Gizmag tries out the 60-watt-equivalent warm white bulb, from Cree View gallery (6 images) In late March, all of the US Home Depot stores began carrying Cree’s new LED light bulbs. While they’re by no means the first such bulbs to offer the same form factor as standard incandescent bulbs, their combination of a relatively low price and visually-pleasing light quality have got some people – and not just publicists working for Cree – saying that they could be what finally brings LED light bulbs into the mainstream. I recently got a chance to try one out for myself, and I definitely liked what I saw. LED bulbs in general have several key advantages over incandescents – they’re much more energy-efficient, they last longer, they’re less fragile, and they don’t get as hot. Compact fluorescent bulbs have many of those same features, although (in most cases) they take a while to reach full brightness after first being turned on, and the light they give off is rather unattractive.

They also contain toxic materials. So far, consumers have had two main choices when it comes to standard screw-in LED light bulbs – ones with prices in the tens of dollars per bulb, or cheaper ones that give off a weaker light. The Cree LED Bulbs, on the other hand, start at a price of US$9.97 for a 40-watt-equivalent 450-lumen bulb, and give off a nice-looking, bright light. The bulb I received was the 60-watt-equivalent, 800-lumen warm white model, which sells for $12.97. The first photo below shows a room lit with it, while the second shows the same room lit with a 60-watt incandescent. They’re pretty much identical. As you can see, it spreads a soft, even light in all directions. I can also attest to the facts that when it’s operating, the bulb makes no noise, has no funny smell, and gets only slightly warm to the touch. While I didn’t try hurling mine to the sidewalk, the lack of any tinkling filaments inside suggests that it’s fairly sturdy. It also has a protective rubberized coating on the bulb glass, which makes it feel kind of like skin – especially when it gets warm.

It’s a small quibble, but I did find that the dust really sticks to that coating. A simple going-over with the Swiffer won’t suffice when it comes time to clean the thing.Dell Laptops In Usa Price List If users prefer a less warm, more neutral color temperature, a $13.97 60-watt-equivalent daylight version of the bulb is also available. Crystal Beaded Curtains CanadaAll three models are said to be 84 percent more energy-efficient than their incandescent equivalents, and have a rated lifespan of 25,000 hours (with a 10-year warranty). Used Laptop For Sale At BangaloreAccording to the US Department of Energy, incandescent bulbs typically last about 1,000 hours. The Cree bulbs are still in the process of earning the Energy Star qualification.

While they’re certainly much less expensive than some of their competitors, I’m still not about to run out and replace all of my light bulbs with Cree LEDs in one go. As my existing bulbs burn out, however, it’ll only make sense to swap in a Cree – or whatever comes along to best it. Product page: Cree LED Bulbs > "telescope" in buy and sell in Saskatoon Get an alert with the newest ads for "telescope" in Saskatoon. from New Westminster, BC Easy and solves my lighting problem We purchased our house 5 years ago and I have tried a couple different solutions for a smaller storage room we have in the basement (4' X 10'), that has two ceiling lights, with different switches. Problem is one of the switches was put in the back of the room (who wires this way). My first solution was a Skylink wireless switch with remote, this worked for about 3 years and gave advantage of having both light switches at front by the door, then the light switch dies. I looked for solutions and because of cost I went with another Skylink switch.

The second worked for a bout 6 months no problem and then became flaky and had constant sync issues. I just dealt with it for last 1.5 years. Then I started looking at Hue lights. Price wise I was in it for over $70 with the two Skylink switches, so figured this would be cheaper and bought this switch & light combo and a second bulb. Installation of the switch and bulb was no problem, screw in bulb, remove tape from back of plate and stick to wall, done, easy it was all synched. For the second bulb it was easy, but unfortunately I will give Phillips a one star on instructions, which just said to go to meet hue website. I looked around could not find instructions on the web, so I then did a google search which found me instructions. It was so simple I don't know why they did not include them. Screw bulb in hold on button till light starts flashing, done. Now switch controls both lights. Because I want the family not to use the old wall switches and mess up the hue, by having them turned off, I took the extra step of removing the switches and butting blank plates on.

Because it's a storage room looks don't bother me, but having the face plates does give it a nice look. I plan to buy more to do our overall basement, which again lacks enough switches and puts the ones that are there in bad spots. But needing 5 bulbs and 3 switches, makes it a little on expensive side. But compared to trying to rewire this is a great solution. At that point I may also add the Hue Hub. I plan to wait to see how first ones last, i have additional areas that I installed smart switches to control the house, may be worth switching to hue bulbs instead, because I lack neutral wires, meaning I have to stay with incandescence lights on those switches. My only worry with the Hue system is longevity of the bulbs. If I get 5 years out of them then I will happy and consider it a success. I bought the kit and 3 extra bulbs for my man cave. Now I save precious seconds every day by not having to turn on and off 4 lamps individually. Plus, the dimmer function allows for perfect brightness levels.

The bulbs are plenty bright enough, and surprisingly for LED's, a very pleasing colour of light (similar to incandescent bulbs.) Turns on by itself The concept of this product is wonderful. My room was built without a ceiling light and I thought this would solve the problem. The dimmer works great and the light intensity changes really smoothing. Unfortunately the light will turn on all by itself I would say 1 out of 5 times. It's especially annoying when it's the middle of the night and you're fast asleep and suddenly a bright light turns on.easy to set up right from the box. Bought this dimmer switch on off and dimming easy Just works as it should! Great product, very easy to set up and use Using this system really couldn't be any simpler: take it out of the package, screw in the bulb, turn it on, and that's it. You have a dimmable warm white LED bulb, literally in the time it takes to screw in a lightbulb. I can't speak to the ease of use adding multiple bulbs to the switch, but I can say that the process of integrating the switch into an existing Hue environment is also pretty easy.