02 Sep 2011

Consumer Reports, a Yonkers, NY-based magazine that evaluates consumer products, tested 20 CFLs and 10 LED lamps, some for as long as 9000 hours, and came up with a positive recommendation for three 60 W-equivalent LED lamps.

Philips AmbientLED

The Consumer Reports staff recommended three 60 W-equivalent LED lamps including the Philips AmbientLED 12.5 W (see picture) designed for table or floor lamps and priced at $40, the EcoSmart 10.5 W LED for down lights priced at $50, and the EcoSmart PAR38 18 W for outdoor flood lights priced at $45.

The highest-performing LED lamp in the 40 to 50 W-equivalent category was the GE Energy Smart LED9A19 9 W lamp, priced at $40.

Consumer Reports decided to evaluate 60 W equivalent bulbs because they are the most popular type sold in the US. The study determined that CFLs typically pay for themselves within a year, and now contain less mercury, at around 1 mg/bulb, than they did in previous years.

Evaluation of the LED lamps showed that most lamps met the performance specifications provided by the manufacturers including correlated color temperature (K), light distribution, dimmability, functionality in an enclosed fixture, and energy usage. However, about half of the lamps did not demonstrate the brightness they had advertised. Four out of 100 LED lamps stopped working within the first 3000 hours of testing.

The full report is available on Consumer Reports’ Facebook page at www.Facebook/com/consumerreports.

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