Best value light bulbs

JimmyTheWig

Thanks almillar. A bit pricey, though! Do you think they are worth it in terms of how long they will last before they blow, etc?

Cornucopia

almillar wrote: »

IKEA is rubbish for LEDs. They're not bright, and they're not cheap. Avoid.

They've recently introduced a bunch of new LED bulbs that are 200lm-600lm, £4-£10.

Are your comments related to those, or their old range?

As long as the lumen figure is accurate, there's no reason why anyone would buy a bulb that wasn't bright enough for the application.

almillar

JimmytheWig - I can't really answer that - are they worth it - I guided you on how to weigh it up for yourself.
If you want max brightness for least cost, and the lights are on for long periods, rather than on/off all the time, CFL energy savers still provide the best value in my opinion.
If it's for a room where lights are on/off all the time, LED is better. I think the one above there which will match a 60W old style bulb is about as good value as it gets for replacing a bulb properly, ie with the same amount of light.
BUT - you haven't told us the wattages of the bulbs you're replacing - if they're lower than what I've stated in my previous post, and you're happy with the same amount of light, you can go cheaper.
LEDs are getting better every year. That means this year's stock is brighter and more expensive, and last year's stock is dimmer and cheaper.
Cornucopia - yes the current range (was actually just in last night and saw a little 200lm one). Certainly their bulbs are getting brighter, but they're still not good VALUE. Light output versus cost. I've no doubt that the lumens value they quote is true, but 200lm is a tiny amount of light. If that's all you need, you'll be able to beat IKEA's price. Same applies to their CFLs BTW. Not bright, slow to warm up.

msmyth18

I personally get Philips LED bulbs, they are a good brand and the output seems reasonable. They are quite expensive, however I have been able to find some outlets selling them at a decent price. I got 10 Philip's GU10 LED's for £45 on Ebay

Cornucopia

almillar wrote: »

Cornucopia - yes the current range (was actually just in last night and saw a little 200lm one). Certainly their bulbs are getting brighter, but they're still not good VALUE. Light output versus cost. I've no doubt that the lumens value they quote is true, but 200lm is a tiny amount of light. If that's all you need, you'll be able to beat IKEA's price. Same applies to their CFLs BTW. Not bright, slow to warm up.

The range is currently in transition, and they have everything from a pitiful 90lm up to 600lm. (600 is supposed to be similar output to an old-style 60w bulb).

I needed a new E14 Candle bulb, so I went in there today and bought a couple of the higher output LED bulbs. The candle is excellent - 400lm/7w/£6. It is much brighter than the old 7w CFL candle that it's replacing.

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/40254090/


I also bought an E27 round-topped bulb - 600lm/11w/£7. I will test this later and post the results.

JimmyTheWig

almillar wrote: »

JimmytheWig - I can't really answer that - are they worth it - I guided you on how to weigh it up for yourself.

There's been a lot of talk about how bright the light is, but not much talk of how long the bulbs last. Any thoughts?

almillar

JimmytheWig - You still haven't mentioned what wattage you're replacing. I've got 3 MR16 or GU10 spotlights from the website I linked to over the last year or so, and they haven't failed yet - that's the limit of my personal experience of them, but you can see the guarantee periods on the site. He makes a big deal of them being quality products, not saving on the heatsink for example, and there's loads of info on there. LEDs should last decades but I've had cheapos being DOA or lasting a couple of months. I've drawn the conclusion that cheap ones aren't worth it, as you can't trust any of the specs.
Cornucopia - they have improved indeed. I'll look through the site

That candle's pretty good value. I'd have that. The rest range from not bad, to very bad.
Examples:
I'd rather have this bulb:
http://www.energysavingled.com/product/led-bulbs/7w-led-bulb/
£9, 7W, 640lm (advertised as equivalent to 40W)
than the £10, 11W, 600lm bulb you got from IKEA (advertised as 60W equivalent).

This 'new' MR16 bulb (a size I've researched plenty) is awful:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30218187/
£7, 4W, 200lm. You could buy a lot of candles for £7!
The new GU10 has the same specs but £4. Slightly less awful.

Cornucopia

The 400lm candle is very good. Quite pleased with that for £6.

I only paid £7 for the round 11w LED, though I see it's £10 on the website. Having tested it last night, it's about as bright as an 11w CFL - so no efficiency saving at all - which is a shame.

The underlying point though is that I was never going to buy LED bulbs when they were £15-£25. At the Ikea price, I am prepared to give them a go. Hopefully they will improve further - I would want to see an 800-1000lm version, for example.

Cornucopia

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

There's been a lot of talk about how bright the light is, but not much talk of how long the bulbs last. Any thoughts?

The difficulty is that unless the bulb fails out of the box, you are looking at a lifespan measured in decades, depending on usage patterns.

I see that the site that almillar linked to has a 1 year returns policy - that would be a great backup if buying some of the more expensive bulbs.