straight down, held the bulb on my workbench, and sawzalled off the outer plastic housing so just the diffuser part was left. Since it was enclosed inside the globe, there is zero risk to damage or personal injury. They've worked beautifully for over 3 years now...

 

[Alfred_B]

Great Value seems to do well and the ones I've seen were made by Sylvania.

Other than GV, I would avoid buying no name ones.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Buying a Light-Bulb today sure has gotten complicated.

Years ago, all you needed to know was the wattage and Clear or White.

 

[Wolf359]

I've been buying them for the last several years. Slowly replacing all my CFL bulbs. Basically the local utilities usually subsidizes them so for a while, anything under $1 was a good deal, but lately the prices have come down even more, sometimes 50 cents and recently down to 25 cents a bulb with the utility discount. You have to go to the local stores to get those, Walmart, Costco, etc. I haven't had as many LED failures as I've had CFL failures. It's kinda nice now, when a unit turns over, all the bulbs still work as most tenants seem to be too lazy to change a bulb and all the CFL/LED bulbs still work years later.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by LoneRanger
Originally Posted by Skippy722
I like the GE HD bulbs, they give the best color IMO. I had some cheap ones and they can make colors look a little weird.


Where are these sold. I checked Home Depot and no GE's. Don't think I saw GE at Menard's or Lowe's either. I would like to try them.


Meijer, Walmart, and I think Lowe's carried them.