Reviews of G E Lighting Ge 7W Par20 Led Bulb 73716 Light Bulbs Par

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First the good news. This is one of the first really practical LED lights for home use. It uses high power LEDs instead of a bunch of little LEDs. The three LEDs each have their own optics, making for a nice beam shape, tighter than a flood but not quite a spot. The color quality is excellent. I won't use a CF bulb in the kitchen because of what the color does to my food, but I've got this one over the sink and it's great.

The problems with this bulb are, first, it's too expensive. Not in comparison to other LED lights, but compared to CF or halogen, or even to the price of the components. Within a couple of years you'll be able to buy these for under $10 so unless you're an early adopter, wait.

Second, it's not as efficient as it should be. At 28 lumens per watt it's twice as good as a halogen, but only half as good as a CF. That's puzzling because the LED emitters are much more efficient than this. I suspect GE cheaped out on the electronics.

Finally, it's not as bright as it should be. Most PAR20 bulbs, at least around here, are rated at 570 lumens / 50 watts. Replace this with a 200 lumen bulb with a narrower beam and you will be disappointed.

LEDs are on the brink of replacing tungsten and CF, but are not quite there yet. Wait a year or two, and you'll be able to get a LED PAR20 that puts out 570 lumens, consumes 10 watts, and costs $10. I hope.

UPDATE Feb 2013

I'm taking another star off because this lamp failed after 7000 hours, much less than the rated 30,000 hours.

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As part of a current remodel we've replaced 100% of the lighting in our home with LED modules. The vast majority of these are 2700K Cree LR6 modules which are absolutely fantastic, but in some areas we needed task lighting. The Cree LR4 modules are insanely priced, so given that the task lighting application doesn't require dimming we decided to give these a try. They're a perfectly serviceable replacement for 50W PAR20 halogens, slightly warmer (I'd guess ~3000K) and surprisingly bright. One thing they do NOT do is play nicely with Lutron dimmers; while other reviewers have indicated that these things are benign on dimmer chains the Lutron dimmers appear to put some minimal amount of current even when "off", which results in these things going into disco light mode.

Why the low rating? Because the things have been dropping dead like flies after about a year in part-time service. I finally took one to bits and found failed caps in the encapsulated electronics packages. As per usual, a part costing a few cents is responsible for the death of something costing tens of dollars.

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Not going to repeat what everyone else has already said, just to say I got two of these at Walmart, and its an LED bulb that FINALLY works as advertised. Replaced a 40 watt bulb. Provides white, rather than red or blue tinted light. Only downside is the light is VERY directional. At 6 feet the spot is about 2 feet across. Will buy more of these in the near future.

Honest reviews on G E Lighting Ge 7W Par20 Led Bulb 73716 Light Bulbs Par

I purchased this bulb to replace a 50W Par20 halogen bulb mounted in a small double spotlight unit over my kitchen sink. In a side-to-side comparison with the halogen bulb, it provides the rough equivalent of a 40 watt halogen bulb, with a much whiter cast. It is about 3/4" longer than the halogen bulb, which results in it being clearly visible at the end of the fixture (the halogen bulb is recessed enough to be hidden) so that it's slightly more narrow beam is not restricted by the fixture as is the halogen bulb's. The net result is a beam that is almost exactly as narrow as the original halogen bulb's beam.

Finally, the exterior vents in the plastic casing provide a grip that makes this bulb exceptionally easy to insert and remove. I've had to use large forceps to remove some of the replacement halogen bulbs. As task lighting mounted 4 feet from my sink and kitchen counter, this is perfectly adequate. I've now ordered another for the other side of the fixture so I'll have on overall savings of 86 watts.

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I used this light in my kitchen chandelier (over the kitchen table); the beam was much too narrow, making a bright spot in the center of the table but casting very little light at the table edges. The bulb failed within a year which was particularly disappointing given its high cost. This technology is clearly not competitive with CFL yet. Don't waste your money.