I purchased these lights to create a one of a kind Christmas display for our home. We have full-size lighting cans with 13W (65W equiv.) CFL BR30 bulbs in our soffits that I wanted to swap out to make a cool (and easy) Christmas display. I had been looking for some time for a multi-color LED light that had enough equiv. wattage (hence lumens of output), was rugged enough to be outdoors in a downward-facing orientation, and was able to be programmed to cycle through the color spectrum. This season I finally found these new bulbs on Amazon in the TorchStar store and decided to take the plunge.
As always the ordering process was easy with Amazon and TorchStar shipped them via USPS standard ground right away. Shipping costs could be cheaper but I understand it's difficult for small businesses to offer free shipping. I paid $1.99 per bulb for shipping which wasn't too bad. The package arrived in good condition and everything was correct.
The bulbs externally appear to be well made and have good fit/finish. They have a machined housing that runs the length of the bulb and appear to be suited for outdoor use. Specifications do not say direct rain exposure so go at your own risk if you use in such an application. They do look like the lens is sealed into the housing so I feel pretty good about using them under the soffits. The light output from the 9W consumption is enough to almost match the intensity of our 13W CFL bulbs; I am very pleased with the brightness. TorchStar has a website that you can review the specs if you wish.
Each bulb comes with a credit card sized remote. You only need to use one remote since it works with all of them, so the extras are just a bonus. You can set the bulb to one of 15 colors, white, or have it cycle thru colors based on preset functions. The only negative thing I've found so far is that the remote's flash, strobe, fade & smooth function buttons don't match what the bulb actually does and I only get 3 functions, not 4 (two buttons do the same thing). For instance I have to press strobe to make it fade. I took one star off because of the remote's functions being poorly integrated with the bulb's functions. Some people might be really upset about this but for me it is just a minor inconvenience that you can work around given the overall performance of the bulbs themselves.
In my application I use the fade function and it creates a great effect. I wish it would fade thru the color spectrum a little slower (no way to change that) but it's still slow enough to make out the shifting colors from the road and not be annoyed inside the house. Even if you try to keep all the bulbs in-sync from the start they will drift apart; however, that makes the display even more breathtaking as the house changes colors all over the place. You can remove power from the bulbs (without using the remote) and they will restart in the same mode you put them in originally.
I've been using the bulbs for 4 days now (approx. 22hrs so far per bulb, 9 bulbs total) with no failures.
Summary: The pros far outweigh the cons from my experience to date. I would highly recommend these bulbs for a great visual effect for Christmas or any season/event.I hate these bulbs that spot to different colors. Amber should be Amber, not red with halos of green. disappointed again. Spots without globes…don't waste your time.
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