# CREE LED retrofits and luminaires



## Electric_Light (Apr 6, 2010)

http://www.creelighting.com/products.aspx

They are not boasting heavily on how it's better than fluorescent, almost no heat and some of the products have fairly good specs.

The LR6 with 650 lumen out the fixture lumen per 10.5W might surpass CFLs, 50,000hrs to 70% output

The LR24 is a replacement for some permanently installed fixtures in commercial buildings.

Warranty is quite weak. Only three years? You can't even rack up 50,000 hrs of use in 3 years. 

In comparison, warranty on fluorescent electronic ballasts are usually 5 years and extra long life 40,000 hour LAMPS are warranted for 4 years.

Longer claimed life, shorter warranty, much more expensive.


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## MarkyMark (Jan 31, 2009)

I like fluorescent lighting too. I also like rotary phones, VHS recorders, typewriters, and buggy whips.

We get it. You like spamming the forum with pro fluorescent lighting threads. Who do you work for again?


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I have a hard time recommending LED lighting to anyone, but two weeks ago I did put 6 CREE R-lamps in for a commercial customer. My own research led me to believe that CREE is the Cadillac brand. The lamps I put in were in a 2nd story overhang, and expensive for the customer to replace (labor-wise). Since they were more or less accent lighting, the reported lifespan of the LED lamps seemed like the right thing to do. 

I see that Phillips has some LED R-lamps out now too, and they look darned near identical to the CREE's I put in. Makes me wonder if the Phillips lamps aren't OEM'd by Cree.


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## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

Electric_Light said:


> [
> In comparison, warranty on fluorescent electronic ballasts are usually 5 years and extra long life 40,000 hour LAMPS are warranted for 4 years.


Wait, next you'll tell us that electronic ballasts are a reliable, robust product. :w00t:


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## MacroManage (Apr 29, 2010)

AFAIK, CREE is a type of LED, the upgrade from a Luxeon. 

I'm a bit of a flashlightaholic and upgraded most of my Surefires to CREE LEDs when they were available. Twice the output and twice the runtime is a nice upgrade :thumbsup:

EDIT: I looked it up and I'm wrong, as usual. Cree is a company.


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## rexowner (Apr 12, 2008)

I have put in a number of Cree cans. In fact, as I type
this, my desk is lit by the 4 LR6 cans in my office.

Hi-efficacy is required by California Energy code (Title
24), so legal options are often LED or Fluorescent.

I am not going to make a commercial for Cree, but
their specs (e.g. CRI, they are more efficient than
fluorescents) are excellent, and the product basically
works as advertised.

I have had a small number of the electronics in the
bulbs not work properly with certain dimmers. Not
a major problem, but it is worth installing the proper
dimmers, and as it is an imperfect "electronic" product,
there is some non-zero failure rate even with the right
dimmers (My guess is well less than 10%). 
Not enough to discourage me from
recommending them, but I have seen some of them
fail and not dim properly.

If price is not the primary consideration, I recommend
Cree. Not cheap, but after installing a bunch of them,
that's what I'm using.

The light quality is excellent. It's not incandescent,
but it is close enough and bright per watt.

Oh, and btw, make sure you order 2700K, not 3500K
color temp, unless you want bluish light.


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

MacroManage said:


> EDIT: I looked it up and I'm wrong, as usual. Cree is a company.


Cree is located near Durham, NC about 15 miles from my home. They are by far the forerunners in LED's and their stock is probably a good investment. They are always doing well.


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## Electric_Light (Apr 6, 2010)

MarkyMark said:


> I like fluorescent lighting too. I also like rotary phones, VHS recorders, typewriters, and buggy whips.
> 
> We get it. You like spamming the forum with pro fluorescent lighting threads. Who do you work for again?


This thread isn't pro fluorescent. I'm usually not pro LED, but this particular product looks promising.

At 51.5 lumens per watt(median value between initial performance claimed, and 70% output at end of life) , it seems low compared fluorescent, but when you consider the fixture loss, this is quite good. A naked Dulux D/E with electronic ballast yields about 60 lm/W, but when its actually put in a can and subtract the light that doesn't get out of the fixture. you're looking at 30-40 lumens per watt. 

Since LEDs are naturally directional, fixture loss is close to zero, this LED product actually looks feasible. It is worrisome that they sing 50,000 hours and only stand behind it for three years though at $80 a piece though.



rexowner said:


> If price is not the primary consideration, I recommend
> Cree. Not cheap, but after installing a bunch of them,
> that's what I'm using.


Even from price point, this one actually might be reasonable, as it includes the ballast/driver. The pin-based CFL, like Dulux D/E lasts around 10,000 hours and at $5 or so a piece and labor to re-lamp. The LR6 is available in pin-sockets(for section 24 compliance) as well as E26(medium base) for retrofit. If Cree was willing to offer 5 year warranty for products with installation comparable to re-lamping and 5 year parts+labor on permanent system (like LR24), I'm sold. 



> The light quality is excellent. It's not incandescent,
> but it is close enough and bright per watt.
> 
> Oh, and btw, make sure you order 2700K, not 3500K
> color temp, unless you want bluish light.


I wouldn't recommend either. Color temperature is personal preference more than anything, so this is where showroom and demo units are useful, so letting the customer see it before committing will ensure better satisfaction for both of you.

2700K is the common CFL CCT, though 3000 and 3500K CFLs can be found commonly these days. 
3500K is what they often describe as "bright white".


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## jmole (Apr 28, 2010)

I was just checking out CREE's website. They will be at the Lightfair International in Vegas this month from the 12th thru the 14th, in case anyone wants to check out their new products in person.


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