I'm tired of looking like a zombie in my house!

November 27, 2009 4:41 PM

Do you have any LED lightbulb recommendations?

While researching LED bulbs, it seems there are some pretty nice ones out there and others that are tres terrible!

I would like bulbs that lean towards the traditional soft white, and in a variety of sizes/bases: GU10, PAR 16, PAR 20, and traditional screw in (floor lamps, ceiling fixtures).

Since these darn things are so expensive, I thought it'd be a good idea to pick the collective brain on which brands y'all recommend. Any assistance would be most appreciated!

Thanks!

posted by Zoyashka to home & garden (7 answers total)

Is there any particular reason you want LED bulbs? They are extremely expensive and don't offer any real benefits for the price.
posted by wongcorgi at 5:42 PM on November 27, 2009

The only LED bulbs that I would recommend at this point would be those for the car. They don't get hot, and they use so little power that if you leave a dome light on all night, it won't drain the battery. I can give you the eBay ID of the guy I've bought many from if you'd like, feel free to PM.

For house bulbs, I don't think they pencil out vs. CFLs yet at this point. Color temperature will get better and price will go down, I'd wait! I had looked into MR16 bulb replacements a few months ago and found nothing but tepid reviews. . .
posted by No New Diamonds Please at 6:04 PM on November 27, 2009

It looks to me like in a low-intensity lighting situation, this type of bulb is starting to be worth trying: $10.99 for a 100,000 hour rated bulb (this bulb will outlive you), drawing 3 watts of electricity to produce the equivalent of 25 watts incandescent. They're not available yet in 40 or 60 watt equivalents at a reasonable price.
posted by beagle at 6:21 PM on November 27, 2009

I had xeon undercabinet lights amd replaced them as the xeons popped at an alimingly high rate. Bought LEDs at Home Depot (same price) and could not be happier (ownership less than a month).
posted by raildr at 6:25 PM on November 27, 2009

You might be interested in the L-prize, a $10 million competition sponsored by the Dept. of Energy to develop a commercially viable 60 watt equivalent LED light bulb for home use.
posted by JackFlash at 9:47 PM on November 27, 2009

LED lights are coming along fast, but I wouldn't use them as a lamp (bulb) replacement technology yet. They are currently good in applications where you want a point source and the LED fixture design is less important.

So, I'd recommend buying LEDs for Christmas Lights, Task Lights, Under Counter Lights, Night Lights.

About two years ago there were no lamp replacement LED designs that were really workable at all. Now there are many on the market, but they are untested. If you are really into the technology go ahead and splurge on being an early adopter. In that case just buy one of a lamp type to start with, and be sure to post reviews out there!

Otherwise, as noted above, sticking with CFLs is more affordable with better performance right now.
posted by meinvt at 7:45 AM on November 28, 2009

The only LED bulbs that I would recommend at this point would be those for the car

I haven't seen these in the big-city auto parts stores yet, but spotted a nice selection of them in a truck stop out on I-5. Not headlights yet, nobody has that; but license plate, turn signal lamps, etc. Cost twice as much; probably last forever.
posted by Rash at 4:24 PM on November 28, 2009