Any good LED bulbs that replicate incandescent?

As most people, I’ve seen all incandescent bulbs at home replaced by LEDs.

Whenever I find a lamp with incandescent or halogen bulb I feel like they give a better light that makes me feel calm and comfortable.

I thought it was me obsessing over it but the other night I turned on the lights of the stairs that go to my basement and I immediately noticed how the light was gorgeous.

Exactly, it had been changed for an incandescent.

Now I’m just wondering if I am forced to choose between a pleasant light and efficiency. I now pay attention to all kind of LEDs around and no matter the temp in K (I’ve seen 2700ish maybe I need even lower?), they are just not pleasant.

But maybe there are other things to take into consideration, like CRI, or electronics that mimic how incandescent work.

TLDR: So I guess the question is, do you know any LED bulbs that mimic an incandescent or gives the same pleasant light or such a thing doesn’t exist? Is CRI important for that? What temp should I be looking for?

You are not alone. The vast majority of dissatisfaction stems from seeing static LEDs NOT change color temperature as they dim. Example: An incandescent bulb starts at 2700k and gets to be approximately 1800k at its dimmest. However, most LED’s are static meaning that if it’s 3000k at its brightest it will also be 3000k at its dimmest. That dimmed bulb looks simply wrong at that color temp. How do we counteract that? Basically look for LED bulbs that are “warm dimming” or “warm glow”… they mimic that color temperature shift (aka “the black body radiation curve”) and can in most cases reproduce an incandescent or halogen look (some better than others).

Hope that helps.

  • I’m a lighting designer

@Mica
Thanks for the guidance op, I did not consider that

@Mica
Thank you so much!

What about CRI? Is 90+ something to look for or normal 80 is enough? I’ve heard that incandescent is almost 100, almost like natural, while LED can be lower than 80, making colors look bad. But I don’t know if it makes such a difference.

@Presley
Almost everything is above 85cri these days. Most people can’t see the difference between that and 90 unless they are directly comparing.

Mica said:
@Presley
Almost everything is above 85cri these days. Most people can’t see the difference between that and 90 unless they are directly comparing.

Thank you for this thread; it gave me a eureka moment

This is why everything looks so wrong to me.

I have verifiably sensitive color vision (to the point where “adjusting my eyes to the dark” takes much longer than the average person, due [I think] to the relative imbalance between cones and rods in my eyes) and I can always tell when colors “are off”

I can color match paint like a machine; i also seem to see the subtle differences in color more vividly than the average person — I have to take my paintings outside and/or shine different lights on them sometimes to make other people see some of the weird color-things in my paintings.

After doing a deep dive into CRI, it explains SO MUCH about why so many colors have felt “slightly off” since the ubiquitous switch to LED — they literally are

@Mica
Given your experience level, it would be most appreciated if we could get your recommendation for a dimmable LED light that best mimics the warm look of incandescent lights. I am having a horrible time with this and I have spent far too much time on it thus far. Thank you in advance!

@Zeke
What form factor/type of bulb? Please be specific.

Mica said:
@Zeke
What form factor/type of bulb? Please be specific.

Well, the lights that I have been using that I am trying to find a good replacement for are these - https://www.lowes.com/pd/SYLVANIA-65-Watt-Dimmable-BR30-Flood-Incandescent-Light-Bulb-6-Pack/3388182 . I hope this provides you with the particulars, but if not, please let me know.

@Zeke
For clients I recommend LTF’s PAR30 warm dimming.

If you need help sourcing, please DM me.

Best,

Andrew

@Mica
Thanks very much for the tip. I took your advice and purchased these LTF PAR30s from Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BJ1CX71?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

They should be delivered soon.

@Zeke
Those are not LTF bulbs. Those are unfortunately no-name Amazon.

@Mica
what does your job entail?

Kingsley said:
@Mica
what does your job entail?

assess homes & commercial spaces and put together detailed plans and equipment schedules for lighting fixtures and their control systems based on input from the client. Liaise w/ architects, interior designers, electrical contractors, and GCs.

@Mica
That’s so cool, how’d did you get into that

Kingsley said:
@Mica
That’s so cool, how’d did you get into that

started out in engineering, then got my degree in industrial/product design. Computer skills made me ideal for lighting in film animation/visualFX. That got boring and lighting design for spaces became an excellent option to start as a business and have as my career 2.0.

@Mica
Given your experience, a similar request along similar lines that I think a lot of people would also like: I tend to like the cluster of 100 w incandescent bulbs (a chandelier) in my larger entryway in my house. It gives a warm welcoming feeling when people come in but is also very useful from a security perspective. Last bulb recently went out, but everything looks to be standard socket size. Anything you would recommend?

@Nuri
For warm dimming LED A19 bulbs I like Emery Allen.

Mica said:
@Nuri
For warm dimming LED A19 bulbs I like Emery Allen.

Thank you!

OP, did you ever find LED bulbs that you liked? I’m kind of in the same boat. I very much dislike the feel of LEDs (which emit a very harsh (hideous in my mother’s words) light, compared to the pleasant, comfortable light of an incandescent). I also dislike the pulsing nature of LEDs on AC power (I don’t know if I’m more sensitive to this than most, but I can sense the flashing on and off, particular when looking at motion in LED lighting).

I’ve got a couple of lights in one room that are (iirc) billed as “warm white,” and are 2100k. If I look directly at the bulb, the light seems like it would be the same as a standard soft white incandescent, but the way it shines or reflects on surfaces makes to seem way more orange and harsh.