Hard to go wrong with Osram’s 60W Replacement LED
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With LED prices continuing to fall, we’re seeing more and more bulbs selling for $10 or less. One of the latest options is the Osram 60W Replacement Ultra LED, which rings in just a few cents shy of that 10-buck benchmark.
Thankfully, this lower price plateau doesn’t represent a dip in quality, at least not with Osram. With well over 800 lumens of light output from a power draw of just 8.5 watts, it’s one of the most efficient 60W replacement LEDs we’ve tested, and it performed well during our dimming tests, too. That makes it an easy bulb to recommend, even among an increasingly crowded field of worthwhile competitors.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
Design
Osram’s 60W Replacement Ultra LED doesn’t sport an inventive build like the Philips SlimStyle or the Cree 4Flow LED, and it doesn’t show off its heat sinks the way the original Cree 60W Replacement LED does. At first glance, it’s just a fairly typical-looking light bulb, which might be a good thing if you’re a fan of inconspicuous design.
Turn the bulb on, and you’ll find the same, golden glow that you’ll get with the majority of the bulbs on the market these days, along with a light output of 800 lumens, making it a worthy replacement for the brightness of a 60W incandescent. That’s all well and good, but there’s nothing on the surface helping this bulb stand out from the crowd.
That all changes once you peek under the hood. Osram’s bulb puts that light out from a power draw of just 8.5 watts — the lowest power draw of any 60W replacement LED we’ve tested. That makes it the most efficient 60W replacement we’ve tested, with a very impressive 94 lumens per watt to its name — a full 10 lumens-per-watt better than its nearest competitor, the Cree LED.
That efficiency adds up to energy savings over the course of the Osram LED’s 25,000-hour lifespan. Run the thing for an average of three hours per day, and it’ll add just over a buck to your utility bill each year.
| Osram 60W Replacement LED | Cree 4Flow LED | Cree 60W Rep. LED | Philips 60W Rep. LED | Philips SlimStyle LED | Ikea Ledare LED (frosted) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumens (measured* / stated) | 852 / 800 | 835 / 815 | 746 / 800 | 864 / 830 | 815 / 800 | 658 / 600 |
| Watts | 8.5 | 11 | 9.5 | 11 | 10.5 | 10 |
| Efficiency (lumens per watt) | 94.12 | 74.09 | 84.21 | 75.45 | 76.19 | 60 |
| Estimated yearly energy cost | $1.03 | $1.33 | $1.15 | $1.33 | $1.27 | $1.21 |
| Color temperature (measured / stated) | 2,580K / 2,700K | 2,617K / 2,700K | 2,669K / 2,700K | 2,584K / 2,700K | 2,653K / 2,700K | 2,632K / 2,700K |
| Lifespan | 25,000 hours | 25,000 hours | 25,000 hours | 25,000 hours | 25,000 hours | 25,000 hours |
| Color rendering index | 78 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 88 |
| Dimmable range | 0 – 100% | 5.6 – 100% | 6.8 – 100% | 0.7 – 100% | 11.1 – 100% | 6.3 – 100% |
| Weight | 4.15 ounces | 1.90 ounces | 3.70 ounces | 4.55 ounces | 2.20 ounces | 4.10 ounces |
| Warranty | 5 years | 3 years | 10 years | 5 years | 3 years | none |
| Price | $10 | $8 | $10 | $15 | $9 | $5 |
*Lumen measurements include a margin of error of +/- 5 percent.
Of course, those savings don’t mean a whole lot if the bulb isn’t built to last. To this end, Osram backs up its LED with a five-year warranty — better than cheaper alternatives like the Cree 4Flow LED and the Philips SlimStyle, but not as good as the equally-priced original Cree LED, which still sells with a warranty of 10 years.
Something else to consider is what type of setting you’ll be using the bulb in. Osram’s LED is rated for dampness, so you can use it outdoors if it isn’t directly exposed to things like rain and snow. Osram recommends avoiding enclosed fixtures, though, as the heat buildup can shorten the bulb’s lifespan.
http://www.cnet.com/products/osram-60w-replacement-led/#ftag=CADe9e329aCNET Reviews – Most Recent Reviews
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