I installed 3 Philips Hue bulbs in my porch for Halloween and made this walkthrough video of the iMakeStuff Hue Halloween app. There are 3 recessed fixtures above the porch with densely frosted white lenses and the Hues worked great. The Hues are color changing, RGB LED, edison base bulbs, and they can be controlled by ZigBee.
Recessed LED Retrofit For My Shower
After completing the Ultimate 6 Inch Recessed Lighting LED Shootout, I decided to replace the recessed light in my shower. The Halo was the most expensive of the bunch, but it fared well on brightness, energy usage, and turn-on time. The box the Halo shipped in mentioned it was Shower Ready, rated for wet and damp installation, and generally had the best design for a wet location.
In it went, and what a difference, going from a CFL behind a frosted glass lens to the Halo LED made! It’s almost too bright, I won’t complain though, it helps me wake up in the morning.
GE Helical 13 Watt CFL with Shower Lens
Halo 6 in White LED Recessed Light – 28.73 at Amazon
Ultimate 6 Inch Recessed Lighting LED Shootout
Blah
| Brand | Commercial Electric | Halo | Ecosmart | Sylvania | Utilitech |
| Model | CER6741-X | RL560WH-R | ECO-575L | LED RT6 | DLS02-61327D1E-WF1 |
| Price as Tested | $39.96 | $49.97 | $34.97 | $39.98 | $25.98 |
| Brightness | 695 Lumens | 600 Lumens | 575 Lumens | 700 Lumens | 800 Lumens |
| Color Temperature | 3000 K | 3039 K | 2700 K | 3000 K | 2700 K |
| Color Accuracy | 83 CRI | 83 CRI | 90 CRI | 82 CRI | 82 CRI |
| Wattage | 11 Watts | 9.4 Watts | 9.5 Watts | 11 Watts | 13 Watts |
| Warranty | 3 Yr | 3 Yr | 3 Yr | 5 Yr | 5 Yr |
| Dimmable | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| AirTight Rated | Y | Y | N | N | Has Gasket |
| Wet Location Rated | Y | Y | Y | Y | Damp Only |
| Turn On Time | Very Long | Near Instant | Instant | Long | Instant |
| Mounting Depth | Shallow | Medium | Deepest | Deep | Shallow |
| Trim Ring Size | Large | Small | Medium | Large | Large |
Blah Blah
Teaser: Picked Up A Few LED Fixtures To Test
Just heading home to test out a few new fixtures, had to post a picture.
Review: Philips DS1155 Speaker Dock for iPhone 5
While shopping at Target last night for Tootsie Roll Caramel Apple Lollipops, the one thing I went in to get, I walked by the iPhone dock isle. I’m not really interested in iPhone docks, nor have I purchased one before. The only one to perk my interest over the years were the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air
Philips DS1155 Speaker Dock for iPhone 5
Now that it’s on my nightstand, here are my thoughts on it:
The packaging: It’s exactly what you’d expect from Philips, a cardboard box with the dock wrapped in foam and slid into some wings to center it in the box.
The hardware: Once unwrapped the fit/finish is very nice, the speaker grill is flush to the body, and the clock is invisible when its off. The only ports are the Lightning dock connector, a USB port, on the back and the small power adapter input from the wall wart (which only covers one outlet due to its horizontal orientation). The wood control panel looks great but is not touch sensitive as it looks, it has 4 physical buttons with a solid click when pressed. Clock (3 levels of dimming), light (off/low/high), volume up, and volume down. I plugged it in and placed my phone in the dock, it fit perfectly even with my case (a Tech21 D3O Impact
The sound: If i had to guess the dock would have a few 1″ laptop speakers under the grill. That’s exactly what it sounds like. It sounds like the highs are rolled off over ~6kHz and lows are rolled off under 150Hz. Whats left plays loud and without distortion up to volume level 20 (whatever that translates to). It was loud enough to hear in multiple rooms on the same floor of my house. I’d actually like to see what the frequency response looks like from this dock to confirm my suspicions.
The lighting: Honestly this is perfect, the amber LED clock has 3 dimming levels, almost off, a bit brighter, and perfect. The nightlight can be off, warm glow from under the clock, and I can make out the other items on my nightstand. It is completely unobtrusive and the amber LEDs in the clear ring under the dock make it appear to float at night.
Overall: I think this is a great dock for $70. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another for any other bedroom. The design is great and it feels like a quality product. The sound matches the price even though it could be better if they put as much into that as the aesthetics.
Garage Exterior Lighting
Update (12/29/16): Cree has changed the standard bulb to the plastic FlowForm version. This does not have the weather resistance offered by the original bulb. You can find the older 75w (13.5w) version here:
One of the very first lighting changes I made to my house was to replace the 13 Watt GE Helical CFLs on the front of my garage with the new Cree 9 Watt Daylight LED Light Bulbs. When I moved into the house I left these lights on 24/7, and there was concern about the power draw from leaving the lights on all time, causing me to look into LED replacements. I quickly searched the web for “best LED light bulb” and stumbled upon the Cree’s. I found one review that said they were the best, and I already knew they were selling for the lowest price at roughly $10 per bulb.
The name Cree is synonymous with high quality LED lighting, they build the diodes found in most high-end flashlights, and light engines for most professional stage lighting. Now with their foray into consumer lighting they’ve proven themselves again. These bulbs turn on instantly, are dimmable, a have very high CRI (90 or greater) ratings powered by the Cree TrueWhite® technology.
Long story short, I stopped by Home Depot, who happens to be the exclusive retailer of Cree bulbs, and picked some up. I installed them and the change blew me away. I use to be able to make out the driveway at night, now the driveway is fully illuminated and part of the street is too. No holds barred, I think these are the best screw in LED bulb money can buy right now. If you’re looking for a screw in replacement you can stop, just buy these.
GE Helical CFL on the Left vs Cree 9 Watt Daylight LED Bulb
After Replacing Both Bulbs with the Cree Daylight LED Bulb, Garage Lights On For Color Temperature Comparison
Review: Meridian LED Nightlight
I’d love to write a review on this nightlight but I’ll illustrate why I can’t below.
- It’s awesome.
- It works as designed. e.g. Turns on when its dark, uses LEDs to save energy, and projects cool, ever changing patterns on the wall.
- It’s a great conversation piece.
- They no longer make it.
They do however make a very similar nightlight you can find here: Meridian Nebula Projection Night Light
Install: How To Replace A Fixture
So you’ve decided to make the jump, you went out and picked up a brand new LED fixture and you’re ready to install it. What now? Well it probably came with instructions that you already placed in the trash, so I’ll try cover the main points.
Disclaimer: This guide is not meant to be a substitute for common sense or the manual that came with the fixture, use those first. I am not a licensed electrician.