Cree increases CRI to 83 on its basic dimmable bulb

[lkruper]

Yeah, it's kind of important to match bulbs in a room, else dimming is likely to be uneven.

(All the Cree / Philips / Osram bulbs I use seem to dim quite well, with no flicker...
except for a couple funny rooms where they occasionally freak out and flicker like
mad in a way that depends strangely on the dimmer setting. I'm chalking that up to old dimmers.
Well, the flat Philips ones flicker when very dim.
Older Crees hum, too, which is a problem in some locations but not others.)

Its actually a good thing that I replaced one bulb and not the other. I can now see the difference clearly. They are both on the same dimmer switch. I hate to say it, but I prefer the incandescent on dim, when the light is for ambience and intended just as a night light.

I also don't think that my conventional dimmer switch makes the led light dim enough for this application. I don't think it is a show stopper, because I am preparing for emergency backup loads and the lower wattage is enough of an advantage for me to ignore the problems.

One thing I wonder about is the led smart bulbs that apparently allow the bulbs to be controlled also for color. I have not seen them, but is it possible to mimic the yellowish dim of an incandescent on low?

[emartin00]

$4/bulb

The U.S. government has certainly ruined the freedom loving incandescent bulb biz.

Even if you got a free incandescent bulb, it would still cost you more over the course of a year than buying a $4 LED bulb. Plus, you won't have to replace the LED at the end of the year.

[SunEagle]

Even if you got a free incandescent bulb, it would still cost you more over the course of a year than buying a $4 LED bulb. Plus, you won't have to replace the LED at the end of the year.

Unfortunately the love of incandescent bulbs may just come down to being short sited and only seeing what it costs someone up front instead of looking at what the total costs will be in the long run.

I would also imagine some of that anger is based on not liking to have any type of government decree telling you what you "can't" use anymore.

[Sunking]

More Blather from Dan .

[donald]

CRI doesn't indicate a light source's ability of an LED to illuminate saturated colors, particularly red. This has limited LED acceptance in higher end retailing.

Soraa manufactures LEDs on gallium nitride show saturated red better than conventional LEDs, and are probably better 90+ CRI bulbs compared to other high CRI bulbs. Soraa is a good incandescent MR16 replacement for illuminating artwork.

[DanKegel]

Right, CRI kind of ignores red, which is one reason why CRI isn't the be-all-and-end-all of light quality, it's just a start.

See http://www.leapfroglighting.com/why-...snt-important/ for an eye-opener there.

[inetdog]

One thing I wonder about is the led smart bulbs that apparently allow the bulbs to be controlled also for color. I have not seen them, but is it possible to mimic the yellowish dim of an incandescent on low?

You can do a fair approximation, since the bulb consists of separately controlled colored light sources, all LED with the additional contribution of phosphors for some of them.
They also make non-controlled bulbs which are designed with two or more color LEDs which change the color balance automatically when dimmed. These can approximate the effect of dimming an incandescent, but over a limited range. See Post #23 for one example.

I just replaced our bathroom fan nightlight with an LED bulb. Uses 1 watt instead of 4 watts, but I did it for the bulb life not the power usage.
It is distinctly blue in tone and I do not find it as pleasant a night light, but I will stick with it for awhile.
I am also using the GE Link system bulbs in bedroom nightstand lights and ceiling light and find them extremely handy for turning off all the lights after getting into bed, and for dimming in the evening.
But the system is very glitchy and sometimes requires several times through a command sequence before all of the bulbs end up in the desired state.
You can turn the bulb on full brightness at any time by switching the circuit off and then back on again. If you leave it off, you are of course hosed and have to get up out of bed to turn them on again.

If you set a dimmer level on a bulb, the simple on and off commands will keep the same dimmer setting.

PS: If you shop around (including Big Orange) you can find a starter set of two 60 Watt type A bulbs and the hub/router for less than the cost of two bulbs by themselves.

[donald]

One thing I wonder about is the led smart bulbs that apparently allow the bulbs to be controlled also for color. I have not seen them, but is it possible to mimic the yellowish dim of an incandescent on low?

Philips makes a BR30 led that warms as it dims. Part number 452235.

[lkruper]

Philips makes a BR30 led that warms as it dims. Part number 452235.

I bought one Philips and one Cree at Home Depot yesterday. The Philips was DOA. The Cree worked great, but I noticed compared to incandescent when it dimmed, that I preferred the incandescent. Today I took the Philips back and bought two more and another Cree.

I put a Philips in and it did not work! How many krupers does it take to put in a light bulb? I put in the second and it worked. Not only that but I like the way it looks yellow on dim. But 2/3 of these Philips was DOA. Not only that, but the Cree that I got was actually a daylight (5000k) which I did not intend. But I am glad I made that mistake because now I can clearly see the difference. Pretty soon I will not need to take a cheat sheet to buy light bulbs.

[inetdog]

Pretty soon I will not need to take a cheat sheet to buy light bulbs.

But they will still continue to introduce new brands and models faster than any one person can keep up.
Also, once you find the perfect bulb it will be discontinued. Something else about thermodynamics, I think.

[donald]

But they will still continue to introduce new brands and models faster than any one person can keep up.
Also, once you find the perfect bulb it will be discontinued. Something else about thermodynamics, I think.

I doubt you bought the philips bulb I mentioned at home depot. This bulb actually lowers the color temp from 2800K to 2200K as it is dimmed.

[lkruper]

I doubt you bought the philips bulb I mentioned at home depot. This bulb actually lowers the color temp from 2800K to 2200K as it is dimmed.

The package says "The more you dim, the warmer the light." Since I have Cree in the right Sconce and the Philips in the left, both controlled by the same dimmer switch, the difference is striking. The Philips looks yellow on dim and the Cree is white on dim.

The Cree 5000k daylight bulb I bought by accident lasted 10 minutes and my wife demanded I remove it I agree.

I wonder if Home Depot will let me test the Philips before buy it. I am tired of waiting in line at customer service to return the bad ones. So far 1/3 worked.

[inetdog]

I wonder if Home Depot will let me test the Philips before buy it. I am tired of waiting in line at customer service to return the bad ones. So far 1/3 worked.

Did the packages have verifiable factory seals? If not you may just have gotten returned bulbs that were restocked.

I have had some experience with odd shaped LED and CFL which were just on either side of the hairy edge of marginal contact with the bottom of socket tab in a screw socket fixture with only enough clearance for a standard long neck A type bulb.
I assume you were careful to rule out that kind of problem.

[lkruper]

Did the packages have verifiable factory seals? If not you may just have gotten returned bulbs that were restocked.

I have had some experience with odd shaped LED and CFL which were just on either side of the hairy edge of marginal contact with the bottom of socket tab in a screw socket fixture with only enough clearance for a standard long neck A type bulb.
I assume you were careful to rule out that kind of problem.

The packages from Home Depot were sealed so well, I needed to use scissors to open them. Not sure what you mean by problems with contact. Are you referring to a slightly malformed base or a bulb/base that does not quite fit the socket? I did get one of the three Philips to work, so I think that rules out an incompatibility problem with bulb/socket. I also tried to use that bulb in an entirely different type of fixture and it did not work there either.

[DanKegel]

I have had some experience with odd shaped LED and CFL which were just on either side of the hairy edge of marginal contact with the bottom of socket tab in a screw socket fixture with only enough clearance for a standard long neck A type bulb.

I remember something like that last year, too. I think I had one socket that didn't get along with one bulb, didn't quite make contact. Fortunately, I have lots of each Don't remember which brand misbehaved.