Hello EnergeticRob,
Are any of these bulbs Omni Directional? I’m concerned with the spread of the beam pattern, which is where many LED bulbs fall short when compared to the output of incandescent or CFL bulbs.
The Candelabra bulbs are Omni directional. These A19 bulbs are 240 degree beam angle, which covers a good amount of spread, but are not Omni. The BR30 is 120 degree.
The “6k” thing is a joke; the “#K” value is the approximate color rating (warmth/blueness of the light spectrum output, or more importantly, perceived by us). “K” stands for “degrees Kelvin”, or Celsius-degree-steps above absolute zero. Room temperature is ~300K; anything that glows is above ~1000K; incandescent bulbs are ~2700K, sunlight is ~5500-6500K, depending on how you measure it (the sun’s spectra isn’t ideally shaped for “color temperature” assumptions to hold).
Therefore, when you say “LEDs are less warm than incandescents”, you are referring to LEDs with higher (bluer) color spectra - say, 3500-4000K, while incandescents tend to be about 2500-3000GK (nominally 2700K, but their color actually varies by wattage and lifecycle - they get warmer/“yellowish” as they near burnout). LED technology is advancing, and now you can select LED bulbs in any color warmth you want.
Incandescents closely model the solar spectra in shape, while LEDs are more like “bandpass” spectra.
[Spectrum analogies: the sun produces a smooth mound of light, low in the ultraviolet-to-X-ray end and deep-IR end, but heaped highest in the visible spectrum, with the peak of the hump in the yellow-green area. Because (1) we evolved under this sun, and (2) the heap is fairly high throughout the visible spectrum, we don’t notice that sunlight has a yellowish-green tint. There are several, really narrow gaps in this mound, like narrow, deep crevasses on a mountain - but again, our eyes don’t react so sharply that we can detect these. It’s like those 100-foot-deep crevasses in the mountain were only 1/4" wide: no one will ever fall down them, and in fact you will just walk over them, not realizing how deep they go - or even that they’re there. Incandescents make a mound of light across the spectrum that looks very similar, except there are no crevasses in their mountain (well, unless you view them from 10,000 feet away) and they peak to the red side of the solar peak. LEDs are like an imitation of those mounds, made with bags of sand. Single-color LEDs are like a sandbag 1’ wide and 10’ high: not much of a mound. Early LEDs had just a few sandbags, and looked more like a lumpy pyramid. Modern lighting LEDs now have LOTS of sandbags, carefully tailored to make the red portion the right height, the yellow portion a bit higher, and the blue portion lower like the red portion - mound-shaped. “Blue”/“cool” LEDs have their mound peak tilted further to the blue side than the incandescent hump; “warm” LEDs peak in about the same spot of the spectrum.
Basically, when you buy new LEDs that are rated 2700k, expect to get fairly warm light that is visually similar to incandescents. I just installed some warm candela bulbs in a chandalier; as I replaced the old bulbs the biggest difference was brightness, although the old bulbs were also yellower (probably because they were so old - the new LEDs didn’t look “blue” at all). I’m staring at one now; from 15’ I couldn’t tell they were LEDs if I hadn’t installed them myself.
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Finally, as others have noted: “dimmable” doesn’t mean jack-shit in LEDs. Sometimes it means “dimmable if you buy a special LED-only dimmer.” Sometimes it means “dimmable with old-school dial dimmers, but not fancy new electronic dimmers like Lutron makes.” This one apparently claims to be compatible with several new dimmers; good, but unless you can tell EXACTLY which dimmer you have installed in your house, or buy them at the same time, there’s no guarantee.
Are these bulbs Energy Star Certified so I can get a rebate from my utility co.?
Specifically the 800 Lumen A19.
The A19 bulbs are not Energy Star. The BR30 and Candelabras are Energy STar.
Sounds like a design flaw in the switch, not the light bulb.
Are the BR30 dimensions the exact same as an incandescent BR30? I have purchased CFL BR30s but they don’t fit in my cans (that didn’t sound right). The base of the bulb where the ballast is is wider and doesn’t fit in the can.
It depends on what type of BR30 LED bulbs you’ve purchased. These should be very close to standard halogen BR30 bulbs. Also, in most CAN fixtures, the base can be adjusted up or down a little.
“Kelvin” is color temperature, basically what color the light is. I have an old color-temperature meter, once used to find the right filter to put on a lens to correct it to a more “daylight” look.
Wow. We really are living in the 21st century, aren’t we? Edison would be both shocked and amused.
Not that great of a deal on Woot. I just pick up a 6 pack of the 500 lumen Energetic candelabras for $54.95 with no tax and free shipping.
Woot always excites me when I see dimmable LED lightbulbs. Then I read how bright they are and I get depressed…
Who the crap needs to dim 40 and 60 watt bulb equivalents?
That’s the brightness I’d BE dimming them to. Geez.
Email me woot when you get some 100 watt equivalents on here that fit standard fixture and recessed light areas.