Ultimate LED Bulbs - Ultra High CRI - The Honorable Quest

TIL Citizen’s primary business is LEDs, very interesting!

Suppose their watch brand is more of a holding of the larger company like how “Seiko Epson” owns the Seiko watch brand as a tiny sliver of everything else.

BTW, I notice that the Citizen chart mentions CRI97min. But I only see CRI97typ on their website. What do I miss?

Interesting! I've been trying to keep an eye out for (reasonably priced) home lighting products made with their new Thrive lineup. My ultimate would be a zigbee-controlled CCT/dimming option. It looks like their Vesta series does 2700K-6500K, though frankly I never use above 5000K.

Where should I keep an eye out for more info? @bocian

There is a LED bulb producer from Bulgaria V-TAC claiming CRI > 95. Do you have any tests on that?

https://www.v-tac.eu/products/house-and-garden/led-bulbs/led-bulb-12w-e27-a60-plastic-4000k-cri-95-detail.html

Given the 10-17W power rating, the bulbs looks like they have no heat sinking to handle the heat. These will likely die prematurely.

It seems this is the reason they are so cheap - here in Bulgaria, they are selling them for around 2.5 EUR.

I am actually searching for a high CRI Ceiling Light with a form factor fact like that one:

I can see one in amazon Onforu LED IP65 Ceiling Light, which claims CRI> 90.

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Ceiling-Indoors-Outdoors-Kitchen-Bathroom/dp/B07X1H4HFW/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_3?\_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QZX67HYVTF837Q405RJ0
https://onforuleds.com/collections/ceiling-light/products/ip65-waterproof-32w-led-ceiling-lights-cri-90-2800-lumens-for-living-room-bathroom?variant=31051416600638

Could you recommend any?

I can see one here SunLike48-54armD светодиодная лампа, but it is not in oval form.

They are in PL as well. I considered them until I saw some CRI97 lamp (or bulb?) that they claimed to make over 150 lm/W at very low price.
I don’t trust their ratings and I won’t buy them.

I’m shopping for similar lights…and I chose to go with simple lights that are based on E27 bulbs, either for all or for most rooms, not sure yet.
The reason is that:

  • The part that fails from time to time is inexpensive and easy to replace
  • There’s a lot of choice of CRI97+ bulbs as well as bulb-based fixtures, but nearly all fixtures with LEDs have just CRI80
  • I consider some of the bulbs that over-saturate colours for the dining room, good luck finding one with LEDs already installed

Though I like how the diffuser is uniformly lit in LED-based fixtures. And for that reason I consider buying a fixture and filling with LED strips. Though it’s more work, not so easy to replace (still quite OK) and actually there are fewer good strips than good bulbs.

I am thinking to implement it the same way as there are some options on E27. The downside could be that the light is not evenly distributed as with the integrated LED. I am also not sure how the diffuser will affect the CRI.

https://www.slv.com/en/tenora-1-81?attribute[variant_color]=white
https://tk-lighting.eu/en/produkt/rondo-white-6/

Maybe I will conclude on buying some E27 Sunlikes in combination with any of the options above.
For the rest of the installation I plan to buy some GU10 Philips ExpertColor (or Sunlikes on GU10 adapter, but don’t like the adapter idea). Another option is GX53 Sunlike - SunLike5-8 GX53 светодиодная лампа.

If you have the skills to do it then it is ok, and you have to be careful not to implement a “zebra” light effect with the strips. One of the good led strips are produced by Auxmer - https://www.aliexpress.com/store/3754011?spm=2114.12010612.pcShopHead_10395427.0. There are also tests in the forum here - High-CRI LED light strips - Google Sheets.

I chose to go with Lidl’s Livarnolux for the bulk of my bulb needs. But I have some uses for better bulbs as well, these will be filled by either Sunlike or Bocian.

Some interesting findings from Delta Light, Belgium. The cons is that they are very expensive.

Soli 52 claiming CRI > 98

CONFORM P28 PDS DOWN-UP 954067 B-B - Delta Light claiming CRI > 95

https://www.deltalight.com/en/products/detail/imax-ii-round-adjustable-mp-93039-24211-9330 claiming CRI > 90

Considering that there are good 5+ cm of height to the diffuser, there’s little risk of zebra effect.

Below is my latest product (Bridgelux THRIVE 7W GU10 TIR optics) . Sorry, but I am quite a busy man and currently do not have time to translate. I will make a description in free time and maybe send some samples to Maukka :innocent:
https://www.swiatelka.pl/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=25080

Very nice Bocian! I’d live to see an e26 base omnidirectional bulb too!

Nice.
Are you measured pulsations in your lamps ?
What driver you used ?

The same driver as here but with a higher current set:
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/51820
Unfortunately, there is very little space in the GU10 mount for the power supply. I like drivers with a power factor correction and high efficiency ~ 90% as been used in this product. There are available small drivers with a fast output 40-60kHz but they have a PF ~ 0.5 and an efficiency between 70-80% (more heat generated in the power supply system = much shorter product life).

In my area the majority of new houses use recessed LED lights with no “bulb”.

I certainly hope there is opportunity for ultra high CRI in this market because it feels like the little guy here is going to have less and less market share as time goes on.

Here is example electrical parameters measurement for new 7W GU10 THRIVE. As You can see there is only 0,85W power wasted on driver heating up. I also modify by myself factory condition drivers by adding NTC thermistor (soft start) and additional capacity on output (low impedance, long life capacitor) and it takes really long years to dried them up till malfunction.

Hello,

I saw in the top of the thread that Optisolus LEDs were the best. I have found white LED strips pre-made based on this model. You can find them here:
http://www.us.lumistrips.com/lumistrips-plug-play-led-en-intl/linearz-optisolis-nichia-led-modules-cri98-zhaga-2800-lm-m-us.html

I understand there are a few people with the equipment to test the light quality. I may be willing to send them a sample to test for the benefit of all, as I also would like to have a known good quality light for my photography of artwork.

Thanks

While I can understand the reasons for this, without a doubt this is considered commercial and thus belongs in the Commercial Seller's Spot forum. :-)

Concerning the nickname… could be nicer.