My "cans" are made for par30s, and I needed a "socket extender" to make this par38 fit, but the light it produces is MUCH more than the par30 LED I tested. Hence it is worth futzing with the socket extenderI am very impressed with the amount of light. The light is much brighter and whiter than the 45 watt incandescent par30 it is replacing. To my eye it is about the color of sunlight, not as yellow as most lighting. The dimming works well, without the change in light color which happens with incandescent bulbs. At minimum on the dimmer the LED light is still producing some light, while the incandescent is completely dark. I don't mind this, but YMMV.
This bulb has a fairly wide angle of illumination, good for recessed lighting and probably good for a floodlight as well. Not sure if it can handle weather though.
The only downside is the cost and the relatively untried technology. I expect the cost to continue to drop, and these "may" be cost-effective, even at $50 a bulb. I have not found the CFLs to live up to the hype in terms of life span, perhaps the LEDs may do better. The estimates raise the philosophical question of why I would want to buy a light bulb that will last longer than my house. They are certainly efficient, but at the rate I am using this bulb (2 or 3 hours, maybe 3 nights a week), it will take me about 100 years to report on the accuracy of the 20,000 to 50,000 hour life expectancy. Stay tuned!
The bottom line is that we like this light a lot.
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I purchased three of these Dimmable PAR38 LED Lights because the builder-grade 13o-volt spotlights were dying. I have always suspected that dimmers slowed the rush into filaments and extended the life of the bulbs, so the twelve years I got out of the builder bulbs was sufficient. For regular table lamps, I started replacing 60-wayy bulbs with compact CFL bulbs, but they often don't present enough load for home automation switches, like the traditional X-10 wall warts. Since these dimmers were probably not going to be remotely controlled, I wasn't worried about the load, and I would not expect these to work with that. Your mileage may vary.My intial impression is very positive. Much sturdier boxes that previous purchases of other brands, and all three bulbs were working when first installed. My previous attempts had a very high DOA rate, so that was a very positive sign. I have these in recessed lighting cans in the second floor ceiling of a two story open floorplan. They sit farther back into the light can than the builder's R38, and I think that's a bit of an advantage. Why? Because they light is very stark in color, very industrial looking color of light. It's like being in the mall or a department store. I find it much more like daylight that the standard bulbs, but full power 16-watts is maybe too bright for most situations. I set the dimmers to 50% and they seemed fine.
The floodlight pattern is very wide. For a light located three feet from the wall, the can frame cuts off the light above the head of a six-foot observer. For a wall six feet away, the can cuts off light just above the top of a standard wall picture hanging. So, the light itself has very wide light distribution a real plus for eight or nine foot ceilings. For higher ceilings, such as hard to reach and majestic "great room" ceilings, you might want a narrower beam.
We'll see if the family adjusts to the pure white color. I'm telling them it's like being outside. I hope that works. These seemed expensive, but if the family adopts, I'll be replacing a bunch more this summer and using these.
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