Tag: LEDs

Philips EnduraLED 60 watt Light Bulb Replacement

Philips’ EnduraLED 12 watt LED is the first LED bulb designed to replace the 60 watt incandescent light bulb.
I’m a big fan of LEDs, and have replaced all of the incandescent and CFLs in my house with LEDs where I can get away with it. The energy savings are nice, but mostly I’m about not having to replace blown bulbs. I own a house that was built in the mid-1950s and both incandescent and CFLs never last anywhere near as long as they are rated. The LEDs I have, however, just keep going and going without problem.

The problem with LED bulbs in general, however, is that until now the bulbs designed for indoor use have generally been intended to replace 40 watt and under bulbs. That works great for my basement and some of my halls, but I’m not lighting my living room with 40 watt bulbs.

The Philips EnduraLED 12 watt is about $40 at Home Depot. GreenTechMedia reviewed the bulb and had a couple of criticisms. First, they didn’t like the light output and color compared even to Light Sciences’ 40 watt replacement (and Light Sciences is supposed to have a 60 watt replacement out soon). They were also put off by the odd enclosure with the three grooves which are apparently heat sinks.

There are some interesting comments to the GreenTechMedia review which suggest the bulb might be better for its traditional use (in lamps with shades) rather than the top down tests the GreenTechmedia folks use.

Either way, it is good to see more and more LED choices for lighting becoming available. It will still be awhile, but I can’t wait to replace all of my 100 watt lamps with LEDs.

GeoBulb Headed for Release Soon

I’m the last person anyone would accuse of being an environmentalist and I have the obscenely large electricity bills to prove it. Moreover, I absolutely despises those POS CFL bulbs that so many companies are pushing today — I’ve tried a few and they last like 6 weeks top in my house before burning out or whatever the hell non-filament bulbs do.

On the other hand, I will completely replace every bulb in my house with GeoBulbs once these actually hit the market.

This is an LED-based bulb that is designed to replace 60 watt bulbs while drawing only 8 watts. The GeoBulb website claims these things will last up to 3 years of continuous usage or about 10 years at 8 hours a day. And it better be able to last 10 years at an initial cost of $119.95 per bulb.

The GeoBulb website has a lot of info about how much money and CO2 you’ll save over that time . . . blah, blah, blah. I’m more about my own personal laziness and just want a bulb that I only have to worry about replacing more than once a decade.

The GeoBulb just passed its government-required testing and now just has to pass muster on its UL certification. Currently the company is projecting these will be available for order at the end of September.