Suggestions for best LED bulbs that are not a waste of money because they were designed to break would be enormously appreciated.
The big box store bulbs suck. Pay more for Phillips bulbs.
A lingering question in my head about these Amazon and Home Depot bargain bin products. The ecosmart 80cent bulbs I have commonly fail by just becoming dim just like this guy’s. Well I can’t expect too much from bottom dollar quality.
TL:DW
- Amazon product that failed after 15 months with the seller nowhere to be found, didn’t work because of a bad connection.
- ecosmart likely a shorting resistor, not enough voltage from the driver chip getting to LEDs that are working just fine.
- utilitech pros had better heat dissipation and more parts, but found no clear failure mode and he busted the thing anyway diagnosing how it handled mains voltage.
I have Philips bulbs and while they still work (though I also do not use them much), they’re buzzing pretty loudly for my ears.
I have a whole bunch of ceiling bulbs (19 of them) that I replaced with LEDs. In 3 years, 7 of them have died. That failure rate is comparable to incandescents. Unfortunately the sockets are kind of an odd socket type (BR30) that only a few brands make. I would really like to know which brands I can actually trust but I’m afraid the answer is likely “none of them.”
