I measured the Energetic bulb using my P4460 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor. The power consumption is 12W just as rated. The power factor is very high at PF=0.97 (Power factor has no direct relation with light output, but a low PF is typically associated with cheaply made electronics). The bulb comes on instantly, and it does not overheat after prolonged operation.
Next, I compared this Energetic bulb with another dimmable LED bulb I own, the Feit Electric 13.5 Watt LED Omni Bulb. Here is what I observed:
At full power, both the Energetic and Feit bulbs appear to be similar in brightness. This is to be expected since the Energetic is rated for 800 lumens while the Feit is 850 lumens. Both bulbs are correctly advertised as "60W replacement" for incandescent bulb.
The color temperature of Energetic bulb is warmer compared to that of Feit bulb. This is because the Energetic is rated at 2700K which is close to an incandescent bulb, while the Feit is slightly cooler at 3000K.
When dimmed down, the Energetic bulb emits a faint buzzing noise, while the Feit remains silent
The Energetic bulb turns off completely when my dimmer switch goes below 50%. The Feit bulb continues to dim down smoothly until the minimum power.
(See the photos I uploaded to the 'Customer Images' section for side-by-side comparison)
Summary:
The Energetic LED bulb appears to be a well-designed and well-built product. It is best used for non-dimmed, general-area illumination (such as a floor lamp). But for me, it is hard to justify paying higher premium for a 'dimmable' bulb that does not work well when dimmed. So I can only recommend it _if_ you can get it for significantly less than the current Amazon price (hint: check your local utility company for special offers).
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Puget Sound Energy had these as a part of an bulb exchange program -I got a handful of these through this program.I replaced all my often used CFL's with it (I did not use incandescent bulbs since 11 years ago...).
What I really like about this:
Runs cool (much cooler than CFL)
Much brighter than comparable wattage of CFL (12W seems brighter than my older 18W, 15W, and recent 13W CFL).
Nice light distribution
And probably the most important: no warm-up time. In the winter CFLs are quite dim for about 5 minutes. LED is bright immediately.
Reliability! LED should last much longer (well, we'll see). I have gobbled up 10's of CFL's over the years. CFL is a lot less reliable than manufacturers like to believe you. I had 8 CFLs I purchased from Costco burn out within a year -I think I used about 8-10 per year on average -especially the globes (used for vanity mirrors) and reflectors burn out really fast. I think because these are enclosed in glass, overheating the electronics.
Dimable!!! That's really a very nice upgrade from CFL!
What I don't like:
Too pricey to purchase (we're so lucky PSE had this program!)
Fun fact :-)
I replaced a still working 14 year old Philips CFL with LED -this veteran bulb with its strange greenish hue held up for so long...!
Best Deals for Energetic Lighting ELE12D-AWF-VB LED 12-Watt A19 Dimmable Lamp
I've bought a couple other brands of LED bulbs before and I have always been a bit disappointed because they always seem to shine much brighter in some direction than other. In other words they did not deliver equal lighting. These bulbs on the other hand have done just that. I did notice that these bulbs use about 1-2 watts more power, but the equal lighting is well worth the trade off.Honest reviews on Energetic Lighting ELE12D-AWF-VB LED 12-Watt A19 Dimmable Lamp
I too received several of these bulbs as part of Puget Sound Energy's bulb exchange program and replaced 60 watt halogens in a bedroom connected to a dimmer.Unfortunately all 4 of these bulbs buzz quite noticeably when dimmed in my application. The buzzing actually comes from the bulbs, not the dimmer. It's annoying but not quite enough to switch back to the halogens at this point.
Pros:
Instant light with no warm up.
Good color when fully illuminated.
Dims down to 10% of full brightness.
Cons:
Noticeable buzzing when dimmed.
Not so nice greenish color when dimmed below 30% or so.
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The writing has been on the wall for some time. LED's have taken over the flashlight industry, and the technology is quickly making inroads into the general lighting industry. As we are in the early stages of the introduction of the technology, the costs for LED lamps are presently much higher than they will be in the future. Like the compact fluorescent lamp, prices for LED lamps will come down in time, but whether paying $27 for a LED lamp now makes sense, probably depends on how much you intend to use the lamp. Lighting has its own terminology, which can be confusing, however hopefully most of what follows will be understandable.The Energetic 12 watt LED lamp has a standard A19 type screw shell, and will fit into most screw shell type lampholders. The lamp is dimmable, and produces a maximum of 800 lumens, which is roughly equivalent to the amount of light produced by a 60 watt incandescent lamp. Light actually has a measurable color, and this LED lamp is rated at 2700 degrees Kelvin, which falls into what is commonly classified as "warm white".
The lamp has an unusual appearance, because although it generally has rounded sides, it has a hollow core. This means that the minimum amount of light, will be directed from the top of the lamp. This could be an issue for some downlight applications, or some may not like the lamp's appearance. LED's intrinsically produce a lot of heat, directed to the rear of the LED unit. Adequate heat dissipation must be provided, to maximize usable life. Failure to adequately dissipate heat, usually results in an LED failing.
This Energetic lamp is Energy Star approved, and lists the life of the lamp as 25,000 hours, which works out to 1041.7 days, or 2.85 years. The light output of an LED source degrades over time. Standards for the rated life of LED's are still being developed, but generally a rated life of 25,000 hours means that at after 25,000 hours, on average, the lamp will be producing at least 70% of its initial output. This lamp has three panels of LED's, so supposedly after 2.85 years, instead of producing 800 lumens, you should be getting at least 560 lumens. Occasionally LED's will fail completely, and not produce any light, but this is not as common as with an incandescent source.
Energy is measured in watts. This lamp uses 12 watts, and typically can be used to replace a 60 watt incandescent, or 30 watt compact fluorescent lamp. So there is an immediate savings in energy consumed. As the rated life of this lamp is 2.85 years, it probably makes the most sense for someone to consider paying $27 now, only if they anticipate very heavy usage of the lamp over the next few years. Why? Because two years from now, LED lamps will most likely be much less expensive. So it makes the most sense to replace a heavily used lamp in your living room, rather than a lamp in a closet that you rarely use. If you a little less output, Energetic also manufactures a 7.5 watt version of this lamp that produces 450 lumens.
A local hardware store had these lamps on sale as a manager's special for $10, which was an absolute steal. Otherwise, I would not have bought them, as the economics did not make sense for me at $27 per lamp. I replaced the compact fluorescent lamps in some light fixtures in the living room and bedroom with these lamps, and have been very pleased with the results. The output of the LED's appears just as bright or brighter, and my energy consumption has been reduced by perhaps 60%. Within a year the light output will degrade, but I have already saved quite a bit, and down the road there will probably be more efficient and less expensive LED lamps available.
Those considering a purchase, need to do the math and determine whether the estimated cost savings makes sense, as $27 is quite a lot to pay for a lamp. If it takes 3 years for the cost savings in electrical consumption to pay for the cost of the LED lamp, you will be just about breaking even.
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