Which led bulb is best

Depends. When I was replacing all my halogens with led's I went thru the same thing with the brightness issue. Tried a few that just were not bright enough. All I know is what I read but I finally focused on the lumen rating of the bulb, when I could find it. The more the brighter. Most of the bulbs I used are in the 300 to 500 lumen range, brighter than the 200 or so rating for the halogens they replaced.

You will see the bulbs listed as a 30-5050, 15-5730, etc. The first number is the SMD (surface mount device) count which is how many of the individual led's are on the bulb. The second number is the size of each individual led. A 5050 is 5.0 x 5.0mm and so forth. Each size has a certain brightness so a bulb with a high number of smd's may not be as bright as one with a lower number of another size of smd. The 5730 and 5630 seemed to be the brightest. I used 15-5730 pancake style in our ceiling and they are just right for us. I used 30-5050 wedge based types in our sconces.

We like the soft white versions but that is an individual taste. The bright whites were too bluish for us. I don't think either of the bulbs you show would work for us. I tried some of the cob type in the size you show and they were not near bright enough. I found some good info at cabinbright.com and got some of my bulbs from there. Some I got on Amazon.

You'll also want to make sure they have a wide range of volts to run i.e. 8-30 instead of something narrow, i.e. 10-14... plus other considerations.

Just a thought

I ended up getting 10 of the paddle ones because it was cheaper in bulk, but if they don't work as well as I want I'll try some other ones. Thank y'all for your input.

Try 1 of each before you replace all of them. The paddle style do throw more direct light, but they also are real visible inside the fixture. The omni-directional will look more like the bulb you have now.

All preference.

melissajean0 wrote:
Between these two, which is brighter? Does anyone know?

IMO, the paddle-type would be a bit more directional than the cob-type. I don't have either, so can't say from experience.

Lyle

downtheroad wrote:
If your application is for ceiling lights go with the paddle style rather than the cob style. All the leds throw illumination downward.

This is even brighter....(check ebay). I have both and prefer 'warm white.'

Yeah I know the ones you posted are better. I am just not up to doing any extra work lol. I know that I'll have to do something to keep the wires up.

If your application is for ceiling lights go with the paddle style rather than the cob style. All the leds throw illumination downward.

This is even brighter....(check ebay). I have both and prefer 'warm white.'