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I have over 40 MR-16 lights outside and over 50 inside. At 50W per halogen bulb, I want energy efficient replacements, but the quest for LED bulbs hasn't been easy. I compare this bulb with two other top-rated bulbs I've bought, the LED MR16 Spotlight 12V 4.5W (370 Lumen 45 Watt Equivalent) 45 Degree 4000K Cool and the LED MR16 Spotlight 12V 4.5W (330 Lumen 45 Watt Equivalent) 45 Degree 2900K Warm.
Color: This bulb has a clean, white light without a blue or green tint the most natural (or least distracting) I've found so far in an MR-16 LED. It's definitely whiter than the 2900K and warmer than the 4000K bulbs reminds me of the GE Reveal incandescent bulbs. But it's no halogen if you want that soft, warm, yellow light for ambiance, this bulb won't come close.
Beam angle: The 4 lenses don't disperse the light very well even though it claims a 60 degree angle. It definitely spotlights down. If it's installed close to a wall, the lenses create streaking lights against the wall due to refraction i.e. no smooth oval outline. This may not be a problem if the bulb is recessed deep into the housing (or if you don't care about the outline). The 2900K and 4000K bulbs disperse wider even though they claim only a 45 degree angle. Again, nowhere close to a halogen.
Brightness: The lighted spot itself is actually brighter than the 2900K bulb but because the dispersion is worse, it feels darker from a distance. I think it's better suited for task or spotlighting than, say, a room or closet. The 4000K is brighter. It's not a 50W halogen equivalent somewhere between 20-35W is more accurate.
Size: It's deeper than a standard MR-16 but not as deep as the 2900K and 4000K bulbs. It doesn't fit some of my fixtures. Be sure to check that you have an additional 1/4" depth clearance for this bulb.
Temperature: This bulb runs hotter than the 2900K and 4000K bulbs. It's probably because the LEDs are recessed behind the 4 lenses where heat gets trapped whereas the other two have exposed LEDs. But it's a fraction of the halogen. I was able to remove the LED by hand within a minute after switching off.
Bottom line: It's a good LED replacement for a 20-35W halogen depending on where you install it, probably better outside than inside. It's also very inexpensive for a LED. If color temperature and brightness are important to you, you'll need to get one and see it for yourself all LEDs just differ too much. I'm getting more for some of my fixtures, but I'm still hunting for better color and brightness that match the halogen bulbs. I'll update the review about reliability later on.
Update on 5/13/2013: I was reviewer #3 of this bulb, and it's been over a year. 4 of the bulbs have failed under daily use. 3 started flickering off and on at first, then cut off completely. 1 turns on but is about 1/5 of its original brightness. This is a 5% failure rate. I have purchased several other LED bulbs and will update this review later to compare. I still think this is a good bulb at a good price, but I'm may drop my rating if I get more failures. One other warning. Every order I placed after the first one came with the promise of a discount or rebate if I gave this bulb a 5 star review. I still stand by my original 4 star rating. But it makes me wonder if some of the 5 star reviews have been "bought."
Update on 7/13/2013: 8 of the bulbs from a lighting set of 22 have now failed under 8-10 hours of daily use. 2 more bulbs from another less used set have failed. That's a 36% failure rate in less than a year and a half for the first set and 12.5% overall failure rate out of 80 bulbs I bought. Are these TORCHSTAR bulbs really worth it? I compare the bulb against my gold standard halogen bulb the Ushio Titan FNV 50W. The Ushio has fantastic color, dispersion and longevity (rated 18,000 hours on par with LED). 80 Ushio bulbs lasted over 7 years at 8-10 hours of daily use (only 2 failed bulbs) before I replaced them with TORCHSTAR bulbs. I have 20+ Ushios still going strong elsewhere. Both bulbs cost about the same. At 10 cents per kWh and 9 hours a day over 7 years, the Ushio cost: $7 (bulb) + $16.38 / year * 7 years = $122. The TORCHSTAR would cost: $7 / bulb * 5 bulbs for 7 years + $1.31 / year * 7 years = $44. TORCHSTAR is roughly 1/3 the cost of the Ushio over its lifetime. But the TORCHSTAR is about half to 2/3 as bright as the Ushio. If I were to use a Ushio 35W, the TORCHSTAR rises to roughly 1/2 the cost over its lifetime to a comparable halogen. 50% savings is great, but nothing to write home about when it comes to LED. Never mind the hassle of replacing bulbs more often. I'm better off with a more expensive, higher quality LED bulb that lasts longer. I'm dropping my rating from 4 to 3 due to the short life of this TORCHSTAR bulb. It's a decent to good bulb, not a great one.
Update on 10/17/2013: 3 more months, and 3 more failed bulbs. That is now 13 failures out of the set of 22 that gets 8-10 hours of daily use. A TORCHSTAR representative has claimed that the bulb's quality has improved. I will order a few more new bulbs to verify and update this review with the results.
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I have tested 11 different brands of led MR 16 lamps, looking for lamps with a warm white color and a high
level of light output. Price also enters into the picture as I need a large number of them. I use them
to light my model railroad scenes. The railroad occupies 2000 square feet of space. I am converting the
lighting from halogen to LED lamps to reduce the power consumption so I am looking for lamps with comparable
color. I have found two other brands with comparable performance but at three times the cost. For me, the
two important specfications I look for are color temperature, 3200K or less. Light output 320 Lumens or
greater. Torchstar 4 watt led MR 16 lamps meet both specificatons and at a reasonable cost. Torchstar lamps
also operate well on both 12 volts AC and 12 volts DC. Several of the lamps I tested have a very annoying
flicker when operated on 12 volts AC.
Best Deals for TORCHSTAR LED MR16 3200K Warm White Spotlight 12V 4W (330 Lumen
"LED MR16 3200K Warm White Spotlight 12V 4W (340 Lumen 50 Watt Equivalent) 60 Degree Beam angle" did it for me.
Illumination These came out a little whiter than I expected compared to my halogen bulbs, but still warm enough for 3200K.
Dimmable These were advertised as dimmable, which others weren't for around the same price range.
Price One of the most inexpensive ones on Amazon for the features it offers.
Power Enough power and brighter than my original halogen bulbs.
Beam Angle Great angle, if you are looking for a wide angle beam.
Low Wattage Like most other LED bulbs, these are 4W, and they don't heat up like halogen. Love it. Power Saver!
Honest reviews on TORCHSTAR LED MR16 3200K Warm White Spotlight 12V 4W (330 Lumen
We have about 50 halogen MR16 bulbs lighting a small bookstore. The LED bulbs do fit and function just like an MR16 bulb but the light is not the same. The negatives, from least important to me to most are: The spread is narrower. The light weaker in comparison. The hue has a greenish tint.
I purchased two of these bulbs and installed them over a month ago. I was really tempted to purchase replacements for our whole facility, but I wanted to see how they worked. I can say that side by side comparison to a halogen, the shelves appear dim under the LED. When I hold my hand out about 4 feet under the bulbs, one below the halogen, one below the LED, my hand looks greenish/grey under the LED where it looks pink and normal under the halogen.
I would love to get these but I'll just wait until the technology gets better.
That said, I should note that depending on your application my complaints may not be an issue to you. We are a retail store and want to flatter the merchandise and facility as much as possible. If you are looking for utility lighting etc. where aesthetics aren't a concern, these LEDs are a cheap and easy solution.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for TORCHSTAR LED MR16 3200K Warm White Spotlight 12V 4W (330 Lumen
I was a bit worried at first many of my friends had replaced with their down lights with high voltage products and removed their 12 V transformers, but I was pleasantly surprised when I found that all I had to do was replace the bulbs, and the dimming still worked. I went with the Warm colour to emulate traditional down lights, and now am using 4W per light instead of 50W. The other things I was warned of was the flicker of using 12V on my transformers. I installed five of them and have not noticed any flicker regardless of dimmer settings. I did this as an experiment in one bedroom only. On my next order I will get enough to do the whole house. Happy to recommend the lights, as they actually perform as promised. Amazing there is so much rubbish out there too, so its nice to get something that does what it says!
