If you're trying to substitute a 100W light bulb, you will discover a number of LED choices at costs that are not almost as unreasonable as they had been only a 12 months or two in the past. The present crop, including the Philips 100W Equivalent LED, hovers proper across the $20 worth level. Initially priced at $25, Philips' LED has since been marked down a number of bucks to $22, which is still slightly costlier than what you may see from competitors like GE and Cree. Philips justifies that by claiming an additional 80 lumens' price of brightness over those two, together with superior dimming capabilities. Nonetheless, our tests didn't reveal any noticeable distinction in either brightness or dimmability. That, together with the truth that Philips gives half the warranty that you will get with GE or Cree, makes this bulb difficult to recommend. Philips' 100W Equivalent LED shares the identical, flat-topped construct of its smaller siblings within the 60W and 40W categories, but units itself apart with a novel design that splits the bulb into three sections separated by deep channels.
This helps keep the heat buildup at bay, one thing that will get especially vital when LEDs start placing out this much gentle. Even with the emphasis on thermal administration, the bulb gets scorching to the contact after simply a few minutes of use, which is not unusual for EcoLight a 100W substitute LED. As such, Philips recommends not utilizing it in an enclosed fixture -- if you happen to do, you may threat shortening the bulb's lifespan. That lifespan is rated at 25,000 hours, the identical as the other 100W substitute LEDs I examined, with the exception of Utilitech. That lifespan comes out to 22.Eight years if the bulb is used for an average of three hours per day. Philips warrants the bulb for the first 5 of those years, EcoLight lighting whereas GE and Cree each supply ten-year warranties. 25,000 hours is the longevity benchmark for Energy Star certification -- the Philips 100W Equal earned certification over the summer season, reduce energy consumption as did the GE LED I examined. Cree's bulb isn't certified but, but it meets the standards -- Cree's group tells me they expect it to be certified within the close to future.
Philips claims a gentle output of 1,680 lumens at a golden hued 2,seven hundred Okay from a energy draw of 19 watts. That makes it good for about 88 lumens per watt -- a formidable quantity, but not as spectacular as GE and Utilitech, which each manage to place out 100 lumens per watt. Those 1680 lumens are a slight step up from what you'll get with GE, Cree, or EcoLight any of the opposite bulbs we tested. With brightness being one in every of the primary things you want from your home lighting, that number would seem to give Philips an edge, albeit a minor one. However, the engineers at Energy Star test bulbs out for themselves, posting the complete specs for each EcoLight LED bulbs they certify on-line. On Philips' listing, Power Star rates the bulb at 1,620 lumens -- not 1,680. Whereas an additional 80 lumens is simply barely enough to make a noticeable difference, an extra 20 lumens is basically insignificant. We wished to know which number had it proper.
From a easy eye take a look at, the light put out from the Philips 100W Equal LED does not differ a lot from its nearest opponents, the Cree and GE 100W replacements. Side by facet, the three have almost similar glows, all of them boasting equally warm tones. That isn't surprising, given that all three are rated with the identical 2,seven hundred Okay color temperature. When examined, every one erred low, on the yellowy side. Remember, although, EcoLight LED bulbs that Philips claims to put out 1,680 lumens to Cree and GE's 1,600. That is a pretty minuscule distinction, however it is one that ought to be noticeable if you are trying carefully for it. The issue is that I couldn't discover it. Testing bulb brightness will get a bit tough. In addition to measuring coloration temperature and color rendering scores, our spectrometer can take luminosity readings from a given light -- but those readings are simply skewed by things like viewing angle and distance. To get numbers you may rely on, you need something known as an integrating sphere.