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Review on πŸ’‘ Optimized Philips BR40 LED Flood Light Bulb by Joseph Hall

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Nothing beats a traditional incandescent bulb (with dimmer)

In our house there are several lamps made of cans. Some lamps are dimmable, others are not. For those who don't have dimmers, I've opted for new style LED bulbs to take advantage of the increased energy efficiency that LED bulbs offer. However, with dimmer lights, I have found that nothing beats a traditional incandescent bulb. I now know that LED bulbs are technically dimmable and they even make specially designed dimmers for LED bulbs called CL dimmers (which I have). But as a result of experiments, I found out that even with the recommended CL dimmers, LED lamps produced a very noticeable buzz. With traditional incandescent bulbs like the Philips BR40s, there was absolutely no buzz. It's also important to note that the range from darkest to brightest was not as wide for LED as it was for incandescent bulbs. The LED bulb only allows you to dim the light so far. With incandescent bulbs you get the full spectrum. The product Philips 387795 Soft White 65-Watt BR40 was very well packed. Of the eight bulbs I installed over a year ago, I've only had to replace two after they burned out (even those bulbs lasted almost a year). And we use these lights for many hours every day. I highly recommend these lamps.

Pros
  • Energy efficiency: Philips BR40 indoor spotlight bulbs cost $7.83/year (average usage of 3 hours per day)
Cons
  • There are more interesting options.