Please recommend a high-lumen smart LED bulb
October 27, 2022 6:40 PM Subscribe
Please recommend a high-quality, high-lumen, smart LED bulb for a ceiling fixture with a standard E26 US fitting in a small (~350ft2 / ~33m2), high-ceiling office. Color temperature and brightness should be controllable from an iPhone. Wish list below the fold:
• The bulb should have a high max-brightness — currently there’s a compact fluorescent bulb rated at 120W, and we’d like something that can be at least that bright when we need it to be.
• Brightness and color temperature of the bulb should be easily controllable across a wide range of settings from multiple phones. There isn’t a wall dimmer switch.
• Since it may not be possible to hang a shade it should emit fairly diffuse light, or at least not be super harsh.
• No discernible flicker, regardless of how dim it’s set to.
• We don’t want to deal with a hub, so the bulb would need to be controllable via a standalone app or directly from the Apple Home app (if that’s even possible without a hub).
• Cost isn’t a big factor.
• The bulb should have a high max-brightness — currently there’s a compact fluorescent bulb rated at 120W, and we’d like something that can be at least that bright when we need it to be.
• Brightness and color temperature of the bulb should be easily controllable across a wide range of settings from multiple phones. There isn’t a wall dimmer switch.
• Since it may not be possible to hang a shade it should emit fairly diffuse light, or at least not be super harsh.
• No discernible flicker, regardless of how dim it’s set to.
• We don’t want to deal with a hub, so the bulb would need to be controllable via a standalone app or directly from the Apple Home app (if that’s even possible without a hub).
• Cost isn’t a big factor.
The LIFX A19/E26 bulbs are great, IMO. Quality light with a wide range of good looking white color temperatures to choose from, no noticeable flicker (the PWM frequency is stupid high, well over 1000Hz), and no hub. They will integrate with HomeKit, Alexa, and Google Assistant. Only 1100 lumens, though. Plus, if you have more than a few, they can be a bit difficult with some WiFi APs.
There was some concern about ongoing support, but Feit has since bought them and is once again releasing firmware updates. Not that it really matters if the web services die at some future point, the app can control the bulbs directly over the LAN, which is nice so that you're not boned if your internet connection is out for a while.
I'm not sure if they're rated for use in a fully enclosed fixture, but I had a couple in crappy boob light fixtures for a couple of years and they're still going strong in lamps at a new place I've been for a year and a half.
There do exist bulbs that use RF remotes rather than app control. If you can't find an app-controlled one that meets your lumen requirement you might look into those.
posted by wierdo at 2:45 AM on October 28, 2022
There was some concern about ongoing support, but Feit has since bought them and is once again releasing firmware updates. Not that it really matters if the web services die at some future point, the app can control the bulbs directly over the LAN, which is nice so that you're not boned if your internet connection is out for a while.
I'm not sure if they're rated for use in a fully enclosed fixture, but I had a couple in crappy boob light fixtures for a couple of years and they're still going strong in lamps at a new place I've been for a year and a half.
There do exist bulbs that use RF remotes rather than app control. If you can't find an app-controlled one that meets your lumen requirement you might look into those.
posted by wierdo at 2:45 AM on October 28, 2022
It's really hard to find good bulbs that don't need a hub. It's even harder to find good bulbs that don't use a hub and are BRIGHT.
One thing I'd call out is that lumens isn't the best measure - go by wattage. Lumens is brightness / distance, so manufacturers can lie about the distance part (or give a range). 10,000 lumens at 3.5in-24in means it's only 10,000 lumens at 3.5in. But wattage for LEDs is pretty consistent indicator of brightness.
If you are installing this at home, I'd recommend a corn LED bulb with a digitally controlled fixture. You would miss out on color changes, but they are infinitely bright. (Not really, but mine is 15,000 lumens). You generally want them to have air flow though.
If at the office, unfortunately I'd probably recommend a desklamp.
I hope you find a solution that fits all your needs!
posted by bbqturtle at 5:22 AM on October 28, 2022
One thing I'd call out is that lumens isn't the best measure - go by wattage. Lumens is brightness / distance, so manufacturers can lie about the distance part (or give a range). 10,000 lumens at 3.5in-24in means it's only 10,000 lumens at 3.5in. But wattage for LEDs is pretty consistent indicator of brightness.
If you are installing this at home, I'd recommend a corn LED bulb with a digitally controlled fixture. You would miss out on color changes, but they are infinitely bright. (Not really, but mine is 15,000 lumens). You generally want them to have air flow though.
If at the office, unfortunately I'd probably recommend a desklamp.
I hope you find a solution that fits all your needs!
posted by bbqturtle at 5:22 AM on October 28, 2022
If you're looking on amamazon or similar places, the magic words are "garage led" and "basement led." You'll easily find lights up to 10000 lumens; typically they look like flowers with movable petals. The hard part will be sorting through them for app support.
I haven't done this yet, but if you have access to your breaker panel to shut off power to the switch swapping it out for a dimmer switch *appears to be* trivial.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:48 AM on October 28, 2022
I haven't done this yet, but if you have access to your breaker panel to shut off power to the switch swapping it out for a dimmer switch *appears to be* trivial.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:48 AM on October 28, 2022
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As for diffusing light, you can add "light diffusor sheets" that're marketed for this exact problem. They are astonishingly good and spreading light over their area. Odds are you're looking at one right now: a computer monitor has a sheet diffuser inside which is distributing light from a single row of LEDs at the top or bottom of your screen, and phones use the same technology within their screen sandwich. (Well, some screen techs do.)
I did find this Feit Electric bulb, which has no hub and does have app control. (I've used the app for cameras, not bulbs, and it's not amazing but gets the job done.) It's about 1100 lumens, equivalent to a 100W bulb, so not as bright.
Novostella's bulb here does 1300 lumens, but a review site said its color saturation is weak. They call it a RGBCW bulb. You should be looking for RGBW (meaning it has dedicated LED elements for Red, Green, Blue, and White, whereas cheaper RGB LED systems produce white by mixing all 3, and it's only adequate compared to true white LED); Novostella uses CW meaning cool/warm, two different flavors of white LED.
LIFX has a pair of bulbs compared here; one is more omnidirectional, the other is more like a spotlight. You'll have to judge for yourself which is a better fit for a high-ceiling office overhead.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:16 PM on October 27, 2022