With its latest consumer release,
constantly innovating LED heavyweight Cree hits the under-$10 mark.
Back in the spring of 2013, the unstoppable
LED train otherwise known as Creelaunched
a series
of PSAs that not-so-subtly declared the incandescent light bulb
effectively dead and that any nostalgia felt over Edison’s energy-guzzlers was
“dumb.”
However, it’s those
wistful-over-obsolete-light-bulb types that the North Carolina-based lighting
manufacturer appears to be targeting with its latest release: a no-frills,
high-quality 40- or 60-watt replacement
bulb that sports the non-threatening, reassuring A19 shape of an
old-school incandescent.
As for the price tag, Cree’s newest
offering, itself a third-generation re-tooling of thegame-changing
Cree LED, rings in at $7.97. While still more spendy than most
(inferior) CLF bulbs or the incandescents that they're designed to replace,
Cree’s new budget bulb is the most affordable LED bulb of this caliber we’ve
seen to date. The last-generation Cree LED started at $9.97 for a 40-watt warm
white replacement while a 60-watt day light replacement bulb retailed for
$13.97.
The new Cree LED — in addition to the
40/60W warm white replacement for $7.97 and a 40/60W day light replacement
which is available for one dollar more — boasts most of the same perks as
its best-selling predecessor. It offers energy savings of 85 percent compared
to its incandescent equivalent; a lifespan of 25,000 hours; Energy
Star-qualified design to help further drive down the cost once rebates kick in;
dimmability; and more. Basically everything that rendered the original Cree LED
matchless in an increasingly crowded budget LED playing field is carried over to
the new bulb.
Aside from being 20 percent cheaper, the
main difference between the revamped Cree LED and the one before it is, as
mentioned, its appearance. While last year's bulb boasted incandescent-y looks,
the new bulb is slimmer and significantly more lightweight with a profile that
even more closely mimics the familiar counters of an incandescent. " ...
You see the future, in glorious déjà vu," says Cree of the bulb's
"timeless" design.
Cree achieved this by doing away altogether
with the bulb’s metal heat sink and replacing it with patented cross-flow
convection technology called 4Flow Filament Design. Essentially, the less hefty
bulb is kept cool through ventilation openings located both at its top and
bottom. Cool air is drawn in through the slits at the bottom of the bulb and
after the air passes over the bulb’s heat-generating LED components, the warm
air is released through the top of the shatter-proof, plastic-encased (also a
new feature) bulb.
I had the chance to give the new Cree LED a
test drive and it is indeed significantly lighter than last year's release.
That absence of a heat sink really does make a huge difference. In addition to
its incandescent-like weight of just under 2 ounces, the durable new bulb was
super-easy to screw into my fixture. It was, well, just like changing a light
bulb circa 1995.
In terms of light quality, it was difficult
for me to discern between the new and old models (both 60-watt equivalents)
although the last-generation bulb appeared to emit a slightly warmer
omnidirectional light.
So how’d Cree manage to drive down the
price of the bulb with all these design improvements? One key difference
between the two bulbs lies in the warranty. A new three-year warranty replaces
the older bulb's 10-year warranty. This, along with the absence of costly heat
sinks, enabled Cree to pass the savings along to consumers.
Aside from the warranty, there's another
caveat worth mentioning in the form of decreased efficiency in the
next-generation bulbs. While the new 40-watt replacement bulbs still consume a
mere 6 watts like the bulbs that came before them, the 60-watt replacements
have jumped from 9.5 watts to 11 watts. A one-and-a-half-watt bump might not
seem like much but in terms of overall energy consumption for heavily used
bulbs it's indeed a sizeable leap.
So is the decrease in efficiency enough to
render the price drop totally moot? In the end, will the new-generation of
60-watt Cree LEDs wind up costing consumers pretty much the same amount of
money?
It's hard to say but is something worth
considering before you decide between old and new. For those concerned with
looks alone, the newer option is the obvious choice.
The new Cree LED, in both soft light and
day light models, will hit Home
Depot stores nationwide early next month. And while I do hate to break
out the “H” word — holiday — in October, I’m thinking that this
beautiful bit of lighting innovation is the perfect stocking stuffer for the
watt-conscious home improvement junkie on your list.
No comments:
Post a Comment