zespectre
Flashlight Enthusiast
Review: Sylvania 78641 18 watt "Ultra LED" floodlight bulb for PAR38 fixtures
We have been running multiple sets of 75 watt floodlights (6 bulbs total) to illuminate the exterior of our house and yard. In order to reduce the consumed wattage these bulbs were replaced with 15 watt CFL floodlights over the course of the Summer, taking us from roughly 450 watts down to 90 watts. However the relatively long "warmup-to-full-brightness" period (made worse by cool/cold weather) of the CFL bulbs proved to be completely unsatisfactory for a couple of the locations, especially one that covers a walkway and stairs to the back yard so in that specific fixture we reverted to incandescent. My desire to try something else led to the purchase of one Sylvania 78641 18 watt "Ultra LED bulb" for PAR38 fixtures as it was on sale for $44.
According to the manufacturer the bulb is
When turned on the light has a roughly one-half to one second delay before turning on, it then comes on full brightness with no noticeable "warm up" time.
There are "Wide" and "Narrow" flood versions. I have the "narrow" one and actually it is pretty much perfect for illuminating the intended walkway and stairs without excessive overspill onto the neighbor's side windows. For the general area in the back yard a wider flood would probably be more effective.
The bulb is rated at 900 lumens and I was unsure that would be enough considering it was replacing a 1200 lumen incandescent, however the beam is even and well controlled making efficient use of the lumens and providing excellent coverage of the area I wanted to light with it. The color is pleasing to my eye (I hate BLUE lighting).
The bulb itself has a MASSIVE heat sink, but did not seem to get very warm at all (though it was a pretty cool night at 42 degrees F).
I will re-post as time goes by to report on durability as this light is screwed into an outdoor fixture, but is otherwise completely exposed on the side of an outdoors post and will therefore be subject to direct sun in the day, rain, snow, mist, and the full range of temperatures.
My initial impression is extremely favorable though even the sale price is too high for me to consider wholesale replacement of the other bulbs which would total more than $250
We have been running multiple sets of 75 watt floodlights (6 bulbs total) to illuminate the exterior of our house and yard. In order to reduce the consumed wattage these bulbs were replaced with 15 watt CFL floodlights over the course of the Summer, taking us from roughly 450 watts down to 90 watts. However the relatively long "warmup-to-full-brightness" period (made worse by cool/cold weather) of the CFL bulbs proved to be completely unsatisfactory for a couple of the locations, especially one that covers a walkway and stairs to the back yard so in that specific fixture we reverted to incandescent. My desire to try something else led to the purchase of one Sylvania 78641 18 watt "Ultra LED bulb" for PAR38 fixtures as it was on sale for $44.
According to the manufacturer the bulb is
- "Narrow Flood"
- 3000k temp
- Rated for 25,000 hours (According to Sylvania/Osram, lifetime defined as hours when lamp reaches 70% of it's initial lumens)
- 900 lumens
- Operation from -40F to 113F
- Suitable for wet locations when used in an outdoor approved fixture
- 3 year warranty
When turned on the light has a roughly one-half to one second delay before turning on, it then comes on full brightness with no noticeable "warm up" time.
There are "Wide" and "Narrow" flood versions. I have the "narrow" one and actually it is pretty much perfect for illuminating the intended walkway and stairs without excessive overspill onto the neighbor's side windows. For the general area in the back yard a wider flood would probably be more effective.
The bulb is rated at 900 lumens and I was unsure that would be enough considering it was replacing a 1200 lumen incandescent, however the beam is even and well controlled making efficient use of the lumens and providing excellent coverage of the area I wanted to light with it. The color is pleasing to my eye (I hate BLUE lighting).
The bulb itself has a MASSIVE heat sink, but did not seem to get very warm at all (though it was a pretty cool night at 42 degrees F).
I will re-post as time goes by to report on durability as this light is screwed into an outdoor fixture, but is otherwise completely exposed on the side of an outdoors post and will therefore be subject to direct sun in the day, rain, snow, mist, and the full range of temperatures.
My initial impression is extremely favorable though even the sale price is too high for me to consider wholesale replacement of the other bulbs which would total more than $250
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