That’s what I thought. I’ve had very poor experiences with no name, generic LEDs. A few of the products on OP’s post mentioned using Cree LEDs in the bulbs, but I have my doubts as those “egg yolk” type LEDs look pretty generic, and I don’t remember seeing any of those type in Cree’s lineup.
The color temperature ranges listed are also very wide, like 2500K-3500K for warm white. I have a feeling they just put whatever LEDs they can get their hands on into those bulbs.
Manufacturer claims 90. To my eyes they look the same as the light from the LED bulbs from Menards, which are 80-90 CRI.
For our purposes, they just had to be better than CFL, and they definitely do that.
The manufacturer of the PAR30s uses 2900k LEDs for warm white. I asked, because I wanted something closer to 3200k, and 2900k is what they stocked, anything else would have been an extra charge.
The manufacturer of the smaller bulbs, it seems like theirs may vary by product. The 3x3w bulbs seem cooler than the 5x3w. All of them seem cooler than 2900k.
Which bulb are you referring to? You posted so many links!
Sorry to be confusing. All of the orders I have placed AND received have been from the same two manufacturers except for these:
And those are out of the running, because they sent the wrong quantity and didnt fix it (I got my money back)
These are the suppliers I currently have had great experiences:
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/1161647
(got PAR30s and a sample of 38s from them)
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/1043876
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/1199951
(same factory, different store. I’ve gotten a variety of PAR16/PAR20 options from them)
Both of these suppliers claim the bulbs I’ve ordered have a CRI of 90.
Tried a LUTRON dimmer today designed for LEDs. Because of the trim I was able to get the bulbs a lot dimmer than any of the other dimmers I tried before. However, like some of the other dimmers, at specific levels there is a faint flicker. That flicker is not there at all with the Taiwanese dimmer.
Two of my high end Sylvania PAR38 LEDs from the supply house have started making an odd buzzing sound. These are the ones with the best quality light.
Thanks for the reviews. DSpiffy from your links I ended up ordering a variety of GU10 and PAR20 bulbs ranging from 3x3W to 5x3W, warm white, white, and cool white, and in various angles 15 to 120 degrees, all from the LED Sales store. To be honest I cant tell much of a difference in the angles but I dont currently have the correct fixtures for these bulbs so that may be contributing. The amount of light from them overall seems much less than I was expecting… I think I am going to stick with Halogens for now until these LEDs either get brighter or the wattage goes up to 18-21W… 4 of these recessed in a 12x12’ bedroom wouldnt provide enough light.
Am I correct in saying that a 50W halogen will provide more light than these?
What sort of spacing do you have these in for your use (how many per sq ft)? How high are the ceilings?
Thanks
It’s good to find evidence you’re not crazy. Some of your initial experiences remind me of my own.
When I got the first few batches of PAR20-ish bulbs, my first thought after installing them was, “wow, these are dimmer than halogens”. So I went and got a few halogens to compare. The LED bulbs were NOTICEABLY brighter, especially comparing the 4x3s and the 5x3s to the halogens. Maybe it’s something about the color of the light, or the beam pattern, or maybe even the appearance of the bulb, that makes one think they’re dimmer? The beam pattern is pretty similar to the halogens.
Which brings me to: I have ordered 30 degree, 45 degree, and 60 degree. I cannot tell the difference in beam angle between those in the same bulb type. However I CAN tell the difference when the beam angle AND number of LEDs is different. For example, 3x3 30 degree has the narrowest spot of light out of all of them. 5x3 60 degree has the widest. Put those two together and I can clearly tell the difference. Everything in between is a blur.
I have been using the 3x3’s mostly for accent lighting. Hit a picture, uplight a plant, they do that perfectly. I have been using the 5x3’s for general lighting. If I was only going to order one type I would order the 4x3 since they are a happy medium. I dont really notice much difference in brightness between the 4x3 and the 5x3, but the 5x3 seems less directional.
I have one room that if I had to guess is about 18’x20’ and it’s lit exclusively by R/PAR20 track heads. There are 14 of them. They are all lamped with the 4x3 60 degree dimmable. It’s not super bright in there but it’s more than bright enough to work and have some ambiance. It’s definitely brighter than it was with incandescent/halogen bulbs. Ceiling is 9’
Other than that, I dont have any rooms lit exclusively with LED PAR20s. They are mixed with other types of lighting in the same areas
I have:
In our commercial bulding
-two accenting pictures in the lobby (in addition to many LED PAR30s accenting other things) (ceiling is ~9’)
-three or four in a ceiling fixture in each bathroom (in addition to (2) LED PAR30s over each sink) (ceiling is ~9’)
-more than a dozen as accent lights in our salon (general lighting provided by T8s, LED PAR30s, and LED PAR38s)
-more than a dozen as accent lights in other large rooms (general lighting mostly halogen)
-five in the front stairwell, which is open. Four are in a ceiling fixture that hangs down to maybe 10’ off the stairs, the recessed light is at the tallest peak and probably 20’ up.
-six in the back stairwell, which is enclosed. One is in a ceiling fixture at the top 9’ off the landing. Four are in a hanging fixture maybe 10’ off the stairs. One is in a pendant over the bottom landing and the bulb is probably 14’ off the stairs at least.
I also bought some for my dad, he now has
-one as a reading light over his breakfast nook, with spiral CFLs as the general lighting (9’ ceiling)
-four in the ceiling fixture in his 3 season porch (12’x14’ if I had to guess, no other lighting) (8’ ceiling)
-two over the bathroom sink (one 23w CFL as general lighting) (9’ ceiling)
In all of these cases, the LEDs were noticeably brighter than the CFLs or halogens they replaced.
Sorry I cant help more with spacing. I dont typically use PAR20s as general lighting, halogen or LED. When I do, it’s usually because the fixture wasnt designed for PAR bulbs but I want directional light, and PAR20s are the largest bulb that will fit. When that’s not a factor I normally use PAR38 for general lighting. If I was to use PAR20’s for general lighting, I would probably put a can every 4-6’ in both directions.
I have video of our commercial building I took for another reason, hit me offlist if it would help to see it.
I got my last shipment of PAR30’s.
One died within the first hour of operation. The rest work(ed) fine.
Whoever said that these companies whatever LEDs they can get their hands on for each order might be on to something. This batch, all 50 bulbs have a slight yellow tint, similar to halogens and the high end Sylvania LEDs I’ve tested. The last batch, all 50 had a slight pink tint like pretty much every other warm white LED lamp I’ve tested. The difference is subtle, it might bother some people depending on the installation. I’m about as picky as it gets, and in all the places we use PAR30s, it hasnt bothered me yet. Wallwashing white walls it would probably bother me.
If the failure rate stays low with these over the next couple years, I will consider this experiment a resounding success.
I ordered another 10 PAR20s for my dad, but other than that, I wont be ordering anything else until/unless we do some remodeling that involves installing more PAR fixtures.
I bought one 5x3W WW from an ebay seller, and it is indeed much dimmer than a 60W halogen. actual tint was also somewhere between WW and NW, slightly green. I guess the rating is way off but haven’t measured them.
What 60W halogen are you comparing it to? Standard PAR20s are 50w.
JDR spotlight bulb. Compared to a 50W the 5x3W is still much dimmer
For reference this was the listing, thought it was a good price for 1pc
http://www.ebay.com/itm/171297886290?var=470372338986&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&\_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
Interesting. It looks the same as mine, but mine were noticeably brighter than 50w halogens.
I did not compare them to 60w PAR16 halogens.
Any reviews on these? The 5 watters just ain’t bright enough, 9 watts seems to be closer to the 60watt incandescent output
I have a bulb at my house that is flickering…wondering if it’s a cheap Chinese filtering cap that is bad or a bad diode or something
Either way in my bedroom I have 2-5 watts up. on a cool white, one a warm white…thinking of popping em both open, and mixing the emitters…make a wide spectrum right down the middle “neutral white” but want some replacements in before I try it
Wonder why they don’t try that…mix the emitters from warm and cool and make a more neutral color light…I bet more people would like that.
just wanted to follow up on my experience with cheap led bulbs… this site was linked recently in another thread, and my sample would seem match the one reviewed
it also managed to burn out after around 10 or so hours (no thermal compound between mcpcb and sink). 9W 3 led bulb was better built but same flat tint. if you are after cri or <3000K i don’t think bulbs with these emitters (the luxeon-style ones) will ever deliver