Remember when LED light bulbs put off an eery blue/white glow and weren’t very bright? Those days are over. In fact LED’s have gotten pretty good at besting their incandescent and fluorescent counterparts when it comes to efficiency and longevity. You can choose the LED light bulb lighting temperature from warm/soft (2700-3000K) all the way to daylight (5000-6500K). One isn’t “better” than the other, it is simply a choice to fit the look you are trying to achieve. For example, the photo below does a good job illustrating the difference between soft white and daylight.
A great way to try out a couple of different LED light bulbs is to purchase the Vivid Lighting LED Sample Pack and try them out for yourself. That is what we did. Read on for the review.
Vivid Lighting LED Sample Pack Review
The packaging does a great job of protecting the bulbs without being bulky. Inside the box is a clear plastic molded base that holds both bulbs securely with a thin sheet of foam on top. There isn’t a manual (why would there be) but instead, an insert explaining the energy saving costs and lifespan information. More on that later.
The Vivid Lighting LED Sample Pack ($10) contains two lightbulbs at different ends of the temperature scale, one is 5000K and the other is 2700K. The 5000K version, Daylight, is very bright white light and reminds me of fluorescent office lighting. The 2700K version, Soft White, is more yellow/warm and reminds me of the incandescent style bulbs. Picking the right bulb for your application is a personal preference type of thing. Some people like the clean/crisp brighter lighting while others prefer the warm lighting.
These LED bulbs use just 8 watts while putting off the equivalent lighting to a 60 watt incandescent bulb. Amazing. The Vivid Lighting (VividLighting.com) LED bulbs put out 800 lumens of brightness and are non-dimmable. After running the bulbs for several hours they are barely warm and safe to touch.
These LED lightbulbs claim to last 22 years (when used 3 hours per day) and will cost just $0.96 per year (assuming usage at 3hrs per day x 11c/kWh).
- 800 lumens
- 8-watts
- Estimated yearly energy cost = $0.96 (3 hrs/day at 11c/kWh)
- Lifespan = 22 years (at 3 hrs/day)
- Light appearance = 2700K (soft white) and 5000k (daylight)
- Weight = 1.8 ounces