Buying LEDs has put me in a more cautious mood when buying the lamps however. PAR20 LEDs cost around $25 compared to $5-10 for their Halogen counterparts. They also last around 20 years so you want lamps that you are happy with. We have tried four different lamps in a dark hallway of our studio with vivid pieces of art.
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Philips - R20 LED |
The Philips R20 is everyone's least favorite. It is very dim and has an unexpected blue tint for its 3000k color rating. The lamp is also quite long and sticks out of the standard fixture for PAR20 lamps.
GE - PAR20 LED |
We tried the GE PAR20 in two different color temperatures. The 2700k has a warmer light than the 3000k which is bright white. Of the two, most liked the 2700k light better. That said, the light has as pink tint to it rather than yellow that is associated with incandescent lamps. It very pleasant and was my favorite until we tried the Philips PAR20 LED.
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Philips - PAR20 Led |
There are a few reasons, this lamp is our favorite. The main being its shape. We were all very excited about the GEs but there are a lot of fixtures that they do not fit in. The Philips PAR20 is so close to the shape of the halogen it is replacing, that is even fits into wire clip fixtures that used to be so popular with track lighting. The color is also a beautiful yellow with a nice halo around the lighted surface. Compared to MR16s, that are often used to light artwork, the LED PARs have such a smooth transition from light to dark that I think many people will prefer them.
Purchase LED replacements as your incandescent lamps burn out, and you will be making any easy start to greater energy efficiency and lower bills. In our area of Northern California, the payback for switching to a LED PAR20 lamp is about one year when used 4 hours a day. Over the lifetime of the lamp, you will save around $400 in lower energy usage and lamp replacement. That's even if the price of energy does not increase within the next 20 years.
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