1000 Lumen G7 LED flood light
I just received a G7 LED flood light and it’s so impressive, I had to write about it immediately. This may very well be the LED bulb for recessed lights that we’ve all been waiting for – it’s that good!
What makes it so good?
- 1000 Lumens bright. The Cree CR6 that I’ve reviewed here puts out 575 Lumens and it’s big brother the CR6-800 has 800 Lumens. It’s brighter than a typical 60 Watt incandescent lamp. They claim that it’s a replacement for a 100 Watt bulb.
- Dimmable down to almost no output. This is the first LED that I’ve seen dim to this low brightness. My reference, the Cree CR6 is good, but this is great!
- Fits in a standard 6″ or larger recessed light fixture.
- It’s reasonably priced – currently (October 2012) priced at $26.95. 10% off and free shipping with coupon code G7G7G7.
The downsides:
- The CRI (color accuracy) is 81, about the same as a good compact fluorescent light. My reference Cree CR6 has a CRI of 90+
- Heavy! This isn’t a problem for typical recessed lights, but you might be surprised by just how massive this bulb is. You could not use this in a goose-neck lamp.
- That’s about it so far!
I haven’t done a lot of tests yet with the light so I can’t comment on durability or long term usage. But based on my initial tests, this is a “WOW” product!
Check them out at G7Power.com. And remember to use coupon code G7G7G7 for your discount.
Ted's Energy Tips 
Perhaps a recommendation for me too?
I have a dozen pots to replace in my home, but these use 50W PAR20s, not the more common PAR10’s or GU types. I’m finding it VERY difficult to find a direct replacement.
Everything I’ve tried so far is so much longer than the halogen that it extends out of the bottom of the pot. The Philips one I tried is maybe 1/2 to an entire inch longer! It’s not entirely ugly, but does anyone make one that’s short enough to remain semi-recessed in the pot like the halogen?
I find it ironic that there’s lots of 50W PAR15 and GU10 LEDs that fit perfectly, but not a PAR20, which is the same size as a normal light bulb and has more room to work with. You’d think it would be easier to make a 50W that fits into a PAR20 than a GU10, but I guess not…
Good question. I have noticed some PAR20 LED bulbs at my local Home Depot and even local hardware store but I’ve never tried them out for size. However, looking at the conventional PAR20’s, I can see that they are indeed quite short at 3.25″
Is this the Philips bulb you’ve tried? It’s 3.5″, so it would be a lot closer in size.
I see that this Philips is 3.9″ long, so maybe that’s the one you tried?
This CREE bulb looks promising. It’s only 3.4″ long.
This G7 PAR20 might just fit the bill! It’s listed as 3.25″. It’s shown as 480 lumens, somewhat less than the 550 lumens shown for the classical Sylvania halogen bulb. But given your size constraints, it might work out for your application. Certainly worth a look.
This Lemonbest bulb is specified at 3.3″ so it should be a very close match. Though, honestly, I usually try to dissuade people from buying bulbs that aren’t from the manufacturers of reliable LEDs: CREE, Philips and G7.
If you find something that works well, please come back and let us know. I’m sure others would like to share in your experience.
No, they definitely didn’t have that shorter Philips model at the store – I’m outside Toronto BTW. Ahhh, available only online, in 4-packs at $101! Hmmm. Xmas present to me, coming right up! Oh darn, you can’t seem to get the $5 off… I’ll have to call them.
“’It’s shown as 480 lumens, somewhat less than the 550 lumens shown”
So the one thing I’ve noticed so far is that a xxx lumens LED seems to be *much* brighter than a xxx lumen incandescent. I don’t know why this is, but I’m definitely not imagining it. Here, I took a picture:
http://maurysrandomproductreviews.wordpress.com/2013/12/05/leds-cree-and-ikea-ledare-60w-replacements/
I had 180W of old-skool in that fixture and now it’s 28W of LED, and WAY brighter. Not “oh, that’s nice, I like the extra light” brighter. No, more like “damb, it’s too early in the morning to be this” bright. I am *extremely* happy I bought these things.
Hey, great blog post/comparison 🙂
I suspect the brightness difference is due to the directionality of the LEDs Since they cast almost all their light within the forward cone.
I’ve also found a huge variation in the dimming ability of various brands. The G7’s and some of the CREE’s I’ve used allow dimming way down while some other brands or versions only go down to the 30% you noted. So many details they have to get right to really substitute for the incandescent bulbs people are used to!
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Hi Ted –
I ordered a couple of these (used your discount code – thanks). Installed one at home and really like the bright light! The other I have installed in a bulb display with dimmer switch here at the office. I agree with your positive comments. In fact, I have now ordered several more to install in can lights at home. Thanks for your helpful energy tips.
Glad you like them Jim – you’ve probably seen a lot of the new-tech bulbs, so your feedback is really useful.
I ordered another batch of them for a bunch of downlights and they continue to amaze me. I did receive one dead on arrival unit, and G7 has just said to send the bulb back for replacement and they’ll reimburse me for the shipping. So great product and support. That’s the type of business I like to deal with!