Customer Reviews

Dimmable Par20 5 Watt LED Spot Light Bulb Replacement for Incandescent Halogen Track Lighting, Recess Light, E26 Standard Screw Base, Warm White, 1321ww

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Finally, a bright-enough LED par20. I replaced 50W halogens for almost the same light output. They dim great (Lutron electronic dimmer, don't know the model). They CAN be installed with halogens at the same time and will dim together fine, which is great for the undecided or for the ones who don't want to fully commit to a slightly colder color. (They aren't quite warm white, but close)

I'm sure that as my review ages, my rating will go down for them, but right now, these are hands down the best energy efficient par20 dimmables for the price. CFL dimmables do exist and cost half of these upfront, but they tend to die fast. Maybe I have bad luck, but dimmable CFLs are known to have much shorter lives when cycled often.

For me, the big win is that in California, energy is really expensive. For a typical bill, the last 100kWh of the month costs me 35 cents per kwh. These let me reduce electric consumption in kitchen lighting from 45kwH per month to 4kwH. That's $14 a month, or $168 a year. They'll pay for themselves pretty quickly, though I'm sure I'll leave them on more now.

The bulb is never more than slightly warm to the touch. My recessed lights are 18 inches above my head, so I could always feel the heat when under the halogens. It never bothered me, but with these, you won't get that.

Overall, the only downside for me is the slightly colder light temperature. Not quite as warm white as I'd like, but certainly not white. But the fuzzy feeling of saving money makes it warmer.

The light is a bit less diffused than a standard halogen, so it may create dark shadow spots depending on your setup. You can get around that by mix/matching these with halogens, and they'll still dim just fine.

I tested this item against a 40 W incandescent flood and two PAR20 LED bulbs from Home Depot: "Philips AmbientLED Dimmable Indoor Flood R20" (model 6E26R20) and "EcoSmart LED bright white PAR20" (model ECS20 WW FL 120 on the bulb, 866 623 on the box). I didn't test dimmability or longevity.

What the LED bulbs have in common: They weigh between 5 and 6 ounces. Due to their heat sinks, none got particularly hot during operation. They should all save lots of money over their lifetimes compared with an incandescent flood, and they don't have mercury like compact fluorescent bulbs. Their light is more directional than other types of floodlights, so "spotlight" is probably the best way to describe them.

Now for the important differences. First, this bulb has no markings on it and comes in a small cardboard box, as opposed to the other LEDs which have model numbers etc. printed on them and are housed in large plastic clamshells. Maybe the packaging for this bulb is slightly more environmentally friendly, but I would have liked to see a Lighting Facts label, manufacturer's name, country of manufacture, etc. for this bulb.

Second (see Customer Image), the light has a slight greenish tint compared with the other two LED bulbs, the incandescent flood, and even a CFL bulb. (Another review here has noted that the light color may vary from bulb to bulb, so perhaps the problem is specific to the bulb I received.) In contrast, Philips states its LED bulb is "soft white"; its Lighting Facts label says "warm white" and gives it a 2800K color temperature. EcoSmart states its bulb is "bright white"; its Lighting Facts label says the same thing and rates it at 3000K.

Third, with 5 watts (per the box), the light output was noticeably less than the EcoSmart bulb at 8 W. However, this bulb's brightness was comparable to the Philips at 6 W and to the 40 W incandescent flood.

Fourth, at 3-3/8" high and 2-3/8" in diameter, it is shorter and/or narrower than the other two LED bulbs. The Philips is 3-7/8" high and 2-1/2" in diameter; the EcoSmart is 3-3/8" high and 2-5/8" in diameter. So it might fit into narrow recessed light fixtures better than the other LED bulbs.

You might want to try one of these bulbs before buying a lot of them. I'm giving it only 3 stars primarily because of the light's greenish color which makes it unsuitable for use indoors except in basements, utility rooms, etc. Good luck!

I just received three of these bulbs and installed them. I replaced 35 watt halogen bulbs with these LED bulbs and hands down they produce considerable more light. The color is a touch cooler than I had hoped, and they don't dim quite as far down as the Halogen bulbs (I'm using Lutron Diva dimmers), but in all I'm very happy with them. For the price when compared to other dimmable LED bulbs they are a great deal. I installed them in a very hard to reach high ceiling area above a stair and I'm hoping that due to the longevity of the LEDs I won't have to hassle with swapping them out again for a very, very, long time. If the color was just a touch warmer I'd give them five stars.

This was a breakthrough light bulb for me. I wanted an LED bulb that was good enough to replace some of my halogen track lights and finally came upon this one. It is quiet, turns on instantly, is continuously dimmable on a normal dimmer switch, is bright enough to replace a 35 (and maybe 50) watt halogen bulb, and is warm white enough for some living spaces. I also like the small size and the low price. I now own 14 of these and will probably buy more.

The cons? The 30 degree view angle is quite narrow, so it spotlights features of a room rather than acting like an ambient light; I compensate by using a few more lights per room than I had before. The color temperature is not quite warm enough for a living room or dining room; I am using them in bedrooms, offices, and my kitchen for now. Some friends have noted that it would also be good for lighting artwork.

By the way, there is also a 7 watt, PAR-30 version of this bulb if you need more light. Give this bulb a try. It could be a breakthrough bulb for you too.

Bought two of these bulbs approximately 3 months ago to try out before replacing 6 other incandescent bulbs. First off I was shipped two different bulbs, one soft and one bright white. Very noticeable difference since they were side by side. I tried to contact seller via amazon with no response so I eventually I gave up. Last night one unit started flickering on and off for about an hour then went out for good. So my 40k hours of life ended abruptly after around 200 hours of use. Again I tried to contact the seller, no response. I would have been happy with these units if 1. They provided the two of the same soft white units I ordered. 2. They fixed their screw up when they didn't. 3. They offered to replace the obviously defective unit I received. Anyway, I'm glad I only bought two to try out first. I think I'll be checking out a different brand but am still a big fan of LED lighting and feel they'll only be getting better and less expensive.

The title "warm white" on these bulbs is inaccurate, they give off a cold, almost greenish spectrum. I would think for the price it would be closer to the spectrum of incandescent. I have found CFL's with a warmer spectrum for a fraction of the price. These might be fine for a hallway or kitchen but I would not recommend these for a bedroom or living room. Although this technology has made some serious progress in recent years, unfortunately it seems to have a ways to go

LED lights are still expensive, but the energy/cost savings is great and their service life is long. This light seems to put out lumens equivalent to an incandescent or even a fluorescent light. Comparing the ratings on LEDs, versus other types of lights is difficult and a bit confusing. Some use Lumens, others watts or equivalent watts, others "equivalent" brightness ratings, etc. The quality of construction is excellent. Another feature we like is that most LED lights can be used with existing dimmer switches; most fluorescent/CFL lights cannot. When the price comes down more, then a five-star rating is probable.

At least they didn't fit in mine, which was a bummer. Love them in the ones they do fit in. Great dimming! Light is a tad white for me, I do prefer a warmer light, but definitely acceptable. Best dimmable LED I've found for par 20, just note that they have a steel surrounding that extends around bulb--this is the part that makes them unable to fit in my directional overhead recessed can --wish I had the kind that the top comes off with the movable shade part, but mine don't. If yours do, you probably wont have this problem.

To be clear, it is the diameter that will not fit through the opening--length is fine.

We purchased three of these after trying both the warm and the daylight versions. The daylight version has a blue cast, much more like indirect daylight than sunlight. The daylight version is significantly brighter than this bulb. Both registered 5 watts when plugged into our Kill-A-Watt. As other reviewers mention, the bulbs are quite bright and dimable. Since they are a focused spot, the light is bright directly below it and drops off quickly off axis. This is good for some applications and not others. It works very well for a reading light. We put three in the fixture over our kitchen table. Together they are more than bright enough for our needs.

One downside, they do not seem to all have the same brightness. The first one we got was significantly brighter than the next two, by about 20% (we used a light meter). We have noticed this in other LED bulbs. Not sure why they vary. Our old halogens vary by more than this, but that seems to be a function of age.

They seem to be very well made. The heat sink seems substantial enough to keep the LEDs cool, which will hopefully result in a long life. When these get cheaper, we'll buy more...

Update: 6 months later, we purchased two more of these, and they seem brighter than the orignal three. Either they are getting better, or the old ones are getting weaker. Also, one of them is more neutral than warm in color. It works well for reading, so we're keeping it. Of the 5 bulbs we have, 4 are close to the same color and 3 are close to the same brightness. Also, we tried these with a motion detector switch and they work. If there is just one bulb in the circuit it will glow a small amount when the switch is "off". We calculate that this is a small fraction of a watt. With two bulbs in the circuit there was no glow. We've found that dimmable CFLs also work with motion detector switches. Amusingly, the package for the dimmable CFL says not to use it with a dimmer!

I got one of these this summer to try out, and ended up ordering six more from Amazon. They dim almost like ordinary incandescents on my Lutron dimmers (although, unlike incandescents, the color doesn't get warmer and more yellow as you slide the dimmer down.) They seem flicker-free, unlike other dimmable LEDs and CFLs that I've tried. And they shine a nice, bright, directional spot of light.

The "warm white" is still a colder color than a traditional incandescent bulb, but I've had them installed for a couple months, without people noticing that they're not just normal light bulbs. I love that they're green technology, without the hair-shirt aesthetic -- the flicker, slow warm-up time, narrow dimming range, and weird color cast of CFLs.

They seem like a deal for $25. I'll probably end up getting a few more for other places around the house.