LED lightbulbs suck

[DovertheRoad]

I'm all for saving the planet but why can't they invent LED lightbulbs that don't look $hit? Even the so called warm white bulbs look nothing short of ghoulish. Plus they no longer work with your analogue dimmers so they end up needing changed too. Anyone found a decent solution yet?

[Renata Hamvas]

There are some energy saving bulbs that can be used with dimmers they are usually a bit more expensive than the normal ones, it normally says if they are suitable for dimming on the packaging.

Renata

[JohnL]

I like my Hue coloured ones and I got them on offer - hope they last a few years though.

[diable rouge]

Renata Hamvas Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> There are some energy saving bulbs that can be

> used with dimmers they are usually a bit more

> expensive than the normal ones, it normally says

> if they are suitable for dimming on the packaging.

>

> Renata

I think Mr D's point is that newer dimmable lEDs are not compatible with the older dimmer switches, so they have to be changed to work with the newer LEDs...

[DovertheRoad]

I just want a warm spectrum and lighting that doesn't make my house look like an abattoir. I want to find LED bulbs in conventional sizes that give off the same warm glow as the old tungsten types.

[Lemming]

You can replace the dimming modules but keep the same faceplates and switches/knobs to cut down on cost. Buy a decent quality module. Varilight V-Pro modules are good (and quiet) with LEDs (haven?t found any incompatibilities yet). Probably about ?10 each or so online.

Civilight GU10?s are the best light-quality-vs-price I?ve found, not much to criticise about them. Nice light at full blast and they have a dim-to-warm feature that is also pleasing. ?13 each for the 7w ones. 9w also available if you need mad-bright.

https://well-lit.co.uk/store/led-spotlights-gu10/

We also have some Soraa LED GU10?s which do things that old halogens can?t, but they?re only really for specific technical applications (and will be too pointlessly expensive for most unless you need the features).

For the rest of them, you?re going to have to experiment a little to find what you like. Unless you?re desperate to save a few quid on a bulb, stick to the handful of very well-known brands and forget the rest for these.

LED filament bulbs will be the closest attempt at incandescents. The newest varieties (this is the problem with a lot of LED bulbs - the backlog of older tech clogging up the internet) will also offer a dim-to-warm feature - to replicate dimming of an incandescent yet further. You can usually recognise DTWs because they show a colour temperature range (eg 2200k-2700k) instead of a fixed temperature (eg just 2700k) in the technical blurb or say ?dim to warm? (or just ?DT? in the case of Philips) in the product description. Filaments used to be lower power, 'for decorative purposes only' as they say - but their power has increased and it?s possible to get LED filament 100w equivalents also with DTW these days.

The places I would avoid filaments are where the bulb is also shaded by a warm coloured shade anyway, or where the light is illuminating a warm coloured wall. In these cases, the combination of filament yellow plus the extra colour of the shade or wall may end-up making the whole effect too sepia-warm (even for you!). in these cases a decent non-filament (but still warm 2700k temperature) LED bulb might work better.

The better of the specialist bulb retailers will let you buy a load of bulbs and try them out with a no-quibble return policy. Buy a boxful of different types, wattages, brands - and experiment a little to see what you like without actually being stuck with anything.

The future has definitely arrived, but it does involve some legwork.

[DovertheRoad]

Lemming - superb post. Many thanks indeed.

[Lowlander]

Philips. Don't go for cheap bulbs, I replaced all the ceiling bulbs in our place with warm 100w equivalents, and other lamps with 50w or so...about ?15 a bulb two years ago, but well worth spending extra.

The light is not dissimilar to the old filament bulbs, and my electricity bill as gone down enough to have recovered the cost over two, maybe three years.

There're all warm, i don't understand this cold for kitchens and bathrooms, as you say you end up looking like a corpse in the mirror. You can't mimic daylight.

[Lemming]

Agreed, Philips are a solid brand. They also print all the information relevant to the product on the bulb itself, which is handy when you're trying bulbs out and you've mixed up all the boxes.

Do seek out LED filaments bulbs with DTW tech though. Regular dimmable filaments without this feature don't quite look right when dimmed.

And check the lumen output (how much light it puts out) alongside the wattage of the bulb as well. Improved tech means they can get more lumens out of the same wattage. In Philips' (Philips's?!) case you can buy two 8w DTW filament bulbs, one puts out 400 lumens and the other 800.

And finally, if you're particularly anal about it (which clearly I am) - when you've decided on the bulb, write the date you installed it on the bulb itself. A 5 year warranty is no good if it fails but you can't remember when you started using it. The manufacturers DO honour their warranties to those who can be bothered: I've returned some failed bulbs after 3 or 4 years and received replacements, no questions asked.

[malumbu]

Odd thread. I changed all the bulbs in the house with LED ones from Scfewfix a two years ago. Light much better than those dreadful CFL ones - now there was a mistake from the EU (although I wouldn't leave because of that). The LED bulbs were not one of the big brands.

If you've used in incandescent bulb in recent times you'll realise why they were banned. You can cook toast bread on them and you can smell the stink as they burn through the light fitting. Someone before the referendum complained about not being able to use coloured incandescent bulbs any more. Surprise surprise you can get coloured LED ones. I'm sure that someone will still complain about the quality of the colour given out.

[James Barber]

Agree with malumbu and Lemming. Did the same last Autumn across my home. Saving electricity, even though all renewable still good to reduce, saving money. Pay back I calculated at less than a year. Better lighting all round.