The Ikea Trådfri LED E27 806lm smart bulb was bought from Ikea.
The bulb features a smartphone app for dimming and switching between the three color temperatures (2200K, 2700K, 4000K). The middle mode is achieved by combining the 2200K and 4000K.
The main specs by the manufacturer:
-CRI (Ra) 90 (not specified on Ikea’s website, but found on the packaging)
–806 lumens, 9 W power consumption
-AC voltage range of 220-240V
-Wifi control, compatible at least with Ikea Home Smart, Apple Homekit and zigbee products
-Dimmable only via software, not compatible with hardware dimmers
–25000 hour life (to 70% output)
–25000 power cycle life
–2 year warranty (at least in EU)
First impression of the build quality seems good. The bulb is not too light at 111 grams.
Four 2xCOB LED pairs 2200K+4000K are positioned almost vertically so maximum intensity is achieved at nearly 90 degrees. There’s a thin metal plate for heatsinking. It probably continues inside the bulb. Plastic dome is glued on and removing it would require a cutting tool.
Typical for a 9 watt bulb with good efficiency, the base temperature reached 70°C in the integrating sphere, which isn’t too bad. 4000K LEDs are more efficient at 114lm/W vs. 85lm/W for the 2200K ones.
Smart features
The Ikea Trådfri smart bulb ecosystem can be controlled via an optional remote or smartphone app. Ikea offers their own Home smart app, but I’ve been using the products with Apple’s Homekit, which also makes it possible to program the color temperature to change at certain times of day. This is useful when combined with the night light modes on a computer.
The optional remote controls 10 smart lights directly without a wifi connection and can also be used for dimming and changing the color temperature.
For smartphone control, an optional network hub named Gateway is also required.
Measurements
Measurements were made in a 50cm integrating sphere with an x-rite i1pro spectrometer after the bulbs had warmed up for 1 hour. Intensity (lux at 1 meter, candela) was measured outside the sphere at 1 meter.
The bulbs were connected to mains power which at the time of testing was at 223V.
Output at 1 hour exceeded the advertised 806 lumens on both the 2700K and 4000K mode. 2200K in significantly less efficient at 736 lumens at the same power consumption. The modes average out at 854 lumens, which is better than specified.
Maximum output is reached immediately. After 1 hour the output decreases 16% on the 2200K mode, 15% on the 2700K and 14% on the 4000K mode. Efficiency on the 4000K mode is very good at 114 lumens per watt and ok at 85 lm/W on the warmest mode. Power consumption and generated heat is the same for all modes.
Color rendering
The CRI data was measured integrated after a 1 hour warm-up.
The specified CRI of 90 is reached on all modes. Deep red rendering (R9) is a letdown though at 38-51. The output drops quite steeply above the 620nm peak. On TM-30-18 the 4000K mode doesn’t quite reach the Rf (color fidelity) of 90. Color saturation (Rg) is also a bit low at 95 on 2200K and 4000K while the mixed mode fares better at 99.
Tint is fine on all modes. The middle mixed mode is understandably slightly under the blackbody line at –0.0017. The extremes aren’t too green at +0.0018.
Load IES TM-30-18 Color Rendition Reports by clicking the thumbnails:
Color temperature and tint
The flat COB emitters don’t have much of a tint shift on a vertical axis. There is some on the horizontal which is evident from the differences between integrated and quasi free space measurements.
Flicker
The Ikea Trådfri bulb is almost flicker free, but not quite.
The 2200K and 4000K modes are visually flicker free. On maximum level there’s some 100Hz ripple, but it’s not visible (0.2% snob index). Due to the low modulation depth it would be much harder to see than incandescent flicker for example. On lower modes the 100Hz ripple is gone. As a side note, other Ikea Trådfri E27 bulbs I have exhibit very visible (600Hz) PWM when dimmed.
2200K mode on full power (4000K is identical)
2200K mode on minimum power (4000K is identical)
The mixed 2700K mode is a different story though. The mode is produced by using PWM on the 2200K and 4000K LEDs to keep the total power consumption constant. At below 600 hertz, the flicker is very easy to see.
There’s some ingenuity in the design though. Rather than PWMing the LEDs concurrently, it’s done alternately. This means that even if the flicker of the individual LEDs is visible when looking at the bulb directly it’s neigh impossible to see when the bulb is installed in a fixture as the light output is quite steady. When ceiling bounced for example, the flicker is not a problem.
Using a digital camera with a high shutter speed, the alternating nature of the LEDs in the mixed CCT mode is clear.
This is how it looks on the scope, which is also how you would perceive it when the bulb is installed in a diffusing fixture or ceiling bounced.
AC power draw
There some power factor correction on the electronics. The current waveform is a stepped sinewave, which results in a power factor of 0.79. It’s not quite as effective as on the Yuji BC bulbs I tested earlier.
Cyan line: mains line voltage
Yellow line: current draw of the bulb
Violet line: power draw (voltage * current)
Verdict
For 14.99€ (in Finland) the Ikea Trådfri LED bulb offers a lot for the money. While the color rendering isn’t quite top notch, the tint is pleasing. The possibility to adjust color temperature on the fly and control and automate everything in software may be of value to some users. Availability and handling of warranty issues is also much better than with most foreign sellers.
Please note that the test was done when the bulbs were brand new. I can’t guarantee that they will perform similarly after months or years of use.