Suggest an LED bulb for me?

[Naio]

I'm overwhelmed by the choices.

I need one that fits in a standard S&B house socket (not RV). I like a yellowish light, brightness equivalent to 75 or 100w incandescent. LEDs don't get too hot, do they?

Thanks :).

[Naio]

Thank you, all! I want to reply in detail -- the internet ate my reply yesterday, and for the next day or 2 my coverage will be spotty, but I will try :).

[fj12ryder]

Lumens is the only real way to compare bulbs. "Watt Equivalency" is not a good way to determine the brightness, it can give you a rough estimate, but a cool white bulb can look brighter than a warm white but have the same lumen output. Lumens will tell you if that new bulb is actually putting out more light than the one you're replacing.

[NinerBikes]

I run 2700 to 3000K 60watt equivalent Cree A19's mixed 50/50 with a 5000kw 60 watt Cree A-19. The bulbs were more expensive when I bought them 2 or 3 years ago, but the price is dropping fast.

2700K Cree A19

In 5000k Daylight color

Take your pick

[D_E_Bishop]

The Cree LED bulbs here in Burbank Costco are 2700K and all are enclosed ceiling fixture rated. We have a lot of them in our S&B from 40watt equivalent to 100 watt equivalent. We do have one three way equivalent to 50/100/150. It is normally on the 100 watt setting.

We have 7 recessed ceiling spots with the 40 watt equivalent.

The DW occasionally uses her Ott lights and swears the 5000k LEDs are too harsh, same color.

I love the 2700k lamps, just like a new incandescent bulb.

[deltabravo]

Home Depot has lots of choices. Costco has a few. Either are good.

[JiminDenver]

Right now I am installing 200 of these at the art gallery. Very hard to tell from the halogen bulbs they are replacing as the halogens burn out. Heat isn't a big issue with these.

click

I have had these on long term test in the house. Very bright, nice color.

click

I have a number of others here at the house and in other customer homes that get used rarely to all night long, every night. The most recent additions have been GE light sticks and a 3 way bulb.

When I say they produce heat, I don't mean like a incandescent. The thing is a incandescent doesn't have electronics that can be damaged by too high of temperatures, LEDs do. That said a number of these are in enclosed fixtures and none have shown any issues. ( not the 120's)

Last thing is the market is very young. It seems that every time I am in a store or a lighting supplier, there is a new batch of lights to look at. At the same time a few drop off the shelves, so if you like a bulb, get a extra while you can.

[Ed_Gee]

I will repeat part of my previous post. If you can get past the need for 'warm white' the A19 bulb I mentioned will provide plenty of light from the fixture you specified.... and it does NOT run hot...I can hold ANY part of mine that is accessible and barely feel warmth.

[westend]

Many styles and options available I think the one from Ikea closely meets your needs and is only 3W.

[Naio]

Hmmm... maybe I'd better back up and ask you folks if LEDs are really the thing for me.

What I have is a 120vac clip-on lamp normally used in an S&B. I'd like something less breakable for its bulb, that puts out a bright and warm (yellow)n light, and does not cause the paint on the lamp to smoke like its current high-impact incandescent bulb does (high-impact means a lot of watts per lumen).

Ideas?

I use a battery lantern when boondocking. This is for urban use.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

JiminDenver,

Right on. I have a number of recessed ceiling LED lamps that were originally 11 watt 120vac that I converted to 30 watt. 36-volt chips. I demand to drive all LEDs at maximum recommended ma. The 30 watt conversion on the other hand demands augmentation of cooling even though the deeply finned housing weighs in excess of three pounds. These are now for powering by 12 volts DC. They are for an alternative energy home not an RV because of their clumsy and heavy design.

What did I do about the heat? An 80 mm muffin fan pulls air through a booster and ventilates the aluminum heatsink of the lamp. If I had to guess, the lamps develop roughly the same lighting as an incandescent 150 watt bulb. But at 5K color temperature.

Mexican consumers hate anything lower than 5K. "We lived with velas (candles) and lamparas de peroleo (kerosene lanterns) long enough". Mexican incandescent bulbs glow at a lower temperature than their USA counterparts used to.

When I explained expensive flickering candle light LEDs to them they howled with delight. CFLs are delicate. Mexican electricity eats them like peanuts.

[JiminDenver]

I'm in the process of testing different LED bulbs for a art gallery. What kind of fixture are we talking about? Warm white is like the late day sun, cool is more like noon. Do you need it to dim?

They do put out heat. Read the instructions and they will say not to put them in a enclosed fixture. Doing so will reduce their life span. You will also see that many of the newer, less expensive types are not rated for the extreme life you would associate with LEDs.

[Empty_Nest__Soo]

Naio wrote:
. . . I like a yellowish light, . . .

For that, you want soft white. Warm white or natural/daylight will be whiter or bluer.

Wayne

[time2roll]

Local Home Depot, Lowes, WalMart is fine. Get warm white with 75 or 100w equivalent rating.
Bulb gets fairly warm but not burning hot like incandescent.

[DrewE]

Also compare the color rendering index ("CRI") which a good bulb should specify. 100 is "perfect" (or at least equivalent to a black box radiator such as the sun or an incandescent bulb). A CRI over 90 is pretty good; a CRI less than 80 is not so good, and in between is more or less typical mediocrity.

An LED lamp will produce less heat in total than an incandescent bulb, by a ratio pretty close to the actual power consumption ratios. Only about 10% or so of the actual power consumed by a LED light is converted into light; most of the rest becomes heat. (This is still much better than an incandescent bulb.) Where the heat is emited and how it is dissipated may vary greatly from an incandescent bulb, of course.