What's your favorite high CRI bulbs for home use in 2016?

[Tachead]

Hyperikon!!! Amazing tint in the 4000K flavor. I use them in my basement where a cooler temp looks OK. In a living space, the 3000K is nice. I don't really notice the difference between that and 2700K though.

90+ CRI, available in 2300K, 2700K, 3000K, 4000K, 5000K flavors.

$4.45 per bulb with the 4-pack on amazon as I write this. Crazy!

Pretty strong PWM on them(Hyperikons) though like many other household LED bulbs.

The 80 CRI Phillips 9 watt bulbs I just tried had PWM too but, they seamed better then the Hyperikons and it was harder to see even on camera.

The Cree TW Series Candelabras have PWM too and it seams worse then the Hyperikons.

I really wish someone would make good quality LED household bulb with no PWM, I would gladly pay a bit more. I would take a moderate CRI model but, high CRI(90+) would be even better. It would be nice too if they would tell you on the package if they have PWM and what frequency it is. There really is no way to tell without buying one and testing it.

If it wasnt for the extreme energy savings I would just go back to incandescents like the GE Reveal. Household LED lighting tech still has a long way to come.

 

[markr6]

I never noticed the PWM, and I usually have an eye for that. I guess I better not go investigate closer!

 

[Tachead]

I never noticed the PWM, and I usually have an eye for that. I guess I better not go investigate closer!

It's not very visible by the naked eye but, easily seen by a camera. I wouldnt stress too much about it because I have yet to find any household bulbs without it although some are better frequencies then others. I wish we had maukka's equipment to test some household LED bulbs.

 

[brickbat]

Do the Feit Enhance bulbs also have PWM? What about the Cree TW? Thanks:thumbsup:

PWM? WTF?

Are you referring to 120 Hz flicker?

 

[Tachead]

PWM? WTF?

Are you referring to 120 Hz flicker?

Pulse width modulation. https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/PWM or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation

It can be many frequencies and yes, it is basically a flicker or on-off strobe/pulse. Depending on the frequency it may or may not be detectable by the eyes and can cause headaches, nausea, and other issues with some people.

 

[brickbat]

Yeah - I know what PWM is, thanks. Just curious that it's a relevant issue here. Generally,the predominate issue is flicker, which occurs in AC-powered lamps due to a weak filtering on the full-wave DC supply. The Cree TW lamps have a pretty substantial level of 120 Hz flicker. Not visible to my eye, but it does show up in pictures and with the simple silicon solar-cell test...

 

[iamhacked]

Hyperikon!!! Amazing tint in the 4000K flavor. I use them in my basement where a cooler temp looks OK. In a living space, the 3000K is nice. I don't really notice the difference between that and 2700K though.

90+ CRI, available in 2300K, 2700K, 3000K, 4000K, 5000K flavors.

$4.45 per bulb with the 4-pack on amazon as I write this. Crazy!

Hyperikon bulbs had fantastic lighting quality for sure. But my bulbs were overheating and filling my room with burning plastic and electronics smell. Definitely not the best QC.

I also noticed some PWM. It showed banding on my camera, and I was noticing some flickering

 

[hydro_pyro]

Feit Enhance or Performance series have 90+ CRI and NO flicker. They come on quick too. I use the bulbs in my lamps and even enclosed fixtures, and I use the retrofit bezels in my flush cans. Great prices at Menard's.

 

[MattPete]

I broke down and bought a Soraa 3000k 60° Par30L. The light is simply stunning (I plan to write up a review). I actually prefer it to an incandescent.

Unfortunately, a 60° par30L is no substitute for a BR30 or BR40: the beam spread, although wide, is still too narrow. Right now I'm trying to find an economical diffuser to widen the beam (adding a 60° diffuser should widen the beam to 85°). In the mean time, I'm putting all of my LED purchases on hold until more bulbs with Soraa quality (or Soraa finally offers a wider selection) show up on the market.

 

[markr6]

I noticed a 4-pack of the new Cree design for $14.97. Good price, but I haven't tried them yet. Now they're 85+ CRI, so I little bump in the right direction. They look just like the Hyperikon bulbs I have; plastic base and globe with more of a standard bulb shape. Still only two flavors so I won't be a buyer. Besides, the Hyperikons seem perfect to me and I've been running them hard in my basement.

 

[brickbat]

Too bad members don't bother to put their location in their profile. Without that, mention of pricing is 100% irrelevant...

 

[amd20x6]

Hyperikon bulbs had fantastic lighting quality for sure. But my bulbs were overheating and filling my room with burning plastic and electronics smell. Definitely not the best QC.

I also noticed some PWM. It showed banding on my camera, and I was noticing some flickering

Thanks for the info- I'll have to look elsewhere to replace a G7 Power Carlin 4000k bulb that recently started flickering at random.

G7 Power looks to be out of business so no warranty support...

 

[jthj]

I have quite a few Phillips CRI 90 bulbs and like them.