LED BR40 recommendations?

[nickp]

Hey Guys.

 

My flashing light bulbs have halted the installation of the Insteon switches throughout the rest of the house.

The wife hates the flashing.  She blames the bulbs, but I know it's the TRIAC dimmer technology in the switch just not working with the bulbs that I have.  As a result, they "flash" every minute or so.

 

So, I'm looking for a recommendation for a BR40 bulb.

I would like something soft in the 2700/3000K range.

I would like something that actually has good dimming.  10% brightness with my current bulbs is very similar to 50%..

 

I've heard of some bults that change the color temp with the dimmer.

ie, They're more yellow at 10% brightness than 100%.

 

Does ANYONE have any good bulb recommendations?

 

Thanks, Nick.

[jtara92101]

The "color changing" bulbs don't, actually. They have a "more yellow" LED (or LEDs) that is always on at a constant level when the bulb is on. At lower brightness levels, the perceived color temperature will be lower.

 

No experience with these, but a friend has Phillips floods in his kitchen that look like they might be BR40. All I know is they are screw-in floods in 6" cans, he got them at Home Depot, and he is happy with them, and especially the "color changing" aspect.

 

It would be helpful if you mention what bulbs you do have, so that others can avoid them.

[apostolakisl]

I have been very happy with the Cree CR-6 fixtures.  These are more than bulbs, you remove the trim and the CR6 pops into the can with its own built-in trim.  They dim well and have nice color.  I have never had one fail and have many of them for quite a few years now (probably at least 5).  Of course they work with Insteon dimmers.  When they dim, they don't turn orange like incandescent.  I don't know of any led that does.  They just get dimmer at basically the same color down to about 5% or so.

 

I do not recommend the Cree BR40 bulbs they sell at HD.  I have had several and 100% failed in 12-18 months.

[Teken]

I second the other members request to find out what brand and model this LED bulb is so others can avoid or test. Not sure if its been just dumb luck but I have yet to see any of my bulbs have such issues. Then again I took a lot of time reading, viewing, and testing various brands and models before committing to a whole case lot.

 

As noted in a related thread I suspect in the next 2-5 years there will be more LED bulb issues as companies push for the lowest price while sacrificing long term use and reliability.

 

Never mind (IF) they are going to work with some random HA tech like Insteon, Z-Wave, ZigBee, UPB, etc.

[jtara92101]

I vote for snap-in screw-base conversions, rather than bulbs. Bulb form factors constrain the thermal design. The larger form factor of the conversions give the designer a larger area to work with and makes it easier to get rid of the heat. 

 

I have 4" and 6" eyeball conversions from Home Depot. Commercial Electric, which I think is a HD house brand? I was skeptical because of the brand, but tested several including Cree, and was happiest with the CE models. They are not cheap though, I think about $40 ea. They are less if you don't need an adjustable eyeball. 

 

They do not change color temperature at lower illumination levels, though.

 

I have no desire for color-temperature-changing bulbs. (At least not ones that lower color temperature with lower brightness.) The incandescent light behavior is a byproduct of the physics involved with hot wires. Claims of an ingrained genetic preference because caves and burning animal fat are I think dubious at best. But I think we have a CULTURAL preference from 100+ years of hot wires. It just seems "odd" if it doesn't act like a hot wire.

 

One nice thing about the conversions is that it gives the possibility of wiring-in an Insteon micro-dimmer and individually controlling lamp brightness, if several are on the same circuit. Note that placement of the micro-dimmer in the "bulb" part of the housing may not meet code, though! Of course, similar can be achieved by the use of Hue or LifX or Insteon bulbs, etc. (But then back to the difficulty of designing good lamps within the constraints of popular bulb form factors.)

[apostolakisl]

 

 

I have no desire for color-temperature-changing bulbs. (At least not ones that lower color temperature with lower brightness.) The incandescent light behavior is a byproduct of the physics involved with hot wires. Claims of an ingrained genetic preference because caves and burning animal fat are I think dubious at best. But I think we have a CULTURAL preference from 100+ years of hot wires. It just seems "odd" if it doesn't act like a hot wire.

 

 

 

I tend to agree with you.  My "tweenage" kids have pretty much never had dimming incandescent bulbs.  If you point out to them the dimming differences, they are like "Umm, am I supposed to care?"

[stusviews]

I've had great success with Philips Warm Glow LEDs. I can dim them to 5% with no flicker using a KPL 6-button dimmer. (There's no noticeable difference between 1% and 5%.)

 

I've not had any success with Philips 5000K dimmable LEDs connected to a SwitchLinc dimmer except at 100%. At anything lower, they flashed (full on) randomly.

 

BTW, I agree with the kids. At that age, there's no need nor desire for dimming

[gweempose]

For screw in floods, I think Philips is the way to go. I have 2700K BR30s and BR40s all over my house. They looks great and dim nicely. When I first started buying them, they were like $40 a bulb. Now they're like $5 a bulb. They aren't made as well as they used to be, but hopefully they will still last a long time. I haven't had one go on me yet, and I probably have about 100 of them throughout my home.