Compact Fluorescent 19 Watt PAR38 Reflector, 75 Watt Equivalent, 5100K

by TCP

Product Details

• ASIN: B0002K3OF6
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #378,972 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Floodlight Bulb Replacement - Full White Light Spectrum, January 17, 2010

By 

G. Cox "Shanghaied" (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Compact Fluorescent 19 Watt PAR38 Reflector, 75 Watt Equivalent, 5100K (Misc.)

These lights have good light output. I am replacing 90 Watt incandescent bulbs in my living room and game room with these. I wish they were just a little brighter, but they are adequately close to the light output of my 90 Watt incandescent bulbs. In fact, the 90 Watt incandescent bulbs are a pale yellow in comparison. It is very surprising how our brain converts yellow light to look like white light, but not when you have a direct comparison in front of you. Once you adapt to these full spectrum bulbs, you cannot go back to standard incandescent bulbs. Now I am replacing recessed incandescent bulbs in all areas of my new house. These bulbs are somewhat smaller diameter than the 90 Watt incandescent bulbs, but are sufficient. There is a little more gap now whereas the large diameter incandescent bulbs filled the space completely. It is probably better that these are a little smaller in that perhaps there will be better air circulation to improve the lifetime. I am a bit concerned that this is really just a regular shaped CFL bulb incased into a floodlight housing. If you look closely, you can see the spiral shaped CFL bulb inside when the light is off. When the light is on, all you see is a uniform bright light. But since these are normally used in recessed lighting in your ceiling, you normally would never even think to even look up.

In case you are wondering, the shipping is a flat rate regardless of the number of bulbs being ordered. So the more bulbs you order, the better the amortization of the shipping costs.

I am replacing the fixture in my garage to put some 45 Watt full spectrum CFL bulbs into a quad cluster light fixture. I live in the Houston, Texas area so cold weather is not normally a problem. Fluorescent bulbs often are weak in light output in cold weather until they warm up after a few minutes. When warm, they work fine. I have not tried this particular bulb series in a cold soak environment yet. The payoff should come this summer when electric bills are at their peak. These bulbs are very efficient and produce a lot less heat than incandescent bulbs. I look forward to the day that LED bulbs become affordable and brighter, but for now, this is the way to go. Definitely avoid the so called warm white fluorescent bulbs in the stores. Order only full spectrum CFL bulbs or those rated 51K or 55K or anything in the 5000 to 6000 Kelvin light spectrum. I would avoid the bulbs in the 6000 Kelvin range. They probably have too much of a blue shift. The 51K or 5100 Kelvin bulbs are perfect. Then it is just a matter of selecting the wattage you want. For multiple bulb fixtures, 23 Watt bulbs are perfect. For single bulb fixtures, you probably want a higher power bulb. I am using a 45 Watt 51K fluorescent bulb over my breakfast nook and it is just right. These full spectrum bulbs are great for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) people like me. I get winter depression when it is cloudy and bleak for a long time. Normally Houston has plenty of sunshine, but this winter has been unusually cold. Well, at least I am not in the frozen north. This is quite a switch for me because I just moved from the San Francisco area.