Our Philips EnduraLED bulb review examines whether the LED bulb's performance and features overcome its terribly unattractive design
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- Philips LED bulb Side-view
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- Philips LED bulb viewed face-up
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- Philips LED bulb in Side-View
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- Philips LED bulb turned on, viewed from below.
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- Philips LED bulb installed in a light fixture.
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- Philips LED Bulb in Retail Packaging
The Philips A19 Ambient dimmable LED Light Bulb, otherwise known as the EnduraLED has some unique qualities that really distinguish it from the other LED bulbs that we have reviewed. The following review is broken up into sections where we discuss the EnduraLED bulb's design, light quality, brightness, efficiency and durability. We assign points to each section, and at the end of the review, we summarize our findings and give a final rating and recommendation. For LED bulbs, our rating system uses the following weighting scale: Design (10 points), Light Quality and Details (25 points), Brightness and Dimming (25 points), Efficiency and Safety (15 points), Warranty and Durability (25 points).
In our detailed review of the Philips Endura LED dimmable bulb, we review its design, light quality, brightness, efficiency and durability.
Design (4 out of 10): The first and most obvious distinction of the Philips A19 EnduraLED bulb is its appearance, which one might describe as futuristic and high-tech, but let's be honest. This bulb is the Frankenstein of LED bulbs. I mean if it were a girl, she would most definitely not be the one you would be running home to show your family, that is unless they're the type of people who can overlook shrek's appearance, which let's be honest, few of us are.
Joking aside, appearance is a big concern of ours since as a replacement screw-in LED bulb, you may be tempted to put it in an area where the naked bulb is visible, such as in a dining room chandelier. Unfortunately, this bulb may need to be confined to areas that shield its visibility, lest your interior designer walk in and heaven forbid pass out because this bulb has ruined the room's feng shui.
We would have given the EnduraLED bulb a 1 out of 10 for design, but since the design's functional reasons include the creation of a wide diffusion angle (making the EnduraLED appropriate for use even in a desk lamp) and increased longevity by decreasing heat build-up, we pushed the design rating up to a 4 out of 10.
But a light is definitely more than just looks, so how does it perform?
Light Quality and Details (25 out of 25): The Philips EnduraLED bulb has a color rendering index rating of 80, which means the bulb allows you to accurately see colors and doesn't create color distortions despite the yellowish light output. The Philips EnduraLED bulb emits a fairly yellowish light (at 2,700 Kelvin to be precise), which does a decent job of approximating the light given off by a yellowish incandescent bulb.
Somewhat ironically, this may pose a problem for compact fluorescent (CFL) bulb users who may want to replace the CFLs with LED bulbs over time. Since the CFLs emit a very whitish light, the mixture of CFL and the EnduraLED would combine different color spectrums which would be hard for some people to deal with.
So it seems that if you want to slowly convert your house to LED, the EnduraLED bulb would be a good partial replacement solution in a room that currently uses all incandescent bulbs, but not in a room that uses compact fluorescents. (Of course, if you buy a whole bunch of these and replace all your lights with LEDs, you won't have to worry about this issue. But we're assuming most people aren't looking to turn ALL their bulbs into LEDs, since current pricing makes that prohibitive.)
Brightness and Dimming (23 out of 25): The Philips EnduraLED bulb is rated at a brightness of 800 lumens, which approximates the output of a standard 60-Watt incandescent bulb. Current owners report that the light output maintained its strength as advertised and that in terms of brightness the bulb is a drop-in replacement for a standard 60-Watt incandescent bulb.
The Philips EnduraLED also has a dimming capability, and dims to about 20% of full output when used with a dimmer. Dimmer compatibility also seems excellent, with both mechanical and electronic dimmers supported. However, since LED bulbs have generally had difficulty interfacing with various dimmers, we recommend that before using your dimmer with the Philips EnduraLED bulb, make sure to check with Philips or your dimmer manufacturer. In general, we would recommend using newer electronic dimmers over mechanical dimmers.
Efficiency and Safety (13 out of 15): At full brightness, the EnduraLED bulb draws just 12.5 Watts of power, producing the same light output as a standard 60-Watt incandescent while consuming one-fifth the amount of electricity. The EnduraLED's efficiency is also a significant improvement over a CFL with would consume approximately 22 watts of power to produce the same light output.
In terms of safety, the EnduraLED bulb contains no mercury, lead or heavy metals, so unlike CFL bulbs you won't need to bring out a hazmat team if you accidentally break the bulb on the floor. In addition, the EnduraLED bulb runs very cool, which reduces the possibility of accidental fires or burns resulting from objects or people coming in contact with the bulb. (My office chair still has horrific marks where it started to melt after getting too close to an incandescent bulb a few years ago. It may sound silly, but fires are a definite issue when dealing with incandescent bulbs.)
Warranty and Durability (18 out of 25): Philips officially rates the EnduraLED bulb at 25,000 hours of continuous use, which is approximately 3 years of constant use. So in a typical application where it is used for perhaps 8 hours per day, the EnduraLED bulb should last 9 years or so before it goes past its rated life expectancy. This longevity pales in comparison to comparable LED bulbs at a similar price range, which claim life expectancy ratings of 50,000 hours.
The EnduraLED bulb is designed for indoor and residential use only, and is not intended for exterior lighting or commercial uses.
Unlike incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs, LED bulbs should last far past their life expectancy since the bulb is all solid-state electronics and doesn't depend on filaments or gases. Over time, a LED bulb will dim as the LED starts to slowly wear out, but the main reason for LED bulb failure is due to a failure in the bulb's electronics. If the electronics are of high-quality and the bulb is not paired with a low-quality dimmer switch, an average consumer can expect the bulb to last many years past the 3-year rated life expectancy.
Philips provides a 3-year limited warranty for the EnduraLED bulb, indicating that they are willing to stand behind their 25,000 hour bulb rating. This is an excellent policy, especially considering the fact that most manufacturers stand behind their products for a max of one year. The warranty should also help ease people's fears that the Philips EnduraLED bulb will become an expensive paperweight after only a few months.
Dimensions and Weight: EnduraLED Bulb diameter - 2.375 inches. Bulb Length - 4.06 inches. Bulb Base Type - Medium. Bulb weight - 0.075 lbs.
Cost and Availability: Pricing on the Philips EnduraLED varies, but at the time of writing we are seeing average prices just below $40, with free shipping available from some online stores. Depending on the amount of usage, a homeowner could expect to reach a break-even point on their investment in this light within one to three years. If your intended use for this Philips EnduraLED bulb is as a reading lamp, your payback period will be much longer.
As of December 2010, the EnduraLED bulb is available at Home Depot as well as in lighting and hardware stores across the United States.
Overall Rating and Summary: In total, this Philips EnduraLED bulb got a score of 83 out of 100 possible points, scoring a B on our rating scale. The Philips 12-Watt A19 EnduraLED Bulb has some standout features, such as its brightness, dimming feature and warranty. If you can find a fixture to hide its controversial appearance, we strongly recommend the Philips EnduraLED bulb, and we think that you'll be pleased with your purchase. However, if you find that its appearance is too strange, then you should pass on the Philips EnduraLED bulb and choose one of the other LED bulbs in our comprehensive LED bulb review series.
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I suggest in the future, the reviewer only review products and technology that they understand. The reviewer obviously has a weak understanding of the technology:
- 13W compact fluorescent creates as much light, not a 22 watt.
- The 25,000 hour rating is a REAL rating, not the made up rating of 50,000 hour bulbs which in many cases will not last 10,000 hours. The failure issues are both LED degradation and power supply failure. Philips has created a bulb that is intended to be used just about anywhere, meaning it may get quite warm. That kills electronics. The LED industry (the real one) is also self policing and using a rule to not made a claim on LED output past 6 times testing.
- I have taken apart several 50,000 hour bulbs and I know that the power supply will never last that long, especially if used in a somewhat closed fixture.
- 2,700K IS the color temperature of a compact fluorescent IF that is the color you buy. Is it probably the most common temperature now. Yes there is a lot of cheap junk that uses a higher color temperature to make it seem brighter, but if you buy a Philips Warm White CFL, 2,700K will be the color temperature
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Might I suggest that the reviewer knows math better than Jack. Your so called quality 13W compact fluorescent actually consumes 0.22 amps which translates to 26.4 watts at 120V. Marketing has tried to con us for years with this not so enviromentally friendly light.
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Philips EnduraLED Review: Frankenstein of LEDs but How Does it Perform? http://t.co/1oBntqxu #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy
You said:
"CFL with would consume approximately 22 watts of power to produce the same light output."
Firstly, you meant which would..... secondly, is this correct? Are the 13 watt CFLs not normally the same lumens as 60 watt incn. And 22 is equivalent to 100 watt incandescents?
Cheers
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The gold capsule is really puzzling. It makes this Philips lamp looks like an outdoor bug-light, and it's gotta block most of the blue. Is the color temperature really 2700K or is it much warmer, like 2200K Pharox Flame.
If that's the case, then this lamp is going to not work well, since it's too bright for warm light. It the lighter were cooler, then the higher brightness would work better, but is the light is really yellow, then it would appear more natural if it were more dim.
Yeah I agree that the LED design does look odd. But it does work really well compared to a lot of other bulbs, and diffuses the light around a room pretty well. Although our pictures may make it seem super-bright, it's really pretty comparable to a regular 60watt bulb. The color warmth is as-advertised, but the best way to see the impact of its color temperature in action is to buy one and see how it performs in the different areas you would consider using it.
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something new
[...] to a 60W incandescent bulb), seem to be this 13W one from Lighting Science ($30) and the 12W Philips A19 EnduraLED ($40). The prices seem high, but as with gas furnaces and boilers, electric motors and pumps, the [...]
i'd love to try one of these out and i am sure there is a market as these are not yet available internationally. can someone please start reselling these on ebay for example. as the first of it's kind i would be willing to pay a small mark-up as well as shipping because with electricity prices in Australia a single bulb would still pay for its self in a reasonable amount of time.
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This bulb was designed for snap on lamp shades! Yes, they could have very well designed to look just like an old fashioned frosted incandescent. But they didn't. Philips wanted it to be distinctive, so people would talk about it. But yes, they need to come out with the same technology in a package that can be much more readily incorporated into New England/Old Americana design, which still makes up the majority of what you see around the country. Or maybe they're in bed with Areva, the French nuclear monopoly, and they want LEDs to be a bulb of last resort for people, so it never reaches the mainstream. But I'll leave that kind of talk for conspiracy theorists.
I definitely agree. I wonder what Philips will come out with next.
key questions that need to be answered before you buy these low lumen extreme cost bulbs: how much energy and material goes into a LED bulb? does this build energy exceed the saved energy over the design life of the LED? (25000 hours is a mean life...meaning 50% fail before 50K/hrs (light dims to 70% or less)!!! are you willing to pay so much for so little? are you going to use this bulb when its lumen output drops around 500 lumens from 800? these bulbs are very much experimental...best use: 100% solar/battery/wind energy environments
The failure rate is definitely something to be concerned about, which is why the warranty coverage is so important for these bulbs. Only long-term testing will really answer the durability question.
Extremely happy with this bulb, the lighting output is excellent,as far as appearance it looks weird when you see it but when you turn it on you will be pleased .
although they are a little pricey i returned to store and purchased 8 more. installed them in ceiling fixtures, table lamp they are defiantly worth the investment
Great to hear that you're happy with the investment so far. Do you find that they work best for you in ceiling fixtures or as table lamp bulbs?
Beauty in the eye of the beholder? Should we let the 'norm' influence our decision on if a product design is acceptable? http://j.mp/hxUpGm
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