Customer Reviews

Philips AmbientLED 11-Watt Medium Base PAR30L Indoor Flood

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We just purchased and installed several Philips AmbientLED PAR30L (11W) and PAR38 (16W) floodlights to replace several 45-Watt Halogens and a handful of compact PAR-type fluorescents (all Philips). Our motivation was primarily to reduce energy consumption in high traffic areas where we have several recessed lights and eliminate the long ramp-up to full brightness on some of the CF's. I have been eyeing LED replacement bulbs for some time, but have been disappointed previously in the light quality (poor CRI -- Color Rendition Index) and a typically bluish cast to the light -- typical of early LEDs.

After trying these new Philips AmbientLED bulbs, this marks an inflection point in the promise of architectural-grade LED lighting for residential and commercial use. While they still don't quite match the warmth and instant-on of halogens, they come close enough to consider them as acceptable replacements in most situations.

As with all new technologies, there are tradeoffs, which I highlight here. Since many details are left off the product description, I will provide key highlights. All in all, I rate these as "4-stars", but with a 5-star build quality. I deduct 1 star for the "early adopter" price point at the time of writing (about 10-15x the price of a high quality, comparable Halogen lamp). This alone will be a show-stopper for most consumers until the prices come down to earth. That said, let's take a look at the pros and cons of these lamps:

PROS:

BUILD QUALITY. Build quality is superior to any lamp I've seen. These have a cast metal housing that feels substantial. The metal helps to dissipate the heat generated by each of the LEDs. The heat is small compared to traditional incandescent -- hence, these are much more efficient. However, removing heat quickly from the core of the LED is essential to maintaining long-term reliability and avoid overheating the junction temperature of the LED. To avoid overheating, these should not be placed in an "enclosed" downlight, but rather, an "can type" recessed light with an exposed underside (where you can see the bulb directly).

SIZE. Compared to some of the PAR-type compact fluorescents, these lamps are quite compact and seem to recess well into the cans (we have Lightolier -- but other cans like HALO should work well).

LIGHT QUALITY. Although a halogen technically has a CRI of 100 (CRI is a critical factor that determines the precision of color rendition), these have a respectable CRI of 85 -- which is better than most compact fluorescents. If you stick with a color temperature in the 3000K range, these lamps give off a bright white light that brings out the natural colors in the room. If you stare straight at them, they are very bright. I expect that the CRI of these bulbs will improve over time, and eventually move into the low 90's range as LED technology improves in the next few years.

LONGEVITY. The life span of these Philips LED lamps is touted to be 25,000 hours, or over 15 years when operated at least 4 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Of course, other electronics could fail, so this is just an estimate. Philips back these up with a 6-year warranty -- so at least you're covered for that long. The long life means you can pretty much install and forget these unless you experience an infant failure. Of course, that also means fewer trips up the step ladder to replace hard-to-reach recessed lights.

UL APPROVED. Unlike some 3rd-party imports, these carry the Philips brand and have passed UL approved for safety and fire ratings. I wouldn't mess around with anything else but a reputable brand that has been engineered and tested to perform safely and reliably. These are made in China, but presumably to Philips specifications and design.

CONSIDERATIONS:

INSTANT ON: Well, not quite. While the packaging states that these are "instant on" -- there is a noticeable delay of perhaps 0.5 seconds or so from the time you flip the switch to the time the light begins to operate. It's enough of a delay to be a little annoying since you don't get that "instant" feedback compared to incandescents. For a moment, I thought there was a problem with the lamps. While annoying, I believe we'll get used to this delay and it is certainly better than what you get with typical fluorescents. Once on, they are on full brightness, so there is no waiting from that standpoint. I suspect there is some circuitry in the lamps to regulate the voltage to the LEDs, and this takes a split second to fully charge prior to activating the lamp.

NOT DIMMABLE. Although some newer LED lamps are dimmable (usually with special dimmers), these are not. So, if you plan to install these into an area with an existing dimmer circuit, they will not operate properly and you could damage the bulb. The lack of dimming feature means we can't replace all our bulbs yet with the LED varieties -- but I've heard that the European versions made by Philips are dimmable -- so I expect it's just a matter of time before they release a dimmable version for the US market.

BEAM SPREAD. These initial lamps have a beam spread of 25-degrees -- which is somewhat between a true Flood (40 degrees) and a spot (10-15 degrees). This means you can stock fewer types of lamps, but you may find that the light is more intense and focused than the Floods you're replacing. This may cause dark spots on the floor or surface depending on the lamp spacing. In most cases, this isn't a big problem, but you should be aware nonetheless.

INCOMPATIBILITY WITH CERTAIN LIGHTED SWITCHES. This is an odd one, but some LED lamps (particularly the smaller single lamps, such as flame-tip chandelier LED buld (also by Philips), are not compatible with certain lighted switches. For example, we have installed some of the new Leviton Acenti lighted switches that have a small blue LED to indicate whether the switch is on or off. However, when feeding an LED lamp, it relies on leakage current through the lamp to light the LED on the switch. Since LED lamps require so little current to activate, the small leakage current (likely just a few milliamps) is enough to turn the target lamp on even though the switch is "OFF". When you turn on the switch, the lamp gets brighter. This was a very odd result that I didn't anticipate and it may only occur with some of the smaller, single LED type lamps that may have simpler power regulators compared to the PARs. At some point, switch vendors and lamp vendors will need to sort out this little problem by making sure that all switches are compatible with LED lamps.

COST. The biggest drawback of these lamps is their initial cost. Although energy savings will mount over time, the true ROI may not be there at first. However, if your time horizon is long -- and you want to do your part to reduce energy waste, these are sure to get you on the right path.

PACKAGING. Probably in order to have retail shelf appeal, these lamps are way overpackaged with a lot of waste. They are difficult to remove from the packaging, requiring wire cutters or good scissors. If you have a few lamps to replace, it's not a big deal. But if you have dozens, you'll wish the packaging were simpler and less wasteful. Considering these LED lamps are synonymous with "green building" and "waste reduction" -- the packaging is way overdone and is the most frustrating part of the user experience. What happened to the simple box that you just open and pull out the bulb with one hand? If you have serious arthritis, you'll need help to get these lamps out of their packaging. Philips needs to fix this to be more user-friendly and less wasteful.

SUMMARY. All in all, these Philips LED lamps get 4-stars. The missing star can be earned by addressing some of the considerations noted above. They appear to be very well made (they feel good to hold them in your hand) -- and they produce a high quality white light well suited to most residential and commercial applications. These are the first wave of architectural-grade halogen replacements for indoor use. If you can absorb the cost and don't mind some of the initial drawbacks, these appear to be excellent products that will set the bar for the next generation of LED lighting. I expect prices to come down in the next few years as demand increases and traditional incandescents are phased out. They also do no have the mercury problem inherent to most compact fluorescents. As our landfills get full of CFLs and they break, mercury will leach out into the soil, creating another toxic mess with which to contend. If you've been waiting for a quality product that produces good light and color renditioning, I don't think you'll be disappointed with these new AmbientLED lamps from Philips.

I have that ONE PLACE that needs this bulb. It's a recessed light over the sink, very deep and any other bulb overheats (It's mostly my fault for buying a clearance fixture last decade).

The light output is great. The bulb is solid and durable. It doesn't overheat like every other bulb.

I should deduct a star for being so expensive but for this special need, I would have paid much more. The price on Amazon seems to be the same as Home Depot, except free taxes and shipping on Amazon. When they eventually get cheaper I will look at other locations.

The color of the light from this bulb is great. It is a bit cooler than the warm white CFL bulbs we were considering replacing with it but it is a good color.

The bulb is physically small, much smaller than any PAR30 incandescent or CFL bulb you may already own so it tends to disappear into the light fixture. This won't be an issue for everyone in every fixture but depending on where you are installing it this may be a non-starter for you (see the photos).

For use as a task light or an aimed light in a track lighting system where the bulb is intended to be recessed and somewhat spot focused you will enjoy this bulb.

If you want a very wide angle beam that casts soft shadows, this bulb is too focused for your needs. It is a flood light but it isn't a broad wide angle flood as anything with a diffuser dome over the front would be.

Why only 3 of 5 stars? I took one off for both the small bulb size and for not being a wide flood.

I had bought two "off-brand" LED floods over the last few years. Both were just clusters of small white LED's. The first failed immediately. The second is working alright, but it has the faint blue cast that you usually find with common white LED's (since "white" LED's are actually blue LED's exciting a phosphor) and does not render a good beam. This new Philips product has been satisfactory in all respects! It doesn't seem to have the blue tint at all. I bought it to replace a halogen in a chair-side lamp I use for reading. I need a tight beam to avoid putting too much light into the room. The halogen giving off too much heat, whereas this lamp is barely warm to the touch. Indeed, this light is actually superior to the 50w par30 halogen it replaces in terms of the light it produces. The premium price was worth it to me, at least for the heat issue.

As far as I have seen, this is the first serious LED lamp produced by a major manufacturer, but I imagine GE, Sylvania, and others, are not far behind.

I am replacing my flaky CFL's for LED - Philips is a great brand I have used them for many other types of lights.
The color of the light is perfect for reading and the fact that yo do not have to wait for them to warm up is bonus.
These are not dimmable - but you can get a model that is.
BTW - they are cheaper at Home Depot ($49.95).

The bulbs are a bit smaller, and I had trouble getting them screwed down - they were hitting the inner lining of the cans that we have over our kitchen counter.
There is that half a second delay between flicking the switch and the illumination, but that was minor compared with the several minute delay of the CFLs that we had.
I like the spectrum, being very white, and the beam is more a spot light, than a flood light.
I would really love them if they were half the price - maybe by the time I need to replace them. I would buy them again, and would recommend them.

aside from the fact that the beam is narrower than a true flood, the size of the bulb is smaller than a par30 and if you are putting it into a recessed space it is narrower and shorter than a par30 and will not be flush with the surface of the wall or ceiling. This may expose stuff you don't want to see in the ceiling.

If you are going to make a par30 replacement, the dimensions should be identical to a typical par30.

I recently purchased two of these items. Our home has a large number of recessed lights (50 or so) so I am always on the hunt for the "right" energy efficient bulbs. By right I mean one that will pass the "wife test." She prefers the look and feel of incandescent since it is warm. I had hoped these would come close enough.

These lights are very bright and do a pretty good job of spreading the light. Not as well as a standard bulb, of course, but quite nicely for an LED. The quality of construction is great and I installed them in our cans with no issues at all with depth or fit.

As other reviewers have mentioned, there is a slight delay between flipping a switch and having the light turn on. It's not that bad, but slightly annoying as well.

Now to the most important test: The wife. When she first noticed the new bulbs, she asked me "If I was trying to signal the mothership!?!" The warmth of the light is definitely white, but I wouldn't go as far as to say "warm" white. It's more like WHITE WHITE. It felt very commercial to her and they were relegated to out of the way cans in the house that see usage but aren't front and center for making our house "look nice."

If you're looking to save energy and get bright lighting in your home, these are your bulb. If you're hoping to get remotely close to the "warmth" of standard or even some of the better CFLs this is not your best choice.

Four stars because I think "warm white" is a little misleading...Another year or two and I believe we will have bulbs that are close enough for my "wife test" and also reduce the start up delay.

The Phillips Ambient LED 11 watt bulb is impressive. Here's why I got it -

25,000 hour bulb life - for me, means unless the bulb fails - I'll never ever have to replace it. If I use these for 1 hr per day (which I don't), on average - they will need to be replaced in 41 Years!

Only 11 Watts Per Bulb - Compare that to the 100 watt can lights we have, and overtime - their is a definite ROI. Whereas, before 10 of these lights on at the same time would use 1000 watts of energy, we are only now using 110 total watts for all 10 lights!

I was impressed with the light output - it was brighter than I expected. More importantly, it really brightens up the room - when compared to the older halogen floods we used. I want to say - it definitely brings a modern touch to the home we live in.

The unknown for me, is if my wife will like them - I've tried CFL floods before and she did not like them!

And one more thing - that I noticed after installing these bulbs - their is a clear plastic film across the lens that needs to be removed before use - I actually installed the bulbs and was taking a picture of the bulb to show some family members when I noticed I failed to remove the clear plastic protective covering. Wowser!

We wanted to do the right thing and save energy so we decided to buy these lamps. We have a lot of recessed lights so I took a second mortgage out on our house and sold the Lexus and got an old Honda to get the money for these. I mean doesn't it make sense to pay ten thousand dollars to save a few bucks on electricity each month.