LED bulb for porch light?

[Carson Dyle]

I have a CFL bulb in my porch light at the moment and want to replace it with an LED. Any special considerations for an LED to be used outdoors in an enclosed fixture? Looking online, I don't really see any LED bulbs specifically made for outdoors, other than colored bulbs and spotlights.

 

[Aikouka]

At least from what I've read, you should look for an LED bulb that can be in an enclosure. I've never tried one that wasn't rated for it, but my Cree bulbs that are rated for it have been working fine.

 

[Carson Dyle]

When you say "rated" for it, is there a clear indication on the packaging?

* Edit *

I found this in the Cree spec sheet for their A19 series bulbs, so I'm guess that means all of them.

Suitable for use in enclosed light fixtures. Lifetime may be reduced if used in air tight enclosures or in insulated ceiling air tight (ICAT) recessed downlight enclosures

Any thoughts on color temperature for an outdoor light? 2700k vs 5000k?

 

[bigi]

Panasonic LED from HD. Have been working fine enclosed and not. Winter/Summer - all good.

 

[Aikouka]

Any thoughts on color temperature for an outdoor light? 2700k vs 5000k?

These are the ones that I ordered. It was far cheaper to order them from there rather than buy them separately at Home Depot when I bought them, but it looks like Home Depot is only about 50 cents more now.

 

[NoTine42]

I think the general problem is more powerful LED need heat syncs to keep cool ... And bugs love to build nests, etc in those heat syncs, so there wind up being few outdoor enclosed LED lights.

 

[edro]

2700K for household lighting (indoor and outdoor). 5000K is far too harsh.
My favorite bulbs right now are the GE Bright Stik.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-60W-E...t-Stik-Light-Bulb-3-Pack-LED10S3-96/205783754

Non-dimmable, but simple construction, cheap, and works great.
I have about 12 of them in my house for around a year (some outdoor) with no failures.

 

[lxskllr]

Any thoughts on color temperature for an outdoor light? 2700k vs 5000k?

I like very warm colors. Edison bulbs look great in traditional style fixtures, but aren't that bright, and might not look right in modern fixtures. They're also expensive compared to standard lamps.

 

[ElFenix]

http://www.gelighting.com/LightingW...-Enclosed-Fixture-Sell-Sheet_tcm201-94610.pdf

 

[Subyman]

I usually look for a "rough duty" label on outdoor lights but I haven't seen that on many LEDs. To be honest, it doesn't really matter. With CFLs it does because they absolutely suck in cold weather. Useless!!!

 

[PowerEngineer]

I replaced all my outdoor light fixtures two years ago. Tracking down replacement polished brass colonial fixtures now that the market have moved on to newer styles was a real PITA. This was made harder because I wanted to use LEDs; almost all manufacturers stated that LEDs should not be used in their fixtures. In the end, I just had to ask myself how a 16 watt LED could possibly damage a light fixture made to accommodate a 100 watt incandescent light bulb. "Damn the torpedoes". I put the 60-watt equivalent (original) dimmable Crees into all four fixtures. No problems at all; all four are still working just fine.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

These are the ones that I ordered. It was far cheaper to order them from there rather than buy them separately at Home Depot when I bought them, but it looks like Home Depot is only about 50 cents more now.

I have a bunch of those in and around the house. I had a couple of them in outdoor fixtures die, probably from overheating. The fins inside the plastic enclosure was full of spider webs and dead bugs

 

[Carson Dyle]

Found a 5000k LED bulb in closet that I had for some reason and tried it out on the porch. Definitely not color temp I want. Good call on that. What the hell do they make those things for?

 

[who?]

5000K is imitation daylight. They're good for keeping you awake for hours. If you love sunshine 5000K or higher is what you want.

 

[edro]

Found a 5000k LED bulb in closet that I had for some reason and tried it out on the porch. Definitely not color temp I want. Good call on that. What the hell do they make those things for?

Higher color temperature LEDs have higher output. This is because phosphor is used to convert the raw blue light into white light, but this phosphor layer reduces output.
So higher color temp has less phosphor and has more output, but has much more blue in its spectrum.

Until relatively recently, matching incandescent lumens with LED was difficult, so they had to use the highest output LEDs available (higher color temperature).
Now that LEDs have advanced, the lower color temperatures can meet the lumen requirements no problem.

The AMA (American Medical Association) just released a major study and recommended that outdoor LED lighting (streetlights specifically) be 3000K MAX.
They cite circadian rhythm and eye scatter issues with the higher color temperature LEDs.
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/2016/2016-06-14-community-guidance-street-lighting.page

2700K is the standard "warm white" color temperature and is close to traditional incandescent.
That's what I recommend and use in all indoor and outdoor lighting.
Some lighting designers still recommend higher color temperatures for advertising, car dealerships, gas stations, etc, where they want more "color pop" to grab your attention.

 

[TheGardener]

That Cree LED is a very good bulb. I use them at home. If you read the labels on most LED, they warn not to use in an enclosed lamp. Since the Cree says it is fine, just buy it.

 

[marvdmartian]

Since I leave mine on 24/7, the last time the CFL went out, I replaced it with a yellow light LED from Walmart. Think it ran <$5. Might not last as long as the other bulbs (since their silly year ratings are based on something like 3 hours/day), but I figure the bulb costs me less than a buck a year to keep turned on. Pretty sure I can afford the replacement, once it goes out.

 

[Raizinman]

I have a can light above my porch. I would put in a bug light bulb in the summer to keep bugs away from the front door and then switch out to a regular light bulb in the winter when there are no bugs. We would get wasps building their nests in the porch light can fixture. We just recently changed to a shower can light fixture that has a glass lens. This keeps the wasps and other insects from making their home in the can light fixture. I still change out the light bulbs twice a year.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

I replaced all my outdoor light fixtures two years ago. Tracking down replacement polished brass colonial fixtures now that the market have moved on to newer styles was a real PITA. This was made harder because I wanted to use LEDs; almost all manufacturers stated that LEDs should not be used in their fixtures. In the end, I just had to ask myself how a 16 watt LED could possibly damage a light fixture made to accommodate a 100 watt incandescent light bulb. "Damn the torpedoes". I put the 60-watt equivalent (original) dimmable Crees into all four fixtures. No problems at all; all four are still working just fine.

I agree. How could the heat from a <10W LED compare with the heat from a 100W incandescent bulb, which releases 90W of that as heat energy? Maybe the heat buildup due to restricted airflow shortens the life of the LED, but oh well, it's still longer than an incandescent and they're almost as cheap now anyways. I just recently bought a bunch of them for less than $2 per bulb. And PAR38's for less than $3 per bulb.