Philips' new LED light bulbs are brighter, more efficient, not cheap

Yup, the L Prize...unfortunately, Philips was the only manufacturer who entered the competition, and they're a Dutch company so they weren't eligible in the first place.

The bulb is $50 currently, went on sale around Earth Day.

 

I must say . . . . in the 2 years ago that this thread started, LED's have finally begun to really be impressive regarding color, longevity, beam width and price. I repent from my earlier crybaby comments! In the past 7 or 8 months, we've been buying LED's and smiling over the results.
Next on our LED conversion list: The 8 can lights in the kitchen. I forget who make's 'em ... but the LED retro fit cans they're selling at home depo really do fit the bill.
$34 but occasionally on sale ... they're plenty bright, and like the Philips's offerings they look great:


We particularly like the diffusion lens, so you don't have to look at raw LED's. We'll be doing swap outs as the old CFL's croak.

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Reading through this thread is tough to take... coming from somebody who's been building with LEDs for 12 years or so. The comments at the beginning of the thread mirror what I've heard about the Prius, what I've heard about EVs, what I've heard about solar - It just doesn't pencil out! And yet in every case listed AND LEDs, I've somehow managed to make them all into excellent investments. Not on paper... but in reality.

Anyway... back to slick commercial LEDs. I can't believe how great they've gotten...

 

You can still probably find the excellent 6" LED downlights made by Cree for Home Depot. They're 2700K which is true soft white color, 575 lumens @ 9.5watts:
Led Light Bulbs For The Home from EcoSmart | The Home Depot - Model#: ECO-575L

My local HD sells them for $24.95- I had several of them in service for over a year now and am very happy with them, especially the soft white color...

 

^^ That's a heck of a deal if they're down to $25 now. They were $50 when I got them last year! Love the clean look they have and ability to dim them.

 

They're different prices from different zip codes due to local electric supplier subsidy's at the time of purchase. One time last year they were at $19.99 from CT zip codes. Was planning on ordering them from a CT zip code- but then they came down to $24.95 locally so I just got them from my local store.

FYI- these particular LEDS won't fit in the low profile 6" dia hi-hat cans that are used with shallow ceilings and or between floors with 6" joists. The low profile cans are an inch and change too short for these fixtures. They fit perfectly in the standard depth 6" cans however.

 

Yes, I had issues with having 2 - 6" low profile cans needing replaced when I got mine last year.

It's almost worthwhile for someone that wants a bunch, to see if a PC member in the local are they are really cheap is willing to buy and ship them over to them. Especially in the case of them being $40-50 each here, that's quite a savings! I have no use for more 6" ones right now, and really would love to get the 4" ones with the trim ring, etc. but I then have no use for the 4" size ones that I'd be removing from those cans.

 

For flood lights in current downfacing fixtures, these Array Lighting Nexus bulbs are an engineering marvel (with a price to match):

Shop Array 45-Watt Equivalent Indoor LED Flood Light Bulb (ENERGY STAR) at Lowes.com

7.8 watts yielding over 500 lumens and a beam spread that doesn't leave you wanting, the most lightweight LED bulb I've ever held as well.

 

"3000K Warm White light" is at the high end of the color spectrum for warm white (halogen is 3100K), the 2700K produced by the $24.95 Cree LED downlight from Home Depot is spot on color wise for an incandescent warm white replacement.

Is the Lowes pricing zip code sensitive? The above linked LED is $47.98 at my local Lowes

 

Coming up $60 for me..

 

A couple of years ago I tried to find LED bulbs and couldn't find anything suitable. Maybe they were out there but I couldn't find them. I bought a sort of desk lamp, but it didn't put out enough light to do much good. Then six months or a year ago I found some at Home Depot and put one in a floor lamp, but it was mediocre.

A month ago I decided I wanted some track lighting to properly illuminate the newest painting in my art collection, and a couple of other paintings in a prominent place in my living room. After some research as to the best color temperature for art, and with the help of the handyman who was going to install the lights, I found some LEDs that seemed right, and they are perfect. Good lighting has made all the difference, and the paintings are now as impressive as they were in the galleries where I bought them. The one I've had the longest was rather lackluster without good lighting, but it really stands out now. And the newest one, which was fabulous in the gallery, just didn't have the same quality in my home, until I got the track lighting in.

In the kitchen I have a mix of LEDs and CFLs because I don't see much reason to throw out the CFLs until they die. I don't expect to buy any more incandescents, and probably won't buy any more CFLs.

 

I've gotten a $15 rotating LED light that sends light exactly where you want it, & NOT where you don't want it(like glaring in your eyes). I've replaced a 100watt incandescent with the 6watt LED, which paid itself off in 2000 hours. After 10000 hours, 3 such lights in our house, have left $60 in our pockets......... each!

 

...spent $40 at Home Depot last nite for one Philips Endura AmbiantLED 19-Watt (75 Watt equiv) with $10 discount. Not sure I like it as much as the 60-watt version. It is a bigger bulb physically (~1-in taller). In the lamp I am using it in, it sits higher in the lamp shade and does not seem to throw off as much light. I'll see what I can do but raise the shade is the direction I'd have to go.

PS- the 60-watt version I've seen as low as $42 for two, so with $10 discount you could be in the range $16 per bulb.

(talking 60-watt equiv here - actually 12.5 watts)

 

...wow I am shocked my 60-watt equiv. Philips LED appears to have failed after mild use in a lamp for about 1 yr.

 

looking for a floor lamp. any links out there?

 

look at Amazon Verilux I have one not very bright wondering if they make LED bulbs to replace the CFL in there.

 

I am convinced about led lighting. I replaced the old 75w incandescent outdoor flood light with led flood lights I got from Costco 3 - 4 years ago. They were pricey, but I have not needed to get out the extension ladder, go up almost 2 stories to replace to old burnt out bulbs. this had to be done on a yearly basis. The led replacements have been working great - no burn outs at all. Also I tried using the CFLs over the bath medicine cabinet - not good results. constant on /off of the CFLs leads to a shorten life, usually under 1 year. When I finally use up the last of the CFLs, I will install 5 led replacement lights over the med. cabinet. Then I won't be constantly replacing bulbs like the old CFL. Also, I read (IEEE Spectrum Magazine0by the end of 2013, the price of led lighting will drop. When this happens, I will probably replace all of the lights in the house over to led lighting.

DBCassidy

 

Never a problem here. Almost 2 full years of use too, with a dozen of them spread throughout my house and my mom's. Lots of on & off. Two outdoors too.

I have several Sylvania floods and a number of Toshiba's on dimmers too. They all work great.

Of course, the LED headlights on the Prius are the best example of low energy nice lighting.

 

was considering something like this

Amazon.com: Fulcrum Magnifier 12 LED Floor Lamp: Home Improvement

as it will do double duty. we dont really want bright lighting per se as this will be the "switch" lamp mostly and the one that we have a tendancy to leave on the most so want low power, long lasting, etc... and its a pretty cheap price compared to other types of lamps. most of the ones i see in stores are near $150-200

 

I bought this one when Amazon had it on sale for$20 bucks. Today it's $21.65 I think. It worked very well, little heat, good color temp, if my wife can take it, it should be a snap for the rest of the world to accept!

Philips 409904/423343 - BC12A19/AMB/2700-800 DIM Dimmable LED 12.5 Watt Light Bulb -- Lasts 22.8 Years - Amazon.com