Still letting inefficient incandescent bulbs run up your electricity bill? Just can’t embrace CFL bulbs — due to the spiral shape, light color, or mercury content? Then try this bright alternative to both conundrums — an LED bulb!
If you’re the type of person who never got a CD player, instead going straight from a walkman to an iPod, you might also be a good candidate for trading in your incandescent bulbs for LED bulbs. Though LEDs are not new — these efficient bulbs already light up many holiday trees, stop lights, and commercial buildings — they aren’t yet commonly used in homes.
So I was eager to try the new Pharox 300 LED bulb that Lemnis Lighting sent me for review. Unlike my old CFL bulb which takes a while to “warm up” and give off a good light (not all CFLs require warm up time; I just happened to have a not-so-great oldie in this lamp), the Pharox 300 instantly lit up to a nice warm white light. The illumination isn’t bright enough to read by — at least not with my eyes — but is a good, flattering light for eating dinner, playing board games, or just hanging out under without looking ghastly or bluish.
As you can see from the photo, the Pharox 300 is shaped like an incandescent bulb — though it’s quite a bit heftier. Its price tag — at $29.99 a bulb — is also rather hefty, putting the bulb out of reach for some.
However, LED bulbs also last an extremely long time. According to Lemnis, the Pharox 300 will last up to 36,500 hours — which translates to 25 years at 4 hours of use a day — compared to the CFL’s 3 to 10 years or the incandescent bulb’s 1 year. Plus, Lemnis says its LED bulbs use less than half the energy of a CFL bulb. That means over the lifetime of the bulb, the LED bulbs can really save you some money.
I’ll let you know in 2035 how my Lemnis bulb is faring. If you’d like to try the 25-year energy savings experiment yourself, you can get the Pharox 300 at Lemnis Lighting’s online store.
Earlier:
>> The Bulb ban cometh: Do CFL bulbs still make you cringe?
>> IKEA: Bye-bye inefficient incandescent bulbs
>> How to recycle your CFL bulbs
We’ve converted about half the bulbs in our home to LED as the CFL’s burn out – love them! We had a guest demo at the booth measure the energy use between CFL and LED and it was definitely 1/2. Also love that they put off no heat – you can hold one in your hand that has been on for hours. They are awesome!
Comment by Sherri Akers — August 31, 2010 @ 5:56 am
I am all for LED’s or CFL’s but have found the latter don’t last as long as promised (& they aren’t as bright IMO.) Why is that? My apartment was built in the 1940′s. Do you think the wiring has something to do with the problem? I appreciate any comments!
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Comment by Trudee Lunden — August 31, 2010 @ 10:33 am
Also, I believe that CFLs contain toxic mercury (which makes its way back into the environment if they’re not properly disposed of) while LEDs are awesomely mercury-free.
Comment by Julia — September 2, 2010 @ 10:10 am
oh duh, just realized you wrote that in the first line!
Comment by Julia — September 2, 2010 @ 10:11 am
I work with Sharp and have been doing research into LED bulbs. Yes, as you say, they are cost effective; they are also eco-friendly. Their uses appear to be endless. LED lighting is great for indoor gardening, car, boats, aquariums, art, inside and outside your home – the list just goes on and on. They seem to be catching on everywhere. I think they are the lighting of the future. LED bulbs
Comment by Janice — September 17, 2010 @ 10:19 pm
Pharox are the best LED bulbs hands down…just picked up a 5 pack from Kuuala.com, it came the next day
Comment by Frugal Tom — November 22, 2010 @ 5:22 pm
Yes, LED is the future as Janice said even in consumer electronics LED is in.
Comment by Sheena — February 14, 2012 @ 9:19 am