CREE BR30 Teardown and Review

Tear down video review:


Similar to the A-sized bulb that CREE produced early this year, however the LEDs are quite different. I did not expect the emitter array to look as it does.. would have expected a planer array pointing downwards. Having said that, the light pattern looks pretty good and they have obviously leveraged their experience from the previous product.

I really do learn a lot from watching your excellent reviews. Thanks for taking the time to not only tear down the item under review, but to put it on video to share with the rest of us.

XB-E or XB-G, interesting

You sound scary in your videos. Perhaps you could put a happy, not scary picture or something in the corner of your desk.

Seriously, though, thanks for the teardown and extra details too, like voltage limits and the like.

Seems like an odd way to make a Br30 -- especially the use of all of that glass. Since Br30 and Br40 bulbs are downward firing and have a broad beam, I would think that using downward facing LEDs with a rim to limit lateral glare and to keep the beam from spreading too wide would be more efficient.


Like this:
http://www.bulbs.com/images/productmed/1/20200.jpg


or this:
http://lightfair.lsgc.com/images/products/br_lamp.jpg


Image tags removed see Rule #3 Do not Hot Link images. Please host on an image site, Imageshack or similar and repost – Thanks Norm

MattPete said:

Seems like an odd way to make a Br30 ... I would think that using downward facing LEDs with a rim to limit lateral glare and to keep the beam from spreading too wide would be more efficient...

Click to expand...

Yeah - What does Cree know about LEDs anyway?

It does seem like downward facing LEDs would be more efficient, but like any design, there are multiple constraints - including cost, design risk, thermal issues, reliability, agency compliance/safety, aesthetics, etc. I have a hunch Cree entertained other options, such as downward facing LEDs, and rejected them for darn good reasons...

To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with most BR offerings. Every bulb, except for Phillips', seemed to have a beamspread that was way too wide (120-130° vs. 70-80°). This caused two issues (and a benefit): (1) the area immediately underneath the bulb was noticeably dimmer, despite similar lumens, and (2) the lateral throw could create too much glare in shallow fixtures (or waste light in deeper fixtures). On that last part, I have seen some installations where the wide lateral throw is a benefit, as it prevents the scalloping/cave-like experience of some downlight installations.

Scalloping/cave effect:
http://www.home-style-choices.com/image-files/wall-wash-500x358.jpg


Image tags removed see Rule #3 Do not Hot Link images. Please host on an image site, Imageshack or similar and repost – Thanks Norm



Perhaps CREE is trying to mimic the original beam spread* by using a central emitter with a rear reflector. Not a bad idea, but Philips and the latest from LSGC (only sold as HD Ecosmart for now) seem to get close to the original BR beamspread using downward emitters.


*for better or worse, as my BRs incandescents often have hot-spot in the center of the beam, whereas the LSGC, Philips, and CREE CR6s seem to have a smoother center beam.

brickbat said:

Yeah - What does Cree know about LEDs anyway?

Click to expand...

The CR6s I tried gave my walls a pink tinge -- a tinge that is not present under natural daylight or conventional incandescents -- so Cree is not infallible (I also wonder if CREE's business model is to jumpstart LED lamps, so that they can sell more LEDs, and if the lamp business profits, then that is a bonus).

MattPete said:

...Perhaps CREE is trying to mimic the original beam spread[BRs incandescents ]...

Click to expand...

Given Cree's tag-line "BR30 flood lights that look and light like the incandescent bulbs you love", I'd say that's the case...

so Cree is not infallible (I also wonder if CREE's business model is to jumpstart LED lamps, so that they can sell more LEDs, and if the lamp business profits, then that is a bonus).

Click to expand...

That wouldn't surprise me - they might really be aiming to just increase the general acceptance of LED lamps among the die-hard incandescent loving populace... Both their A-lamps and the BR30 come pretty close, and for their price are unbeatable. Not a perfect match, as you note, but a decent value all things considered.

Cree uses glass because they have a non-isolated high voltage power supply and hence their options for encapsulation are pretty limited. Glass will be the cheapest by far.

I have my doubts to be effectiveness of the flicker test as it looks like the measurement is of the cells voltage ... not the current out of the cell. You can load up the cell heavily to approximate current.

If the video creator is reading this, it is a 2D bar code, not a QR code.



Semiman

MattPete said:

Seems like an odd way to make a Br30 -- especially the use of all of that glass. Since Br30 and Br40 bulbs are downward firing and have a broad beam, I would think that using downward facing LEDs with a rim to limit lateral glare and to keep the beam from spreading too wide would be more efficient.

Click to expand...

Cree is competing on "bang for the buck" for their consumer branded products, thus they are leveraging whatever investment they have in their "filament tower" design into the downlight market. As such, they're eschewing some design concepts that would increase costs in order to reach cost-sensitive segments. If it's not for you, there are - as you have noted - other options.

Given that a lot of recessed lighting is being used for broad area lighting in arrays, I think the Cree-branded downlights will find a decent market.

Thank you for another exquisitely detailed and thorough review! Well done. :thumbsup:

Glad to see that Cree is taking the extra step to include potting for thermal management. I just wish they'd offer a 3000k version of these lamps.

PhotonWrangler said:

I just wish they'd offer a 3000k version of these lamps.

Click to expand...

... and their A19 bulbs.

idleprocess said:

... and their A19 bulbs.

Click to expand...

+1 on that.

Thanks for the very informative review. I have been watching the LED lighting sector for a while and think it's finally time to switch a couple rooms over from incans. I tried one of the Feit's from Costco and found that at 800 rated lumens, it is too bright compared toe the 65 watt BR40s I have been using. I also read negative reviews about their reliability. At 650 lumens and featuring a ten year warranty, the CREEs seem like the logical way to go. I'll need a dozen to start, so getting some validation of the build quality and dispersion pattern is very helpful. I just wich I hadn't sold my CREE stock at $26.00

I have two of these Cree BR30s in can fixtures in the basement now and I really like them.

EXCELLENT review! Thank you for doing it.

Add 4000K CCT to the 3000K offering, and drop 2700 & 5000K.
and why is their 75w A19 so expensive, like double the cost of the 60watt

This looks identical to the second generation 60W equivalent one I have torn apart except for the plastic collar at the bottom of the cob and obviously the globe. Ten XB-G or XB-E.

I accidentally tore off the yellow lens thing from one of the chips, so it glows sort of blue now. Oops.

Going on a year late, but what the heck..

MichaelW said:

Add 4000K CCT to the 3000K offering, and drop 2700 & 5000K.

Click to expand...

While I also agree with the sentiment, I suspect that the rest of the market would strongly disagree on the 2700K option.

I'm going to guess that 5000K has advantages that give it staying power - an easy mark to hit from a process standpoint, and has a significant efficiency advantage that allows for some economical advantage (lower drive current, fewer dies). Lastly, at a quick glance most of the market probably can't tell the difference between 4000K and 5000K.

and why is their 75w A19 so expensive, like double the cost of the 60watt

Click to expand...

Even if it has ~99% component commonality with the 60W parts, the reality of "one more SKU" sets in with additional unique items on the shelf that sell at different rates. Throw in much lower volumes and yes, it really does add more costs since they have to be made in smaller batches and likely sit on shelves longer ... kick in the extra bonus that so much big-box retail is actually done on a form of consignment that makes long waits on shelves hurt even more.

I have four (5) brands of BR30 and BR40 lights


Philips Airflux (2013)
Lighting Science (2013)
Philips/Lightolier retrofit (2014)
LSG/Ecosmart (2014)
Green Creative (2014)


For the first three, everything seems…kosher. For the last two, the rooms that they are used in seem…off. Something was weird, but I couldn't put my finger on it. For example, the stripes on my wife's shirt made me dizzy (or at least visually confused). My kids running around seems…off. Sorta stop-action, sorta smooth. I'd get stroboscopic effects with the open A string (or is it the first fret?) on my guitars. Finally, I learned the iPhone trick of turning on the camera and holding it right up to the light: sure enough, the ones that have that 'something-is-off effect' that I cannot put my finger on show interference bands. The ones that seem A-OK do not.


I'm putting off buying more LED lights until:


(1) CRI is routinely higher (please make a BR40, SORAA)
(2) flicker is improved
(3) More companies embrace CCT in the 3000k-3500k range


I know people bag of FEIT, but their LED bulbs seem to be of fairly high quality.


BTW: CREE bulbs, because of their extreme flicker, were never on my radar.