Most efficient >=100W equivalent bulbs in 2018

ltpdttcdft

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Oct 13, 2012
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Had several CFLs burn out recently and looking to replace with LED. But most of the so-called 100 watt equivalents are more like 75W or lower. And the efficiency is not that good, most are around 100lm/W or worse.
1300lm is NOT 100W eq. A real incandescent 100W does 1620 lumens.

Previously I was able to buy two Nanoleaf 1800lm 12W 3500K bulbs a couple years ago when they were around $14 on Amazon. But it seems now they are either ridiculously priced or just not available anymore.
Looking on the Nanoleaf website it looks like they've moved on to computer-controlled RGB mood lighting. At $200 for the starter kit I can't fault them for pursuing the higher margins.

Now supposedly there are Philips 60W eq. bulbs doing over 200 lm/W but only available for Dubai 240 volt, and only <=600 lm. But I can't find anything even close available to the U.S. (reasonably priced, anyway).

Do I need to look somewhere other than the usual big-name stores and if so, where?
 

Lynx_Arc

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I have also been unimpressed by the offerings in local stores of 100W equivalent bulbs. The bulbs seem to cost around $5 each and tend to not be at times even 100 lumens/watt vs $1.50 60 and 75 watt bulbs over 100 lumens/watt. Luckily for me I rarely need a bulb that puts out that many lumens and still have some CFLs in the 60 and 40 watt offerings.
I was hoping with the advent of LED bulbs we would see such things as higher efficiency bulbs and higher output bulbs in the 2000-3000 lumen range plus even decently spaces 3 way bulbs with a 2000 lumen high and low low with a decent middle spacing also.
 

mattheww50

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Traditionally the 100 watt equivalent bulb has been a 'problem child'. The bind appears to be related to heat produced in the power supply, in most fixtures there isn't enough airflow to hold down the temperature in the base. I know the life on the first version of the Cree 100 watt equivalent lamps was awful. I bought two, and neither of them got past 1000 hours, both were replaced twice by Cree (and it cost about $6 to return each of them to Cree), and none of the replacements got past 1000 hours either. At that point I asked Cree for a refund, which they eventually did, and while Cree built later versions of the 100 watt equivalent, as far as I can tell, they were better than the initial version, but nowhere near the claimed life. I worked at the Service Desk at Home Depot for more than a year, and I saw many more of the 100 watt equivalent lamps come back than any other size, so I am forced to conclude that my experiences were hardly unique.
 

brickbat

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At 145 LPW, , the Sylvania LED11A21/DIM/O/827/RP (US Made, 100W EQ, 11 W, 1600 lumen, 2700K) is the best I see in stores now...
 
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mattheww50

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The problem isn't brightness, it is how long the lamp lasts for me, I concluded the return on investment was going to be long after the 21st of Never.
 

markr6

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The problem isn't brightness, it is how long the lamp lasts for me, I concluded the return on investment was going to be long after the 21st of Never.

Hyperikon bulbs are the best I've tried so far, and I use them the most. Choosing any temp was the initial selling point for me. Cree in second place with only one burned out. GE Reveal are nice but I had two go out within a year. GE's wern't even the 100w. I could ship it back for another, but that would cost $8...I can buy another for $6!! So much for the warranty.
 

Lynx_Arc

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Tulsa,OK
The problem isn't brightness, it is how long the lamp lasts for me, I concluded the return on investment was going to be long after the 21st of Never.
My desire for higher output LED bulbs is to use them in sealed lighting and not worry about frying them or them lasting less as long as the CFLs or incans that they would replace.
As far as the problem with brightness if you can use 60 or 75 watt equivalent LED bulbs then there is no need to bother with 100 watt ones.
My main issue is the pricing of LED bulbs is just lately starting to match CFLs that they shoved off shelves in stores in initial cost to purchase and that is often with power company subsidies on them. I still have 0 LED bulbs and probably won't buy any till all my CFLs burn out as I don't trust a $5 bulb to pay for itself in power savings vs the CFLs I paid less than $1 each for, I have 4 packs of them I paid 88 cents for so if they eat up twice the power over the life I still haven't lost anything.
 

alpg88

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Apr 19, 2005
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i tried 100w equivalent leds and cfl, both last about a year, then it either stops working, or starts flickering, with cfl, or drop brightness very slow first 4-6 mo. than drops a lot quite fast in case with leds. theoretically led can still work few more years at 1\3 of initial brightness, but i replace them when they get dim
 

ltpdttcdft

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At 145 LPW, , the Sylvania LED11A21/DIM/O/827/RP (US Made, 100W EQ, 11 W, 1600 lumen, 2700K) is the best I see in stores now...
This is probably the best efficiency available in the US now. Also comes in 2700K and 5000K versions.
For anyone else considering this bulb WATCH OUT for changed specs: There are several Sylvania bulbs which look identical but aren't as good (1500lm instead of 1600lm with the same model number) and 11,000 hour versions (with different model numbers; the good ones are 25,000 hours).

Good (but watch out for lowered brightness specs):
74975
74976
47977
47978

Not so good (less than half the lifetime):
74961
74962
75538
75539
 
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TD-Linux

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I recently saw Sansi bulbs pop up on Amazon and decided to give them a try. They advertise 4000 lumens at 27 watts, which would be a very impressive 148 lm/w. Unfortunately I don't have the equipment to verify that, but they do at least seem to be in the right ballpark visually. They also flicker much less than my Hyperikon ones (none visible on rolling shutter). Downsides include only being CRI80+ in 2019, and also an open-frame construction that is absolutely not waterproof. They also lack a diffuser. I measure it at about 60C in operation, which is pretty good.
 
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