Cree BA21-16050OMF-12DE26-1U100 100-watt Equivalent Daylight A19 LED Light Bulb

EDIT: Burned out suddenly today after 1.5 years of very light use in my closet with no enclosure and thus no chance of overheating due to anything other than defect. It was left on for approximately 4 hours, was manually turned off, and will no longer turn back on in any fixture. Gently shaking the bulb produced a rattling noise. Although I really loved this bulb, the lifespan is simply unacceptable unless my case was simply a rare defect. It has lasted significantly shorter than a standard incandescent. I'm knocking off three stars for now, and will reevaluate after I attempt to claim a warranty. ____________________ A few years ago I switched my personal incandescent out for high-wattage "Full Spectrum" (5500k) Compact Fluorescent bulbs. The extra brightness, cooler color, lower heat, and greater (approximately double) lifespan were all great. I saved a bit of power (85w instead of 100) but the impact was rather negligible, especially considering I live in an apartment with included utility costs. This however is not a review of CFLs. About a week ago, I started switching out the (standard low wattage normal spectrum building supplied ones, not ones I personally bought) CF bulbs outside of my typical workspace (bathroom, hallways, etc) with "warm" (2700k) dimmable LED bulbs. Although I do not prefer the yellower/redder color (other family members insisted on an incandescent-like look) and lower brightness compared to my personal 5500k CFLs, they are still a clear improvement in both regards over the generic CFLs they replaced. The SIGNIFICANTLY lower power consumption, lower heat output, greater longevity, and the ability to dim the bulbs (with varying levels of success depending on the bulb) are all pretty awesome. This is still not a review of 2700k LEDs however. What this IS a review of, is the absolutely lovely 18W 5000k A21 CREE LED. This thing is simply amazing. The last batch of LEDs inspired me to try one of the purer white, higher wattage LEDs for my closet when it's bulb burned out a few days ago. CREE is a name I've heard a lot about in the flashlight world, and this bulb had all the specs I was looking for, so I gave it a shot. Despite the 5000k rating on this LED and the 5500k rating on my large CFL bulbs, this guy actually gives off a cooler, purer white. Despite the lower wattage (18 vs 20) compared to the next strongest LED from another company I've tried, it is actually a brighter bulb (or perhaps it just appears that way due to the whiter light, but we are humans, with human eyeballs, so what appears bright is what functionally is bright as far as I'm concerned). Despite the higher watt rating and smaller heatsinks compared to smaller LEDs from other companies, this CREE bulb is actually cooler to the touch. It isn't quite as bright as my ridiculously large and expensive 85W CFL bulbs, but it isn't far off either. It even comes in particularly well thought out packaging and has an excellent fit and finish to its build. The "glass" (plastic?) part of the bulb even has a nice rubberized coating on it that gives it a frosted look and soft grippy feel. To top it all off, it has a longer warranty than any of the other bulbs I've tried. The only downsides I can see to this bulb are the obviously high cost, and the slightly less evenly distributed light output compared to a few of the high end competitors I've tried (but honestly, you practically have to look directly at the lit bulb itself to notice. If CREE made this bulb in a higher brightness (25w perhaps?) model, I would gladly gobble them up and replace all of my remaining high watt CF bulbs.

UPDATE: 14 months later. This expensive bulb with a 10 year warranty died after 14 months of occasional use in the garage. I'm dropping my star rating from 3 down to 1. Now I'll see how good (or bad) Cree is with their warranty service.... This 100 watt Cree bulb CANNOT BE USED IN ENCLOSURED FIXTURES. Why isn't this restriction stated in the details on Amazon?? I bought this bulb for a garage door opener thinking that LED bulbs would generate no heat. Then I read the small print on the package and on the bulb saying not for enclosured fixtures. I would've given it just 1 star for this understated restriction but the bulb is so bright and white in an open ceiling socket in the garage that I bumped it up to 3 stars. If this expensive bulb were to last say 5 years I would give it 4 stars. But based on other reviews it has a high fail rate. If this bulb lasted say 4 years and could be used in enclosured fixtures I would give it 5 stars. Six weeks later: I wrote to [email protected] making this suggestion: Dear Cree Representative: Consumers need complete, standardized information when buying LED or CFL bulbs. Its very frustrating to find out bulb restrictions (only shown in the fine print or stamped in microprint on the bulb) AFTER a bulb has been purchased. I suggest ALL of this info be printed in an easy to read font size on the outside packaging: Dimmable: yes or no Useable in damp locations: yes or no For outside ground use: yes or no Useable inside lens enclosures: yes or no Useable in a fixture rated for xx watts incandescent. Useable upside down. And clearly print any other restrictions on the outside packaging. The first company to do this will increase their sales before the other companies get wise.

These (Edison base) light bulbs are better than any other incandescent, fluorescent, or halogen bulb that I have ever used. Unlike the others, these LED bulbs put out a nice white light (5000k) that is very easy on my eyes. The light output in lumens is comparable to a 100W frosted incandescent, but I prefer the spectrum of these LED bulbs, which to my eyes more closely resembles natural sunlight. Also, the LEDs draw only 18 Watts. That means that you can drastically increase the light output in older light fixtures that are rated for low-Wattage incandescent bulbs. I installed two 100W-equivalent LED bulbs in my overhead kitchen light, which is rated for two 60-Watt incandescents. Two 60W bulbs is not much light, especially for a kitchen. With the two LED lamps I'm getting 67% more light while using 75% less energy. I also installed a 100W LED bulb in my bathroom light fixture, which is rated for only 40W. This resulted in a drastic increase in light output.

bright bulbs, seemed to be good quality, but I was wrong... I still really like them but they burn out way too fast! I really like the fact that they are dimmable too since they are really bright **Update both bulbs that I purchased burnt out and Cree will not honor the warranty!!** Amazon will only honor 30 days from purchase, the bulbs I purchased I only used for about 3-6 months before they both burnt out 1 burnt out around 3 months and the other one burnt out at about 6 months, I don't even use them that often so it's not like I leave them on all the time or anything, we just use them in the garage for the extra light as it really did help Here is Cree's statement ""Thank you for contacting Cree. I do want to let you know for future reference that Amazon is not an authorized retailer of Cree LED product, therefore the warranty can be deemed void" Regards, Cree Customer Service "" If you want the 10 year warranty make sure to purchase from an Authorized retailer... Here is the note they provided for authorized retailers "try and purchase only from our authorized retailers such as The Home Depot, the Home Depot online and [...]. " *Update again, bulbs keep burning out and only last a few months!!

10 YEAR WARRANTY works. I bought one from Home Depot, saved the receipt, and got a replacement from Cree. Replacement has been used daily for over a year now. This bulb seems to be brighter than 100 watts and is really clean light for a dressing area, so when you go out of the door you don't have surprises about the colors you chose to wear. MY PLAN: I am going to buy one bulb at a time from Amazon, capture the receipt to Pdf file, date the bulb when I get it so the receipt and date reference each other and exercise the warranty for replacements during the warranty period. That is until 2027 from now. I am saving a blister card package for reference which I will drop into a file cabinet warranty file. If you buy from Home Depot, scan your receipt to a Pdf and file in your computer warranty file. Exercise your warranty when needed and you will be much more satisfied with this outstanding bulb.

Inconsistent quality. Some of the bulbs only last a few hours. I love the 5000K color light.

Arrived and worked fine. Instant on, plenty bright. Installed in a reading lamp on 7/31/14. It runs for 2-5 hours a day. It died on 4/4/15. even if it had been burning 24 hours/day that'd only be 6000 hours of life. The ad promises tens of thousands of hours of life. The packaging says it'll have a 22+ year lifetime and touts a 10 year warranty. When I tried to return this $24 bulb through Amazon I learn its no longer eligible for return through Amazon. When I called Cree directly, I was told that Amazon is not an authorized seller of their products and that they wouldn't be honoring the warranty for bulbs sold through Amazon. What?!#?

As an avid reader, perpetual student and visual artist, I have been searching for the "perfect" lightbulb for years. I have a huge collection of "failed" experiments - but I think my quest is over. I have been using the (5000k) 60w, 75w, and 100w equiv Cree bulbs for a while and have been thrilled. As an objective example - one Cree (5000k) 100w bulb in an 11" x 11" white reflector at 48 inches off the ground and 9 feet away lights nicely an entire 12 ft wide by 8 ft high wall. The only caveat is that I use a 6' torch lamp with Cree 60w eq bulb and frosted bowl on each side to soften the frame shadows on the photos (and make them "pop") With the 3 lights, darkish framed prints (18x18 frames) are perfectly viewable from 20 feet away. I can see details in the photos from the end of the kitchen, 30 feet away. Incredible! I could die happy to have just one photo gallery show as well lit... Expensive, yes- but no viable alternative.