Five of the Best Bulbs
You might think that light bulbs are a commodity, and for many they are. However, they are not all the same. Some have smart home features, some are super efficient, some change color, and some even have Wi-Fi! This week, we’ll take a look at five of the best bulbs to save you money around the house or customize lighting to suit your mood based on your nominations.
Earlier this week, we asked you which bulbs were the best . You’ve given us tons of nominees and tons of options to choose from, but we only have room for your top five. Here they are, in no particular order:
Original LED lamp LIFX
LIFX does more than just light up your home, although it definitely does. A Kickstarter Success Story: Lamps are just part of a smart home package that gives you complete control over the intensity, color and type of lighting in your home. The LIFX Original is a 17W LED light bulb that supports multiple connection options, 16 million colors and works with services like IFTTT and other smart home appliances like the Nest thermostat and Nest Protect. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and can be controlled via your smartphone, either individually, one bulb at a time, or, if you have more than one, you can program entire rooms or zones with certain types of lighting. For example, you can set up a calming, dimmer light in the bathroom and brighter, more energetic lighting in the office, if you like. However, they are not cheap. Each will set you back as little as $ 100 , although you can buy bags of multiple bulbs at a discount.
Those of you who have nominated LIFX commented that it is incredibly versatile, and since you can control the lights in your home from your smartphone at any time, you can turn on the lights in your home before you open the door, program different areas of your home. … home to your taste, and that mobile apps are available for both iOS and Android, which is a welcome benefit. You praised him for supporting so many colors, and for the fact that you can set timers and set lighting “programs” to adapt the lighting in your home to you throughout the day. Many of you have pointed out that they are expensive, but you can get a discount if you shop wisely. Read more in the nomination thread here .
60W Cree Soft White LED Bulb
The Cree have received a lot of love in a round of nominations, mainly because their lamps are energy efficient, dimmable, bright like everyone else, and still relatively affordable. A pack of four will set you back $ 35 on Amazon , and you get the equivalent of 60W of lighting for just 9.5W of powering them. It looks like a regular light bulb, so you don’t have anything that doesn’t go with regular outlets, lamps, or other fixtures. In addition, they are dimmable, so you can use them in luminaires to which you have dimmers connected – always a nice bonus. It instantly lights up when the power is turned on, so no warm-up time is required. If you’re not looking for tons of bells and whistles, this is a great buy – they’re affordable, bright, do their job well, and incredibly energy efficient, especially if you’re looking to try LEDs but don’t know where to start with a simple, simple light bulb.
Those of you who have appointed a replacement for the Cree 60W have pointed out all of these features, but also explained that they are particularly durable. You said that you have devices that are often kicked out and severely punished, and in the long run they stand up like champions. You also mentioned the fact that Cree lamps support “Cree Connect”, which supports Z-Wave and provides compatibility with smart home systems such as SmartThings . You can find out more in the thread of his nominations here or here .
Smart LED bulbs BeOn Home
The BeOn line of LED smart home lamps is great lighting, but in fact, they are built to enhance the safety and protection of your home. While other smart bulbs are tailor-made, they are designed to make it harder for outsiders to see if you are away from home, and to provide back-up and safe lighting in the event of an emergency. They have all the basic features you’d expect, they are equivalent to 60W at 800 lumens, dimmable, and they still work with your regular fixtures and switches, even if you use BeOn apps to program lighting schedules and turn on lights. … or shut down remotely. Each BeOn lamp is backed up, so even in the event of a power outage or emergency, you will have some kind of lighting, and if your other home security devices, such as a smoke detector or carbon monoxide detector, go out, the lights will react like they would. you could see the way out of the house. The light even studies your behavior and continues to illuminate rooms as if you were at home when you are on vacation. The dining room will light up during dinner, the bedroom will light up, and the living room will darken late at night, and so on. They’re not cheap, however – a three-bulb system costs $ 249 .
Those of you who have nominated BeOn smart bulbs have pointed out many of these security features, namely that they are great for keeping your home safe and secure even when you’re not there. They can even light up when the doorbell rings, whether you’re at home or not, so someone at the door has to wonder if you’re at home and just don’t open the door, or not at all. You’ve praised them for learning about your lighting habits in real time, making them a great tamper-proof tool without having to manually set timers on lamps and switches. You also praised the back-up lighting and the fact that all the lights come to life if a smoke alarm is triggered is a great feature that we hope you never need. Read more in the thread of his nominations here .
Philips 454900 60W Slimstyle LED Bulb
Philips 60W Slimstyle LED light bulbs are uniquely designed. They still fit all standard outlets and fixtures, but instead of being completely round, they’re kind of flat. They may scare some people off, but once they’re in the device, you probably won’t notice. Plus they are very cheap. Equivalent 60W daylight bulbs cost $ 14 per pack of two on Amazon , making them great starting points for LED bulbs if you’re thinking of buying. They provide 60W equivalent at 10.5W and are rated to last almost 23 years under normal conditions. Plus, they are adjustable so you can use them with your favorite dimmable lamp or room light.
In the nomination thread, you praised them for their natural looking light, although some of you commented that their unique design means they are best suited for enclosed luminaires as they emit slightly more light on the flat sides than on the sides of the luminaires. bulbs. This can be a plus or a minus depending on where the lighting is in your room. Either way, most of you have praised the lamps for their affordable, no-nonsense lighting that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Read more in the nomination thread here .
GE 60W Reveal LED Bulb
GE’s Reveal lighting system is actually a series of bulbs in different form factors and different brightness, but most of you settled on a standard 60W A19 bulb due to its affordability and versatility. This is a 60W equivalent lamp that only consumes 11W, will set you back about $ 10 and is rated for use in humid, indoor and outdoor environments. GE considers the Reveal Series for its natural bright light, durability and durability. The company also claims that their Reveal bulbs actually enhance your lighting by bringing out colors and patterns that you won’t see with traditional incandescent bulbs and offering more detailed lighting than other harsher LED bulbs. Moreover, they are available in a variety of color temperatures, fixtures and styles. You can get soft whites, bright white and fluorescent lights in the Reveal series and even in this 60W model, so you have a lot to choose from depending on where you plan to place the light and the type of light you want. Like.
Those of you who nominated the GE Reveal series also echoed some of that sentiment – especially the fact that everything GE does with these bulbs to bring colors to life really works, and it’s not just marketing bullshit. You praised the light for being natural and bright, but at the same time truly transforming the room it is in and for lasting almost forever. One of you pointed out that you have LED bulbs from a variety of companies and manufacturers, including some of the others featured here, but overall these are your favorites. You also praised them for being available at just about any retail store (so you don’t have to order through some obscure specialty store), and for their durability, that they are tough enough to withstand a few drops and drops. … Read more in the nominations threads here and here .
Now that you’ve seen the top five, it’s time to put them to a general vote to determine the winner.
No honorable mentions this week as the number of nominees dropped out pretty quickly after that. However, there were other options to explore in the Call for Applicants thread, so if you’re looking for something else be sure to come back there for more suggestions.
Do you have anything to say about one of the applicants? Want to substantiate your personal favorite even if it wasn’t on the list? Remember, the Top 5 is based on your most popular nominations from the Call for Applicants thread earlier this week . Don’t just complain about the top 5, let us know which option you prefer and justify it in the discussions below.