idleprocess
Flashaholic
My 3M Advanced LED bulb died recently. I've yet to encounter any non-niche producer of bulbs in the >3000K - <5000K range, leaving the fixture empty and my upstairs hallway inconveniently dark.
I've been wanting to experiment with some of the purpose-built utility LED fixtures that seem likely to take over these roles, but have never seen anything other than 2700K (not my favorite by a long shot) and some linear-floro replacements that would be overkill for my hallway. Home Despot's interior-lighting isle was awash in 2700K, but one aisle over in the outdoor/kitchen/shop-lighting section I spotted a clean-looking fixture in 4000K. $40 was more than I thought it was worth, but I purchased it anyway. And it's not faux-brass that screams early-90's builder-grade!
For starters, the Lighting Facts Label: 980 lumens, 14 watts, 70 lumens-per-watt, 82 CRI, and 4000K CCT. So far so good for my purposes.
The bare fixture
Note that there are 42 individual LED's, probably wired in a single string since two of the PCB's have 10 and the other two have 11. At 14 watts total power (assuming 100% delivered to the LED's), that's ~333 mW per LED. If the LED's have a reasonably modern Vf of ~3V, that suggests ~111mA current per LED. They're small SMD packages, but right at where I understand the definition of mid-power starts. PCB's do not seem to be of the peel-and-stick variety; however they don't seem to be using unetched PCB trace for heat sinking unless it's off of the power traces themselves.
All lit up
Installation was ... nothing exciting, nothing tragic. Collect some basic tools, break out the porn star nitrile gloves (the cat found them most confusing), get on a ladder, remove the old fixture, shake your head at the builder's contempt for safety grounds nearly 25 years ago, match the wire colors, wish you had 3 or 4 hands, stuff everything into the J-box, be thankful for keyhole cutouts since you really don't want to mess with installing new screws, turn it on and marvel at it, blink a few times since you just got done staring at point sources and those afterimages are persisting inconveniently long, then futz with getting the diffuser on. All told around 15 minutes.
Fully deployed
Or if you prefer, illuminating a test subject that does F-all to demonstrate color rendering.
I'm not seeing any evidence of banding when I look at it with the smartphone camera, so flicker is either absent or significantly less pronounced than LED bulbs demonstrate.
So what's the verdict? I like it so far. I like the color and the light is extremely even. I'm a bit concerned with longevity - warranty is only 3 years, I don't know if those SMD packages can handle a third of a watt each, nor do I know if they're heatsinked to the PCB or - less likely - upper fixture housing. Since the power supply is well isolated from the LED's, I doubt it will have the issues that bulb power supplies do - ought to be able to keep those capacitors nice and cool.
If 4000K isn't your thing, Home Despot sells similar fixtures in the more-popular 2700K.
That $40 price though ... these aren't terribly sophisticated fixtures nor are they as well-designed as I was expecting. Claimed to be dimmable is the only added bonus. While I believe the SMD LED's in this fixture are of better quality than the reels of 3528 and 5050 LED's I can buy for cheap locally, the warranty is only 3 years and the thermal situation is a bit iffy. If this lasts only as long as a LED bulb, my disappointment will be much greater since I have to swap the whole fixture to remedy things.
I think the overall concept has legs - it just needs better execution. At $20 - $25, I think this would appeal to the average homeowner that's adventurous enough to swap fixtures so long as it was something they didn't have to do again for another 10+ years.
But I'm still going to hang on to that receipt - it might go the way of the 3M LED in less than 3 years.
I've been wanting to experiment with some of the purpose-built utility LED fixtures that seem likely to take over these roles, but have never seen anything other than 2700K (not my favorite by a long shot) and some linear-floro replacements that would be overkill for my hallway. Home Despot's interior-lighting isle was awash in 2700K, but one aisle over in the outdoor/kitchen/shop-lighting section I spotted a clean-looking fixture in 4000K. $40 was more than I thought it was worth, but I purchased it anyway. And it's not faux-brass that screams early-90's builder-grade!
For starters, the Lighting Facts Label: 980 lumens, 14 watts, 70 lumens-per-watt, 82 CRI, and 4000K CCT. So far so good for my purposes.
The bare fixture
Note that there are 42 individual LED's, probably wired in a single string since two of the PCB's have 10 and the other two have 11. At 14 watts total power (assuming 100% delivered to the LED's), that's ~333 mW per LED. If the LED's have a reasonably modern Vf of ~3V, that suggests ~111mA current per LED. They're small SMD packages, but right at where I understand the definition of mid-power starts. PCB's do not seem to be of the peel-and-stick variety; however they don't seem to be using unetched PCB trace for heat sinking unless it's off of the power traces themselves.
All lit up
Installation was ... nothing exciting, nothing tragic. Collect some basic tools, break out the porn star nitrile gloves (the cat found them most confusing), get on a ladder, remove the old fixture, shake your head at the builder's contempt for safety grounds nearly 25 years ago, match the wire colors, wish you had 3 or 4 hands, stuff everything into the J-box, be thankful for keyhole cutouts since you really don't want to mess with installing new screws, turn it on and marvel at it, blink a few times since you just got done staring at point sources and those afterimages are persisting inconveniently long, then futz with getting the diffuser on. All told around 15 minutes.
Fully deployed
Or if you prefer, illuminating a test subject that does F-all to demonstrate color rendering.
I'm not seeing any evidence of banding when I look at it with the smartphone camera, so flicker is either absent or significantly less pronounced than LED bulbs demonstrate.
So what's the verdict? I like it so far. I like the color and the light is extremely even. I'm a bit concerned with longevity - warranty is only 3 years, I don't know if those SMD packages can handle a third of a watt each, nor do I know if they're heatsinked to the PCB or - less likely - upper fixture housing. Since the power supply is well isolated from the LED's, I doubt it will have the issues that bulb power supplies do - ought to be able to keep those capacitors nice and cool.
If 4000K isn't your thing, Home Despot sells similar fixtures in the more-popular 2700K.
That $40 price though ... these aren't terribly sophisticated fixtures nor are they as well-designed as I was expecting. Claimed to be dimmable is the only added bonus. While I believe the SMD LED's in this fixture are of better quality than the reels of 3528 and 5050 LED's I can buy for cheap locally, the warranty is only 3 years and the thermal situation is a bit iffy. If this lasts only as long as a LED bulb, my disappointment will be much greater since I have to swap the whole fixture to remedy things.
I think the overall concept has legs - it just needs better execution. At $20 - $25, I think this would appeal to the average homeowner that's adventurous enough to swap fixtures so long as it was something they didn't have to do again for another 10+ years.
But I'm still going to hang on to that receipt - it might go the way of the 3M LED in less than 3 years.
