CREE is in the business of making LEDs but I haven’t seen any bulbs actually made by them. A CREE LED bulb is likely one made by one of many manufacturers but using genuine CREE LEDs.
I agree the electronics are the weak link in bulb production. The other may be the design of the bulb most purchased by US consumers. It is the traditional A19 envelope similar to all of the old Edison incandescent bulbs. All of the LEDs are arranged on a circular plate at the base of the envelope with the electronics located just below the plate. Most of the bulbs I purchased when I converted my home to all LED are “corn bulbs”. You can get them in higher wattages/lumens because there is no constraint about space on a circular plate. In some of the smallest bulbs the electronics is located beneath the LED array. In others is is located in an inner core encircled by rows of LEDs, So far I have had to replace only two corn bulbs over several years in spite of using many of them throughout the house.
You can see the electronics in the base of this bulb used to replace halogen bulbs. They have 120V AC versions of the same bulb.
Corn bulbs are also available using chip-on-board LEDs for even higher output.
Yeah CREE lighting is now a separate company from Cree LED, and Cree the Silicon Carbide chip company.
I managed to cook a few Cree 100w A19 bulbs in a semi recessed fixture. Would last a few months and die. The new Philips glass bulb bulbs also have a short lifespan. Mine didn’t die outright after 3-4 months, but is putting out 1/2 output
I believe that’s before the cartels decided to hamstring the bulb’s lifespan to make more money, and go after everyone who dares make the bulbes more durable than it’s “supposed” to be.
any modern bulb would do that at about 75 volts instead of 120
just saying
not a mystery at all
or a super design
it puts out a dull red light no one would use
and it makes very few lumens per watt, compared to one glowing yellow or white
the 1000 hour life was a compromise between efficiency and lifespan.
someone always has to call it a conspiracy.
the power used over a bulbs lifetime is huge compared to the bulb cost.
