Review: GE 60W Equivalent A19 LED Light Bulb
Product Name: GE 89900 60W Equivalent A19 LED Light Bulb
Description
The GE 69204 LED light bulb is one of many alternatives coming into the market as replacements for incandescent light bulbs that aren’t able to meet the energy efficiency standards adopted in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. It’s an A19 bulb, which means that it’s the same size and shape as the standard 60W light bulb it’s designed to replace.
It also has a medium, or E26, screw base. That’s the same base the incandescent bulb had, so this bulb can be screwed into the same socket.
In the details, a couple of things stand out. One is that this bulb is dimmable. Besides the obvious fact that it’s ready to work with any dimmers you already have installed, that means that it should work with a motion detector or a remote control switch. That’s something many fluorescent, or CFL, bulbs can’t do, or can’t do well.
The other is that this bulb is only rated to put out 570 lumens when it’s new. That’s puzzling. The range of lumens for 60W incandescent bulbs is 750 to 1,049 lumens, and the median value is about 800. With that in mind, let’s see how this bulb stacks up.
Just the Facts
Analysis
In spite of the fact that just one of these LED bulbs costs almost $20, it winds up costing a respectable $2.78 per year to own and operate. That’s a nice savings over the $7.82 that the standard 60W bulb it replaces costs us every year.
There are two reasons for the low total cost. One is that LEDs last a very long time. When you divide the $19.97 cost by 13.7 years, it comes out to just $1.46 a year. Yes, an incandescent 60W bulb would be cheaper -- $0.86 each is a typical price, if you could find one – but it’s not a lot less.
The main reason that one of these bulbs is not a budget-breaker, though, is that LEDs are very efficient. This LED light bulb uses 12 kilowatts of electricity in a year, which costs, on average, $1.32. A standard 60W incandescent bulb would use more than five times as much.
OK, so it’s efficient. It’s so efficient that it almost looks affordable. But will you like it?
As far as the color of the light goes, if you liked the light from a “soft white” 60W incandescent bulb, the light from this bulb should suit you fine. Its color temperature of 2700 degrees K is almost identical to the 2800 degrees K of a standard 60W GE incandescent bulb.
So what’s not to like? The light output – the lumens. Your old 60W incandescent bulbs probably put out 800 or more lumens. One that I reviewed from GE was rated at 820 lumens. If you replace one of those with one of these bulbs you’re only going to get roughly 70% as much light. You may think you’ve traded your 60W incandescent bulbs for 40W incandescent ones.
$2.97 each. The $19.97 purchase price divided by the median life span of 13.7 years yields a replacement cost of $1.46 per year. You may actually need to add cleaning these bulbs to your springtime chore list. Then there’s the 12.0 kW each bulb will use every year. 12.0 kW at $0.11/kWh (kilowatt hour) is $1.32. Add the two costs together and you get $2.78 per year.
Yes, and it’s not small change either. To put the per-year cost in a different context, one of these 11.0 watt LED light bulbs will cost you a total of $38.12 over the 13.7 years it will typically last. At $7.82 per year, the 60W incandescent bulb it’s replacing would cost you more than $100 over the same period -- $107.12, to be precise. That’s why we’re replacing them.
Possibly. If you’ll be OK with the lower level of light and the bulb you’re replacing is really difficult to get to, this might be the way to go. The damp-proof fixture over the shower in our main bathroom, for example is in a vaulted ceiling that’s nearly 14 feet above the floor at that point. Not only is replacing the bulb in that fixture not a lot of fun, it can be hazardous. If it burns out again while we’re still here, it’s getting replaced with an LED bulb.
But if you’re shopping for 60W replacement bulbs for some of your more accessible ceiling or wall fixtures, or your table of floor lamps, you might want to consider the hybrid GE Reveal® Bright from the Start™ CFL Light Bulbs instead. Yes, you have to replace them more often and they aren’t quite as efficient, but they only cost $4.99 each, last for an average of 7.3 years, and are efficient enough to cost only $2.49 per year to own and operate. They also put out a comfortable 740 lumens at 2500 degrees Kelvin.
Description
The GE 69204 LED light bulb is one of many alternatives coming into the market as replacements for incandescent light bulbs that aren’t able to meet the energy efficiency standards adopted in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. It’s an A19 bulb, which means that it’s the same size and shape as the standard 60W light bulb it’s designed to replace.
It also has a medium, or E26, screw base. That’s the same base the incandescent bulb had, so this bulb can be screwed into the same socket.
In the details, a couple of things stand out. One is that this bulb is dimmable. Besides the obvious fact that it’s ready to work with any dimmers you already have installed, that means that it should work with a motion detector or a remote control switch. That’s something many fluorescent, or CFL, bulbs can’t do, or can’t do well.
The other is that this bulb is only rated to put out 570 lumens when it’s new. That’s puzzling. The range of lumens for 60W incandescent bulbs is 750 to 1,049 lumens, and the median value is about 800. With that in mind, let’s see how this bulb stacks up.
Just the Facts
- Voltage: 120V AC
- Wattage: 11.0 watts
- Size and Shape: A19
- Base/Connection: Medium screw (E26)
- Dimmable? Yes
- Cost: $19.97US
- Rated Life: 15,000 hours
- Life in Years (based on three hours of use per day): 13.7 years
- Replacement Cost per Year: $1.46 US
- Energy Consumption (kilowatt hours per year): 12.0 kW
- Energy Cost/Year (based on a cost of $0.11 US per kilowatt hour): $1.32 US
- Total cost/year: $2.78 US
- Initial Light Output in Lumens: 570 lumens
- Efficiency (lumens per watt): 51.82 L/W
- Color Temperature: 2700 degrees Kelvin
- Color Rendering Index (CRI): 90
Analysis
In spite of the fact that just one of these LED bulbs costs almost $20, it winds up costing a respectable $2.78 per year to own and operate. That’s a nice savings over the $7.82 that the standard 60W bulb it replaces costs us every year.
There are two reasons for the low total cost. One is that LEDs last a very long time. When you divide the $19.97 cost by 13.7 years, it comes out to just $1.46 a year. Yes, an incandescent 60W bulb would be cheaper -- $0.86 each is a typical price, if you could find one – but it’s not a lot less.
The main reason that one of these bulbs is not a budget-breaker, though, is that LEDs are very efficient. This LED light bulb uses 12 kilowatts of electricity in a year, which costs, on average, $1.32. A standard 60W incandescent bulb would use more than five times as much.
OK, so it’s efficient. It’s so efficient that it almost looks affordable. But will you like it?
As far as the color of the light goes, if you liked the light from a “soft white” 60W incandescent bulb, the light from this bulb should suit you fine. Its color temperature of 2700 degrees K is almost identical to the 2800 degrees K of a standard 60W GE incandescent bulb.
So what’s not to like? The light output – the lumens. Your old 60W incandescent bulbs probably put out 800 or more lumens. One that I reviewed from GE was rated at 820 lumens. If you replace one of those with one of these bulbs you’re only going to get roughly 70% as much light. You may think you’ve traded your 60W incandescent bulbs for 40W incandescent ones.
"How much will these light bulbs cost me every year?"
$2.97 each. The $19.97 purchase price divided by the median life span of 13.7 years yields a replacement cost of $1.46 per year. You may actually need to add cleaning these bulbs to your springtime chore list. Then there’s the 12.0 kW each bulb will use every year. 12.0 kW at $0.11/kWh (kilowatt hour) is $1.32. Add the two costs together and you get $2.78 per year.
"Will they actually save me money?"
Yes, and it’s not small change either. To put the per-year cost in a different context, one of these 11.0 watt LED light bulbs will cost you a total of $38.12 over the 13.7 years it will typically last. At $7.82 per year, the 60W incandescent bulb it’s replacing would cost you more than $100 over the same period -- $107.12, to be precise. That’s why we’re replacing them.
"Should I buy one?"
Possibly. If you’ll be OK with the lower level of light and the bulb you’re replacing is really difficult to get to, this might be the way to go. The damp-proof fixture over the shower in our main bathroom, for example is in a vaulted ceiling that’s nearly 14 feet above the floor at that point. Not only is replacing the bulb in that fixture not a lot of fun, it can be hazardous. If it burns out again while we’re still here, it’s getting replaced with an LED bulb.
But if you’re shopping for 60W replacement bulbs for some of your more accessible ceiling or wall fixtures, or your table of floor lamps, you might want to consider the hybrid GE Reveal® Bright from the Start™ CFL Light Bulbs instead. Yes, you have to replace them more often and they aren’t quite as efficient, but they only cost $4.99 each, last for an average of 7.3 years, and are efficient enough to cost only $2.49 per year to own and operate. They also put out a comfortable 740 lumens at 2500 degrees Kelvin.
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