Customer Reviews

Philips AmbientLED 7-Watt Medium Base R20 Indoor Flood

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found both the GE PAR20 LED and this Philips PAR20 LED at Home Depot. I bought both. And I have to say this this one creates a brighter, whiter spot, looks better, and stays cool. LED bulbs have a way to go with brightness and price point, but this could be the first LED spot worth getting, if you don't mind the price tag. It creates a spot that looks just like a halogen one. I think Philips are off to a strong start with their line of Ambient LED bulbs.

I bought one of these last summer at Home Depot. This light has the best color and color rendering of any incandescent replacement that I've tried (dozens). My wife's an architect, and she's very picky about light quality, and this is the only cfl or led that she's approved of. Despite the fairly low lumen rating, it appears fairly bright, perhaps because of the good light quality. Very pleased.

Seems to be well built, and its size is a bit smaller than other competing LED bulbs, which makes it easier to fit it in tighter lighting fixtures.

However, there's no getting around the somewhat pinkish tint to the light it outputs. It's not as badly pinkish as some competing LED bulbs, but it's pinkish enough to be readily and undeniably noticeable.

This is the best LED I've found to date. I find it is better to read by than a 65 watt GE reveal bulb. As I use up my current CFLs, I will replace them with more Philips LEDs. I am encouraged by the fact that these bulbs are only going to come down in price and improve in quality. Now I don't have to worry about disposing of a mercury filled CFL.

The Philips AmbientLED 7-Watt Medium Base R20 Indoor Flood is an impressive light. It does, in fact, light up my whole bedroom; not blindingly, but more than sufficient for most purposes other than reading. It would be possible to read by it, but possibly not comfortably. Given that it only uses 7 watts it is amazing how much light put out by this light. There is some heat generated by the emitters, but that is to be expected. A Compact Fluorescent would double or triple the amount of heat per lumen, and would use significantly more current. The size of the light allows for it's use in nearly any lamp in which one might want to use it. My only criticism (and it is more a matter of preference) is that the color temperature is slightly cooler than maybe a 60 watt incandescent bulb. I'd much prefer a whiter light. I can't comment on the longevity, but I'll bet it pays for itself well within it's lifetime. More, it will cut down on the airconditioning load for this room. Since this is the warmest room in the house, that isn't a small thing. I can comfortably recommend this light for anyone trying to cut down their use of electricity. Taint cheap, but very soon the price of a kilowatt hour will make these lights highly desireable. A worthwhile investment! ****UPDATE: The one-star reviewer seems to be lacking in an understanding of the concept of "Free Market Economy". Not only that, the reviewer doesn't understand the fact that the developer of a product has to recoup development, and marketing costs. Beyond that, while I'm not fond of the price of this product, it has value in that it is a good product, and well built. It should last a very long time as it is built like an M-1 Abrams battle tank. There are LED lights (LG-A19) that will give more light, at a lower price, but it isn't a directional light, and it isn't nearly as durable as the Philips Ambient LED bulb. The one-star reviewer is unable to see that, much like the price drop in fluorescent bulbs as competition increased, and the development costs are paid off, the price of LED bulbs, too, will drop. Until then, if you want an LED bulb, suck it up and be prepared to pay 10 or more times what you would pay for an incandescent bulb. I appreciate the incredibly low power consumption (lower light bill), and the decreased heat load on the air conditioner in summer. Keeping cool in summer, and knowing that I shouldn't have to replace the bulb for a good number of years, is worth the extra price. Over the long haul, the bulb will doubtlessly pay for itself. Just remember the old axiom: anything you get for free is worth what you pay for it.******UPDATE: As of a year and a half since my initial review I have to say that there are much more cost effective, and cheaper LED bulbs now on the market. At the time I bought this bulb, it was one of the top of the line ones that I was aware of. This product is still a good, if now overpriced one. Possibly, because of the rugged construction, it may well last longer than some of the newer, and cheaper LED bulbs. My only purposes in updating this review is to acknowledge the presence of cheaper bulbs and to declare that my original Philips Ambient LED bulb is still functioning.

I bought these to replace two small cannister lights in our kitchen that had CFLs in them. I replaced one of the CFLs to be able to compare and was amazed by how yellow the CFL light was and how true the light from this bulb was. These lights are much brigther thant he CFLs when first turned on, although the CFLs will warm up to an equal brightness. This was a great purchase.

My wife and I are working to reduce our carbon footprint, which means
1) turning down the thermostat to 55 at night and 65 during the day
2) using low energy bulbs

We have three flood lights for our kitchen counter lighting, and the Compact
Florescent (CFL) bulbs take about three minutes to reach full brightness in
the morning. Not very useful when trying to make breakfast and wake up.

The Philips Ambient LED totally solves the problem. I replaced one of the three
CFLs, and now get instant bright light no matter what the room temperature. And
the light quality is good, actually closer to the incandescent bulb that was
originally in the house.

We have only had the bulb for a week, so I have no idea what the life time on the
bulb will be. The quality appears to be very good. Other than the high initial price
this is a great product.

Update: Nov. 26, 2010 - Still going strong, while my CFL bulbs in my other kitchen
fixtures are failing. I love this light, and expect to get another once the next CFL fails.

Update: April 30, 2010 - In response to a query - this product is NOT for use with dimmers.
Here is the product information sheet:
[...]

Update: May 2, 2011 - Still going strong, working like new

Terrific color, not a blue LED. Also available at Home Depot. I am using for all my ceiling can lights & track lights. With 14' ceilings, I shouldn't have to go back up that ladder for 15-20 years!

This is not like all the other LED bulbs out. This one actually lasts and is bright. Most led bulbs just run 40 or so leds in series and hope your mains voltage doesn't spike too high. This one has a full power supply in it and will not just burn out the first time you have a slight voltage spike. It gets quite warm, but leds have a very high thermal limit. Very bright, wish they made a less directional one. DAMN its expensive. i would buy more if they were ~$20.

Finally! An LED light that's bright and produces pleasing light. The color of the light produced is slightly warm, but very nice. I've had other LEDs that produced bluish light. Not a problem with this Philips bulb. Highly recommended!