I was visiting a local Lowes store and spotted these Utilitech LED bulbs for $9.98. Specs are: 7.5 watts, 430 lumens, 3000K, 25,000hr life, dimmable. They are 57.3 lumens per watt which is about the same as CFLs. Many LED bulbs have disappointing efficiency, but this is good for warm white. Of course, this is the calculated value useing the numbers on the box. I can't measure this.
Okay, so here's what I think about it. Well, I wasn't expecting much since it costs less then some of those feeble shower head PAR type bulbs that are made up of a bunch 5mm indicator style LEDs, but whoa, this thing puts out! Here is a pic of 40w equivelent type A style bulbs. L to R: 9w CFL, 29w 430 lumen halogen (2012 energy regulation complaint incandescent), ordinary 40w bulb, LED bulb. Camera white balance set to incandescent. They are similar in light output. The CFL has a stronger yellow tinge while the LED has a light yellow-green tinge. I don't see this visually, but a CRI test will show how good it is with colors. It looks pretty "incandescent" to me.
Also note that this A style LED bulb does not send very much light downward. See how dark it is around its base?
Here is a shot from above and where the LED bulb really shines:naughty:. With the shutter set very fast on the camera, I made the bulbs look dim so the sensor does not saturate. look how bright the LED bulb is compared to the others. The halogen looks so dim because we are looking down the end of the internal filament tube. The LED bulb performs more like a diffused PAR style lamp. This may be useful in some circumstances, but may not be great for table lamps.
The bulb has a fluted heatsink around the sides between the globe and base. it gets warm during use, but not too hot. I would estimate that the LEDs are receiving sufficient heatsinking.
The failure:shakehead. I had the bulb running for many hours the first day and did this test the next day. During the test, the LED bulb made faint zip sound and died. It wasn't even on a couple minutes. The bulb has a two year warranty. It says to return it to the store where purchased for a replacement (which I did). This may be a fluke, but sours my feelings for the bulb somewhat. Time will tell. I shall hang on to that receipt!
In conclusion, I would recommend this bulb, but for now, I have reservations on the reliability. Please contribute to this thread if you try this bulb out.:thumbsup:
Okay, so here's what I think about it. Well, I wasn't expecting much since it costs less then some of those feeble shower head PAR type bulbs that are made up of a bunch 5mm indicator style LEDs, but whoa, this thing puts out! Here is a pic of 40w equivelent type A style bulbs. L to R: 9w CFL, 29w 430 lumen halogen (2012 energy regulation complaint incandescent), ordinary 40w bulb, LED bulb. Camera white balance set to incandescent. They are similar in light output. The CFL has a stronger yellow tinge while the LED has a light yellow-green tinge. I don't see this visually, but a CRI test will show how good it is with colors. It looks pretty "incandescent" to me.
Also note that this A style LED bulb does not send very much light downward. See how dark it is around its base?
Here is a shot from above and where the LED bulb really shines:naughty:. With the shutter set very fast on the camera, I made the bulbs look dim so the sensor does not saturate. look how bright the LED bulb is compared to the others. The halogen looks so dim because we are looking down the end of the internal filament tube. The LED bulb performs more like a diffused PAR style lamp. This may be useful in some circumstances, but may not be great for table lamps.
The bulb has a fluted heatsink around the sides between the globe and base. it gets warm during use, but not too hot. I would estimate that the LEDs are receiving sufficient heatsinking.
The failure:shakehead. I had the bulb running for many hours the first day and did this test the next day. During the test, the LED bulb made faint zip sound and died. It wasn't even on a couple minutes. The bulb has a two year warranty. It says to return it to the store where purchased for a replacement (which I did). This may be a fluke, but sours my feelings for the bulb somewhat. Time will tell. I shall hang on to that receipt!
In conclusion, I would recommend this bulb, but for now, I have reservations on the reliability. Please contribute to this thread if you try this bulb out.:thumbsup:
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