Last Updated on April 15, 2017 by Dave Farquhar
Cree joined Phillips in offering an LED bulb in the 1600-lumen class, suitable for replacing 100W incandescents. The Cree bulb costs $5 less than the Phillips competitor, in unsubsidized markets. (Many utilities subsidize energy efficient bulbs because it’s cheaper than building more power plants. Really.)
I own several Cree 60W equivalents and I’m very happy with them. They’ve been dependable, the price is reasonable, the quality of light is outstanding, they turn on instantly, and, believe it or not, they’re designed and built in the United States.
Now that Cree has four different bulbs at different ratings and three different price points, I weighed the pros and cons of each.
Here’s each model, along with the cost and energy rating, and the amount of light you get per watt consumed and dollar you spend:
model | lumens | watts | cost | lumens per watt | lumens per dollar |
100 | 1600 | 18 | 19.97 | 88.88888889 | 80.12018027 |
75 | 1100 | 13.5 | 15.97 | 81.48148148 | 68.8791484 |
60 | 800 | 9.5 | 9.97 | 84.21052632 | 80.24072217 |
40 | 450 | 6 | 9.97 | 75 | 45.13540622 |
The 75W equivalent seems like the odd one out. Both the 60 and 100 equivalents give more light per watt and dollar. The 40W bulb seems crowded out at the low end too, but in places like hallways, you might still want to go with it to get usable light for six watts.
You can get equivalent lumens by pairing up two 60W equivalents and pay the same amount as you would for a 100W equivalent, but a single 100W equivalent is ever so slightly more efficient. Still, if you have a two- or three-light fixture, outfitting it with 60W equivalents seems like a good way to go.
I’m looking forward to the 100W equivalent. I have 60W equivalent CFL bulbs that consume 18 watts, so I can upgrade to these when they burn out and get more light for the same amount of energy. I’d been thinking about picking up a couple of the 75s, but I think I’ll go straight to the 100.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.