LED Light bulbs?

[ExtraSlow]

Very interested to hear the experiences of folks with dimmers. I have 19 bulbs in dimmable fixtures that I want to convert over, but I'm very hesitant to spend all that money and have a problem with the switches. Really don't want to convert to non-dimmable switches either.

[Tik-Tok]

Not sure what wire style the dimmer is in my dining room, but it's probably from the 80's and works flawlessly with LED's.

[supe]

I have to add another comment, these bulbs get hot!!! Like scorching hot both on the base which is expected but also on the top bulb part. I thought LED's are supposed to minimize the heat. On my 60w CREE's the bulb is cool the touch so I was not expecting this. On one occasion when I turned the bulbs off, one did not turn on until after a while. My only guess is it needs a cool down time?? Can someone else confirm?

[sputnik]

Originally posted by supe
I have the philips 100 w LED bulbs. They're bright, in my fixture they seem to brighter than the 100 w incandescent bulbs they are replacing. I'm having a bit of a headache as they are going into a fixture with a electronic (zwave) dimmer on the switch. Lots of problems. It works half the time, the other half of the time the dimmer cuts out. If you google it, there are many problems with LED's and dimmers but in some combinations they do work. I'm not an electrician but something about dimmers without a neutral wire will cause problems.

I'm heading to the states at the end of the month and will be picking up some CREE bulbs, hopefully these ones work flawlessly.

LED bulbs do not work properly with conventional dimmers as there is a certain amount of voltage required initially to start. For conventional dimmers you need to have the bulb pretty bright at first and then dim it back. LED compatible dimmers pre-load the bulb so that it can start from a dimmed state.

You will probably need to buy new zwave dimmers that are compatible with LED bulbs.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by supe
I have to add another comment, these bulbs get hot!!! Like scorching hot both on the base which is expected but also on the top bulb part. I thought LED's are supposed to minimize the heat. On my 60w CREE's the bulb is cool the touch so I was not expecting this. On one occasion when I turned the bulbs off, one did not turn on until after a while. My only guess is it needs a cool down time?? Can someone else confirm?

LED bulbs themselves don't get very hot, but it's the transformer's in the base that do. Stepping down from 120v makes a lot of energy that needs to go somewhere. It's the biggest hurdle in designing them, and why 100w have taken so long to get out on the market. They probably kept frying themselves.

[BigDL]

My favorite bulb so far is the Phillips 10.5w 3000k non dimmable bulb. I really like the color that comes out of this bulb a lot. I just wish they had the bright white color in their other bulbs.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/105w...a19-2pk/826455

[rage2]

Originally posted by BigDL
My favorite bulb so far is the Phillips 10.5w 3000k non dimmable bulb. I really like the color that comes out of this bulb a lot. I just wish they had the bright white color in their other bulbs.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/105w...a19-2pk/826455

I gotta give that one a try. I have yet to find anything that matches the Feit color, and all the 2700k soft whites are slightly too warm while the 3000k's are too cool. The Feits were cheap, but only 40W equivalent, and now discontinued. It gave a color that was slightly cooler than incandescent, without going too white so you don't feel like you're in a horror movie hospital. This one at 3000k might actually do the trick if it actually hits 3000k properly!

[schocker]

I am also interested in switching to LED. I wonder how the Phillips compare to the Cree. I see that the phillips are out of stock though in Calgary, I will have to pick them up when they are in.

I believe costco carries LED now but the brands are weird and I think the wattage is a bit higher also.

[JustinMCS]

Stop!

Get these! I was looking for high lumen output for 60W bulbs and went with the WalMart brand 10.5W 800 lumens and dimmable in 2700k (warm white.)

These have come out recently and I have bought these. The problem with most LED bulbs is that they only shoot light up and not behind, these phillips answer that problem. They also spaced the LEDs out to help with heat. These are so awesome! Just picked up 4.

"It produces 800 lumens using 10.5W, making it a 60W equivalent model with a 76 lumens-per-watt efficiency. It is rated for 25,000 hours of life, is dimmable, and projects light in an omnidirectional pattern despite the strange shape."



They are at home depot and come in 2700k and 5000k, they are dimmable, come in 40w or 60w and best of all, 360 degree light. And just under 12 bucks each.

[sh0ko]

^ just stocked up on these as well

macleod trail HD is completely sold out. But the other 2 locations in the NE and 16th have PLenty. these are a really good replacement for mini florescent imo. good 360 degree light

very good purchase Justin MCS

[ZeroGravity]

These new philip LED bulbs, still have that warning about not to use in enclosed light fixtures, right?

[codetrap]

The Cree's have a very good light output for direction. They work great in light diffusing light fixtures as well.

[JustinMCS]

Originally posted by ZeroGravity
These new philip LED bulbs, still have that warning about not to use in enclosed light fixtures, right?

Yeah, the new phillips slim style say that they are not suitable for use in totally enclosed luminaires.

The walmart brand great value say they are good for use in damn locations, inside or out and CAN be used in totally enclosed luminaires. They are the same price, 12 bucks each, dimmable, 11 watt (on box but on lightbulb it says 10 or 10.5, weird). I put those ones in my totally enclosed outside light and interior totally enclosed locations.

They dont have 360 degree light though.

[schocker]

Those slim style bulbs look good. Are they available at all stores? The website says online only and that they are backordered

[GTS4tw]

Originally posted by schocker
Those slim style bulbs look good. Are they available at all stores? The website says online only and that they are backordered

Look up 3 posts

[schocker]

Ya but I want to check store stock without actually going to the store as I would go to beacon hill

[Tik-Tok]

They had the skinny LED's at Home Depot Macleod yesterday.

[schocker]

Well I went to homedepot and they showed 43 Daylight SlimStyle and 63 Soft White SlimStyle. They could not locate the daylight anywhere...

They also had these
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/105w...old-a19/822307
Which looked pretty good but I am pretty sure I want the Daylight slimstyle. I think the slimstyle would work best as they have light distribution in all directions instead of just halfway up the bulb. I will try again some day.

[The_Penguin]

I have 3 pendant lights over a granite island that had 3 Cree soft white LED bulbs in them. For fun I swapped the center one with one of the Philips flat ones. Can't really see a difference, looks good.

Now to find something brighter than the 10W LEDs to replace the CFLs in the garage that take 30 seconds to warm up when it's cold.

[schocker]

Are you guys using soft white or day light bulbs?