Help with LED bulb options for Insteon compatibility

[DStampfer]

I have numerous recessed lighting loads with reflector floods, all on Insteon dimmers of various revisions- some as old as 6yr and a few which are dual band/newer. Scenes are managed by ISY-99. I've just used my last 75W and 100W BR40 Halogen flood replacements and need to figure out where to go from here. It's obviously pricey to swap to all dimmable LED's and I have no easy way of testing for Insteon compatibility of various bulbs with current Insteon dimmers. I'm sure some of you have done this already and may have thoughts on color temperature, interference flickering, necessary changes to scenes to create the same light levels. My current floods have a really nice wide dispersion without any perceived hot spots (Westinghouse Hallogena). Am I better off buying energy efficient smaller wattage Halogens and keeping everything the same rather than going the LED route? Dimmable CFL's are out unless someone can tell me they work with Insteon, have good color, bulb life, and are bright enough within a few seconds. Can't say I'm eager to replace all my dimmers to make them work properly with LED either if their revisions are too old.

[haroldunger]

I've replaced my incandescents and halogen lights with 2700K LED's (mostly from bulbs.com). They dim nicely to +/-10% and do not flicker. I am using Insteon switches no older than two years with an ISY994 ir/pro.

 

FLOOD: 85 Watt Incandescent Equivalent, 12 Watt, 120 Volt DIMMABLE 25,000-Hr 2700K Warm White LED BR30 Bulb - LED12BR30D27K (TCP)

LAMPS: 100 Watt Incandescent Equivalent, 19 Watt, 120 Volt Dimmable LED A-21 Lamp - 19A21/2700-WHT DIM (Philips)

ENCLOSED FIXTURES: 60 Watt Incandescent Equivalent, 10 Watt, 120 Volt Dimmable Frosted LED A-19 Lamp - Infinia 60 (Switch).

 

There is really no substitute for a warm incandescent. These are close when at full strength. When they are dimmed, they are somewhat "whiter" than incandescents. It takes a little getting used to. White oak floors and cabinets do not look as rich. However, these bulbs do not run hot and there is a substantial savings when using a fraction of the wattage that incandescents use.

 

Bottom line is that I am pleased with the change.

 

I will be testing a 3-way within a week or so. Just finished the test. The "Switch" bulbs seem to work well with most lamps.

[apostolakisl]

I have about 30 of the Cree CR6 bulbs available at home depot on my Insteon network. My Insteon switches are anywhere from less than 1 year old to 5 years old. They work just great. They don't dim all the way to 0% and they don't turn orange when you dim them, but other than that they are perfect. I have about 40 more of those at my office and they work great there also. But I don't have any Insteon at the office.

 

I also use the Cree A-19 replacements for my lamps and they also work very well. Again, they are at home depot.

[stevewier]

I used these floods

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-65W-Equivalent-Soft-White-2700K-BR30-Dimmable-Warm-Glow-LED-Flood-Light-Bulb-452235/205395637?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053

 

with my KPL's and SLD's. I had them for two years and recently sold the house.  They did not hum, dimmed well and were almost identical to a standard incandescent bulb in color and light output. My KPL's and SLD's were 6 years old.

[lilyoyo1]

I use cree bulbs in most places outside of where I have hue bulbs. I have never had an issue with Cree except for 1 bulb that made noise in my ceiling fan. Even then it wasn't noticeable until I was standing at the bulb itself cleaning off the blades. I upgrade constantly so none of my switches are older than 8 months. One thing I found is that they don't dim on manually well. They dim down really low. If I do a preset to a low dim level it comes on well. 

[Teken]

I've recently used these with great success with no hum, buzzing, or flickering. They dim down smoothly and almost down to 2%.

 

 

The same brand but in the BR30 style with the same results.

 

 

These Lighting Science LED bulbs are the bulk of what lights up my home. They are rock solid in terms of instant on, no hum, no buzz, no flicker. Dims down smoothly and almost to the 2-5% level.

 

[Alan M]

Have had pretty good success with Sylvania / OSRAM (Sylvania's parent company) over a variety of their LED bulbs that I purchased at Lowes.

[Teken]

Have had pretty good success with Sylvania / OSRAM (Sylvania's parent company) over a variety of their LED bulbs that I purchased at Lowes.

I too have had great success with the sylvania branded LED bulbs. These G25 globe style bulbs have been fantastic for our island pendant lights.

 

[lilyoyo1]

surprisingly, Ikea brand LED bulbs work really well with Insteon and they are cheap

[Teken]

surprisingly, Ikea brand LED bulbs work really well with Insteon and they are cheap

 

Really, which one's did you try out and have installed? I've seen quite a few of their in house brands but never took the time to try. If they are indeed good quality and operate well with Insteon I am in the market for a few 60/100 LED bulbs for a key (less used) areas.

 

Any pictures / specs would be great to see and review.

[lilyoyo1]

An installer I know uses them. I personally use Cree and hue. I will get the specifics from him and let you know

[AngelArs]

I have about 30 of the Cree CR6 bulbs available at home depot on my Insteon network. My Insteon switches are anywhere from less than 1 year old to 5 years old. They work just great.

Same here, except one of the bulbs makes a slight high pitched whine some of the times. Not sure why but I'm looking into it. Haven't tried the new Cree bulb with 4Flow filament design released recently, but I plan to today. I'll let you know if they work better.

 

 

 

UPDATE:

           

OMG these new Cree's are really nice! First off they fixed the high pitched whine issue. These new cree's are dead quiet. They look completely different from the Cree's I bought last year, and no longer have the rubberized outside coating. They dim perfectly and also have 15 more lumens than the older Cree's. Best part is they cost a dollar less than the ones I bought before (love it when the price comes down). I've used a ton of different LED's over the years, but these new Cree's are definitely the new standard by which I'll judge all other LED bulbs.