re: Utilitech LED lightbulb reviews?

i think thats it.

for the uninitiated, the housing appears to have that 'stairstep' trim look to it as opposed to the smooth for the cree. i like both, so i think its a personal preference as to which you prefer.

the first review seemed to give the cree a slight edge.

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Over the last two years I have replaced 37 recessed lights with this type of LED downlight because I was tired of the warm up period with the CFL bulbs and these are also a bit more efficient than CFL bulbs (~10W vs. 15W). I also live in Utah where there is a $20 rebate per fixture available through the power company which makes the ROI on these very favorable.
During the conversion, I used 5 different types of these lights in different areas of the house which I would rank as follows:

-Ecosmart 575L, made by Cree (my rating = 5/5 stars)
-GE 14812 (4/5 stars)
-These Sylvania 73194 (4/5 stars)
-TCP RL12DR6527K (3/5 stars)
-Ecosmart ECS DN6 W27 E26 120 (2/5 stars)

These lights were pretty good but the Ecosmart/Cree lights look a little bit better and are easier to install. The GE lights are more efficient and also cost less which makes them the best value in my opinion.

The only issue I had with these lights was that they weren't as easy to get snugged up to the ceiling because the springs were kind of weak. I was able to bend the springs or use the springs from the trim I was replacing but out of the box the springs aren't strong enough to hold up the weight of the light. I've read that you can buy stronger springs but that is unacceptable for a product in this price range.

Durability-wise, I've had these installed for almost a year and haven't had any issues and they still look good. Two are installed outside on the patio, one in the shower and three in the bathroom outside the shower so humidity and weather haven't been a problem.

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