LED light is harsh and cold

12 years ago

My uber energy concious husband wanted to put CFL bulbs in the recessed cans a few years ago. I said absolutely no due to humming, terrible light quality, and mercury. I said there is no net environmental gain when you have to rid of all that mercury on large scale. I still hold to that.

Recently, my uber energy conscious husband goes and buys these LED bulbs as a trial at $50 a bulb. We put one into a incandenscent recessed can. I hate the quality of the light. The light is very bright. The brightness is not the problem. I just replaced one bulb and the lights in the same room on a different switch still has the IC bulbs. The difference in the light quality is significant and the ambience that it gives is awful. I hate how the room feels with the light. I can't imagine having a home with these lights. The light makes the room feel like a factory floor or a department store.

It is Phllips Endura LED 17W Warm white, 2700K, 22degree flood bulb if that helps... There is nothing "warm" about this light!

To me, the quality of the light is harsh, cold, and bright without any warmth. It reminds of a cold day outside in the snow when blues get reflected preferentially.

The shadows it casts is sharp and reminds me of the stage lights. I don't want my room to feel like a stage.

Are all LEDs like this?

Is this just me?

Featured Answer

Emilner

12 years ago

Another vote for HD's Ecosmart LED's!! They have a natural warm color, dim great and put out plenty of light. I cannot fault them at all...

Comments (11)

kennethbd
12 years ago
I recently obtained some Par20 and Par30 lights to replace halogens. My kitchen ceiling now uses 70 watts instead of 350.

The brand I bought is TCP (purchased from prolighting.com). Mine are 2700K in a 40 degree flood. I know they also make Par38 and other sizes. The color is actually quite pleasing and so far, I am delighted. I tried out one from the Home Depot 3000K and the color tone was hideous. I don't believe that the color temperature ratings for LED bulbs are entirely standardized, and some brands simply look better than others. LED's will get better, but clearly, there are variations between brands.
David
12 years ago
Not all lamps are the same. I would venture to say that you should try the Cree cr6. I've made a short thread on led recessed can lights.

Here is a link that might be useful: Led recessed can guide
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santacruzdave
12 years ago
I have Cree cr6 retro fit lamps, the Eco-Smart brand from HD, installed next incandescent and I like the cr6 light quality better. Try them.
polie
12 years ago
I also love the warm light from the Cree CR6 (I got the Home Depot EcoSmart 575) bulbs. As santacruzdave suggested, definitely try them. I think you'll love the warmness of the glow.
polie
12 years ago
Emilner's post reminded me of something. The HD EcoSmart bulbs are listed at 575 lumens, but they seem significantly brighter than that to me. That's not necessarily good or bad, just something to keep in mind. (In my particular kitchen, it's a plus.)
oldbat2be
12 years ago
We have the Cree CR6 2700's... and I do understand the feeling of being on a factory floor. DH turns them all the way up and I dim them down constantly. We first installed LR6's but they didn't dim sufficiently so we replaced with CR6's. (Or do I have that backwards?) Definitely, put them on a dimmer.
lee676
12 years ago
You don't have it backwards. Despite being less expensive, the CR6 dims down to 5%, the LR6 only to 20%.
Mihail Iotov
6 years ago
Is there any update on this with recent LEDs? I am doing remodelling and the code apparently requires LEDs, however I find nothing warm in the 2700k. Apparently incandescent is 2400k.
phooneycat
6 years ago
I don't know about the dimming capabilities yet (although they are supposed to be dimmable) but I am pleased with the Satco LED bulbs. We have recessed, 3000K, white but not cold. It looks like they offer 2700K. Our lighting designer selected them and put other Satco bulbs (E26) throughout the house and I like them all. I provided some of my own light bulbs (GE Reveal LED and Cree LED) for light fixtures I bought myself and I'm very disappointed with the light quality vs the Satco. When I move into my house, I will replace all those lightbulbs with Satco.
MotherOfGiants
6 years ago
We have mostly LEDs in our house, primarily 3000k. They are warm enough for my taste, but I suspect part of that is consistency -- if you're doing a side-by-side with incandescent, the LED will look cooler, but you may not notice if the whole house is 3000k lights.