CREE Has Been Purchased New LEDs In The Works
Details are sketchy but CREE hinted silicon carbide-based LEDs are in the works. 50+% less heating. Much more efficient. Silicon Carbide?
Forum Discussion
Brightness with Cree was fine, longevity is the problem.
Returned a couple of Cree lights back for warranty, the bulbs quit after less than a yr of use. Those lamps are in sheltered dusk to dawn open fixtures on a pole. So, if we assume 12 hrs per day of operation for 1 yr we get 730 hrs of operation which is as bad of life as the old fashion incandescent bulbs they replaced.. In reality, in dusk to dawn mode in my area the actual operation varies from 8-12 hrs from summer to winter making it look even worse.
Since the fixtures are on 15ft poles, it makes changing bulbs a real hassle and danger..
Wasn't very happy when they promise 10 or 20 yrs of life and they can't make even one yr of operation.
Collecting on said warranty was a joke, the shipping that I had to pay was nearly the same as what I paid for the bulbs!!! That should be a freebee BOTH WAYS.
I moved on, Amazon has a vendor called Hyperikon, A US manufacturer of LED lights although I doubt they manufacture the LED chips, they do seem to have a darn good life so far.. Have some fixtures using their 4ft T8 LED retrofit lights that so far has been in those fixtures going in 5 yrs!
Expensive? You bet but I am pleased with the life..
There is a fine life between light output and the life when it comes to LEDs, you can ramp up the brightness but reduce the overall life very easily.. From what I have seen, most manufacturers to get the max claim of brightness take the short cut of running the chips at the absolute max.. They are counting on folks to simply give up when the bulb dies and replace it with another without collecting on the warranty.
But as I mentioned, Cree themselves are dumping the LED business by selling it off, the purchasing company while they make it sound like they are a "manufacturing" company are in reality a Investor group that buys and carves out business units to eventually resell.
I have been through this myself having to live through a "carve out" more than once, it often ends up bad for the employees of the buyout, bad for the companies products because the buyer is only interested in maximizing their profits. Often the holding company will buy other similar unwanted company business units and put them together then sell them off for a greater profit.. All the while they scrape off huge profits that would normally go into R&D..
Returned a couple of Cree lights back for warranty, the bulbs quit after less than a yr of use. Those lamps are in sheltered dusk to dawn open fixtures on a pole. So, if we assume 12 hrs per day of operation for 1 yr we get 730 hrs of operation which is as bad of life as the old fashion incandescent bulbs they replaced.. In reality, in dusk to dawn mode in my area the actual operation varies from 8-12 hrs from summer to winter making it look even worse.
Since the fixtures are on 15ft poles, it makes changing bulbs a real hassle and danger..
Wasn't very happy when they promise 10 or 20 yrs of life and they can't make even one yr of operation.
Collecting on said warranty was a joke, the shipping that I had to pay was nearly the same as what I paid for the bulbs!!! That should be a freebee BOTH WAYS.
I moved on, Amazon has a vendor called Hyperikon, A US manufacturer of LED lights although I doubt they manufacture the LED chips, they do seem to have a darn good life so far.. Have some fixtures using their 4ft T8 LED retrofit lights that so far has been in those fixtures going in 5 yrs!
Expensive? You bet but I am pleased with the life..
There is a fine life between light output and the life when it comes to LEDs, you can ramp up the brightness but reduce the overall life very easily.. From what I have seen, most manufacturers to get the max claim of brightness take the short cut of running the chips at the absolute max.. They are counting on folks to simply give up when the bulb dies and replace it with another without collecting on the warranty.
But as I mentioned, Cree themselves are dumping the LED business by selling it off, the purchasing company while they make it sound like they are a "manufacturing" company are in reality a Investor group that buys and carves out business units to eventually resell.
I have been through this myself having to live through a "carve out" more than once, it often ends up bad for the employees of the buyout, bad for the companies products because the buyer is only interested in maximizing their profits. Often the holding company will buy other similar unwanted company business units and put them together then sell them off for a greater profit.. All the while they scrape off huge profits that would normally go into R&D..
