I recently had the chance to test two state-of-the-art LED light bulbs from EarthLED. LED bulbs have many advantages over incandescents and compact fluorescent: they use very little power, they last 10 years or more, and they contain no hazardous substances. They are also tough: they can be dropped and turned off and on repeated without damage, they can operate in very cold or warm temperatures.
LED bulbs can also save you money in the long term, because an incandescent bulb requires about $300 worth of electricity over ten years of use. The LED bulbs cost $49.99 (for the 60 watt equivalent Zetalux) and $79.99 (for the 100 watt equivalent Evolux), and their cost to run over ten years is about $38.
The Zetalux
The first EarthLED bulb I tested was the ZetaLux LED (pictured above). This bulb produces a pleasing warm white light.
Until recently, LED bulbs were only capable of producing a stark, cool white light, so I was happy about the color temperature of this bulb (it’s rated at 3000K). The bulb didn’t need to warm up like a compact fluorescent, and there was no flickering at all.
The Zetalux uses a CREE LED engine and features a high CRI or Color Rendering Index (75 for cool white and 80 for warm white). The bulb is rated at 7 watts. However, when I tested it with a Kill-A-Watt meter it was drawing only 5 watts.
The warm white version of the Zetalux produces 350 lumens, and the cool white produces 450 lumens. Comparing LED bulbs and other bulb solely on lumens is tricky because LED bulbs tend to make better use of their lumens in recessed fixtures (see this page for more details). EarthLED says the bulbs are equivalent to a 50-60 watt incandescent bulb.
The Zetalux illuminating my hallway.
The Zetalux currently sells for $49.99. The bulb costs about $2 per year to run, assuming it’s left on 8 hours a day and the cost of electricity is $.10 per KWh.
The Evolux
The second bulb I tested was a cool white Evolux. This 13 watt bulb produces 1075 lumens, and according to EarthLED is equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent. This bulb is definitely bright — it illuminates my garage quite well.
EarthLED says the Zetalux and Evolux will become the first FCC and Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) listed LED light bulbs on the market at the end of 2008. Both bulbs are RoHS compliant.
EarthLED will be releasing a dimmable version of the ZetaLux, and a new version of the Evolux in early 2009.
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You might try your local WalMart, http://www.shop.donsgreenstore.com/main.sc or http://www.shop.donsgreenstore.com/main.sc for 1 - 3 watt versions, about 1-40 Watts incandesant equivalent, at $10.00-$15.00 — I got one, and they work, but of course were under powered re: 100 watt
You might try your local WalMart, heartland or donsgreenstore for 1 - 3 watt versions, about 1-40 Watts incandescent equivalent, at $10.00-$15.00 — I got one, and they work, but of course were under powered re: 100 watt
How will that little fan inside the Evolux last for 50000 hours or 10 years?
Strange that you would have “… can replace 100W incandescents” in the title, when the manufacturer says that the bulbs is rated for 50-60W. I was expecting a rationale or justification for putting 100W in the title, but there was none. Why? Why would you do this?
Hmmm, they’ve priced it way too high. At these prices, it will take 71 months (nearly 6 years) with my usage pattern before this bulb will pay for itself (vs. incandescents or halogens).
Granted, this isn’t only about cost, there is the Hg-Free-factor, but I think I’ll just stick with my CFLs (which will pay for themselves in about 12 months) and make sure I dispose of them properly.
I really really really want LED bulbs all over my house but the cost is still too high. Keep ‘em coming so the prices keep falling. I’d say for a 100W equivalent that $20 is the price point for me. For a 60W, I’d say $10 is the sweet spot.
Costco in New York (Long Island) periodically offers Long Island Power Discounts on their 6 packs of CFL Reflector bulbs (14 w reflector equiv. to 65w) and 10 packs of 13w CFL 60w equiv. bulbs. Prices are $12.99 with $10 instant rebate and and $17.99 with $15.00 rebate, respectively.
The light btw, is excellent - not too blue, wavy or harsh on the eyes - compares very well with traditional bulbs. . . How they can sell these things for as little as $0.29 each you ask? All are mfg. in China -like everything else- but at govt. these subsidized prices who cares?
I have to wonder how much of the cost is power conversion circuitry coupled with recouping development costs. I think I may stick with LEDs for my flashlights and use my current mix of CFL and incandescent lights in the house for now.
Cool! Still a bit much… How well does it fill a room with light? I was thinking of using them in my garage, where it is too cold for most CFL’s to work well. Also Do they handle power fluctuations well? My saw makes the lights dim a bit, and kills cfl’s
Andy,
The room is brightly lit, but it is a cool white light. I wanted to test the warm white version too to compare. LEDs handle power fluctuations much better than CFLs.
Justin
Check out our line of LED products. We offer these bulbs in 3 different color ranges which allow the user to seamlessly integrate them into any setting.
http://www.atpcanada.ca
Feel free to ask comment and ask questions. Thanks
Justin - Great article. It looks like EarthLED is coming out with some very innovative bulbs and solving the directional light issue with LED’s.
A correction for you:
Oops here’s the link:
Lumens: Why you can’t use them to compare LED Bulbs to traditional bulbs
check out the luxetera, 400 lumens and 5 watts, also a bit cheaper by $5!
I wont post the site cuz I aint trying to sell them.
They say equivalent to a 40-50w incan.
I would like to see them a bit cheaper too of course…
One terrible thing about CFL if the flicker doesnt strike you is they don’t go to full brightness instantly for motion detector lights. I am getting one of these bulbs for that right away.
Martin>Strange that you would have “… can replace 100W incandescents” in the title, when the manufacturer says that the bulbs is rated for 50-60W. I was expecting a rationale or justification for putting 100W in the title, but there was none. Why? Why would you do this?
The Evolux is rated to replace a 100 W incandescent lamp.
There are really only three things to consider when comparing bulbs:
Output (commonly expressed in lumens)
Efficiency (lumens out/watts in)
Color temperature
The current efficiency champs are rgb led’s (red, green and blue). can be mixed to provide whatever color you want. “White” led’s are actually fluorescent led’s - an led can only put out one color, the fluorescent coating converts blue light to white by absorbing some of it.
The best available white led’s operate at about 30 lumens/watt compared to 30-40 l/w for fluorescent tubes and 120 for rgb led lamps optimized for “white” light.
I have a pair of rgb floods w/ 99 leds consuming 5 watts and putting out 600 lumens, cost me $15 each.
“white” led’s are not the answer.
“I have a pair of rgb floods w/ 99 leds consuming 5 watts and putting out 600 lumens, cost me $15 each.”
how about a link on those chum?