EarthLED CL-3 LED Light Bulb Reviews

I bought one of these 3-watt bulbs as a "try out" for LED bulbs. I liked that it looked like a regular bulb. So far I've been impressed - most people can't tell it from a regular bulb. It disperses the light nicely and has a nice warm tone to the light. Overall I'm very impressed and it doesn't hardly seem possible that I can get that much light out of just 3 watts!

Having ventured into the realm of LED lighting and replaced my basement laundry room light with a LED bulb consisting of 36 individual LEDs, I felt the time had come to try a suitable living room light bulb replacement. I leave my small table lamp on 24hrs/day with an 11 watt CFL (40 watt equivalent). After discovering earthled.com, I found they had a reasonably priced ~45 watt incandescent replacement bulb that utilized only 3 watts of power. This bulb incorporates what are called, LED light engines. These high-power LEDs range in size, but are typically 1-2 watt each. This particular bulb, consumes 3 watts of power and uses 3 Cree 1 watt light engines. Think of light engines as little teeny (in this case) 1 watt processors.

The analyze I alluded too above is an important distinction between LED bulbs consisting of amassed individual LEDs and LED light engines. This bulb does produce heat. However, you will only feel warmed on the silver colored band around the middle of the LED bulb. That is because this band serves as the heat sink for the LED light engines. Do not be alarmed, the globe is cool to the touch and you will never be burned or deterred by touching the silver (or aluminum) heat sink band.

Having covered heat output, lets talk about light output. This LED bulb is fantastic. I am very pleased with both the construction and design of the bulb. There is an internal mirror assembly, that couple with the frosted globe, help to disperse light in a near 360 degree manner. This is a great advancement and brings LEDs to primetime in terms of household application. I find the light of this bulb to be pleasant, on par with the color spectrum of the warm white CFL, and near target for 45 watt incandescent light output.

Overall, I am very pleased with this LED light bulb and the cost savings over the lifetime of the bulb are just fantastic. Total cost over the projected 50,000 hr lifetime of the LED bulb is, at $0.10 kW/hr, is $15 for electricity and $29.95 for the bulb. This is a total of $44.95. For a comparable 11 watt CFL, rated at 10,000 hr lifetime, taken over 50,000 hrs, you are looking at a lifetime cost of $69.95 (assuming a $2.99 replacement cost for each of the 5 CFLs).

Since the lifetime of this bulb is roughly 50,000 hrs. You will be able to enjoy this LED bulb for 11 years at 12 hrs/day or 5.7 years at 24 hrs/day (like me!).

Look for the price of this bulb to come down as the technology for the LED light engines becomes more commonplace.

Excellent buy and a great product!

a 9 out of 10

Not a bad little light. It claims to be around a 30 watt equivalent and I'd say that claim is safe to say. I'm not ready to retrofit my whole house with them, but it definitely has it's niche.

Though these bulbs have a fairly steep price, their low power consumption and lifespan make the initial price seem miniscule. The lifespan of LEDs definitely make these bulbs the bulbs of the future

Thanks again Huddler for another terrific prize! I put it to good use, replacing an energy efficient bulb I had in the lamp on the dresser in my bedroom, which I kept off most of the time, because it was brighter than I prefer. This CL-3 EarthLED bulb puts out a warm white that lights my night softly. I am enjoying its candlelight quality, and sometimes turn it on as a night light.

This EarthLED CL-3 bulb is fantastic! I tried it out in a few fixtures around my home and concluded - in my case - that it was best utilized in my daughter's desk lamp she uses for homework and stuff. It previously had a 9w CFL (40w equivelant) which I did worry she might break as it was in close proximity to her activities. Now she has great light to do her work by and she also thinks it's really cool!

The instant on is a plus. Only 3 watts is pretty much unbeatable. My impression is that the light output - compared to the previous bulb - is more in the 25-30 watt range (bulb is claimed to be 40-45 watt equivelant), but for task lighting, bedside/smaller lamps, and many other applications - this is a great bulb that is super energy efficient.

Disclaimer: I did win this in the great contest Huddler awarded on Earth Day (Thanks again!)... so I did not have to pay for the bulb, which is normally $29.99, plus shipping. I have purchased other LED bulbs and would definately purchase this bulb.

I bought these bulbs to replace a few 11 watt CFL's that I didn't like. I needed some better lighting for the bathroom and kitchen fixtures. The CL-3 bulbs deliver a nice warm light. What I like the most about these bulbs is they come on instantly, unlike some CFL's that take time to warm up. I would have to say
these are the most expensive bulbs I have ever bought, so lets hope they last eleven years.
Anybody going solar should strongly consider these bulbs, they only use 3 watts of power.

After a couple of weeks I have been happy with this bulb.  It doesn't hum/buzz like the CFL that I replaced with it.  Obviously it has a longer life span, but it does cost quite a bit more.  Although it may be hard to justify the upfront cost, it uses substantially less wattage than any other bulb type out there so in the long run it makes sense.  

 

Light quality is better than CFL, though not quite as good than an incandescent.   

I got an EarthLED CL-3 LED bulb for free as part of the super awesome first Huddler contest prizes. The CL-3 only consumes 3 Watts of power and is the equivalent of a 45 Watt incandescent bulb. I found that it's probably not bright enough for a large room, but works great in my bathroom which is a smaller space and doesn't need as much light output.

The bulb produces a nice light dispersion in all directions, and the light is a pleasant warm tone. While the initial price is a bit high (unless you win one for free in a super awesome Huddler contest), the miniscule energy consumption and long lifetime of the bulb will more than make up for that initial cost over its lifetime. The future of LEDs is looking bright!

This little LED bulb works great in my bedside lamp.  Instead of wasting 40 watts just to read a book, the lamp produces enough lumens to make reading easy and efficient.  While some LED bulbs have strange shapes and produce humming sounds during operation, this small globe fits in any fixture and is silent.

 I used one of these for a few weeks, and overall I'd have to say it's a pretty solid bulb. It uses LEDs to provide illumination, rather than a fluorescent tube or (gasp!) an incandescent filament. Consequently, it uses very little power, and (theoretically) will last pretty much forever. 

 

That's the good news. The bad is that it doesn't put out as much light as I'd expect, even compared to a CFL of the same wattage (that's my subjective analysis; I didn't do any measurements). And even worse, the light is a very cold, blue color, even worse that the worst fluorescents. And it emits an annoying hum (very faint, but audible). 

 

So this is a bulb that I'd happily use in an overhead fixture, or somewhere that provides general room illumination in combination with other (non LED) bulbs. I'd probably not want to use this in a reading lamp, or anywhere that it was the sole bulb.