Philips 818530 Ambient LED 4 Watt Gu10 Base MR16 Indoor Flood Soft White

Comment: I have watched LED bulbs for a while and while this bulb could be brighter (it should be closer to 200 lumens), it does deliver an acceptable color and usable brightness. The color matches very well against a new halogen. For those in the previous review that are waiting for the other halogens to burn out before replacement completely miss the point. The waist is in the power used by halogens. It could easily cost you $30 in electricity costs (the full cost of a LED replacement) while you wait for the halogen to burn out. If it makes sense to replace an inefficient bulb, then waiting for it to burn out first is not very smart. The payback is good, so switch asap. This bulbs life is rated at 16000 hours. 16000/1000 * 4 watts * .15cents per kwatt = $10 in electric bill. Total cost is $30 + $10 = $40. For the halogen. 2000/1000 * 35 * .15 cents per kwatt = $10 of electricity cost per bulb, but you then need to by 8 of them to be the same as the LED. $5 per bulb, + $10 of electricity x 8 = $120 to use a halogen bulb. So, $40 vs $120. Global warming or not, its time for halogens to go. At least 35 watt and less halogens. 50watt halogen replacements are not quite here yet.

Negatives Summery:
- The life rating on this bulb could also be better. I would expect it to be closer to 50k hours. 16k hours is poor.
- The although it visually looks close to a 35 watt halogen, the lumens/watt on this bulb could be better. There are better bulbs out there if you can find them, but they are just not as available as this one.

Positive:
- Good warm color.
- Good smooth light pattern.
- saves a lot of $ despite the $30 price tag.

- Usable brightness.

Comment: I bought one of these at Home Depot for $30 two weeks ago. I just needed one replacement 35 watt GU10 for a 5-light bar on the kitchen ceiling that has directional lighting from each frosted glass canister. The middle light had burned out so I saw these at HD and wanted to try one.

If I hadn't had a gift card, I probably would not have bought it because the price is a little hard to swallow when you can get a regular 35 watt GU10 replacement bulb for $5.

After installing...WOW! It has the light output of a true 35 watt GU10. I can't figure out why or how it works but it just does. It was a perfect replacement with the perfect amount of light to belong with the four other regular GU10's in the directional light bar.

Like other reviewers have said, it looks somewhat cold in the frosted glass surrounding it...but unless your staring at the ceiling, no one will notice or care. I plan to replace them one at a time with the Philips AmbientLED's as the other standard GU10 lights burn out. The reason is that I paid $50 for the fixture and at $30 per LED, the bulbs will be worth more than ceiling fixture itself after the 2nd one I purchase.

Great product and I highly recommend!

I will update this review in 10 years to let you know if the light actually lasts that long ;-)

Comment: I bought it from Home Depot today for 29.97+Tax. I totally agree with another reviewer that if you look at the bulb directly it seems compared to a traditional GU10 Halogen Bulb still very "cold", especially if there is a frosted glass fitting around the bulb for effects, and therefore you should only replace all bulbs at the same time.

BUT most important: The light reflected at the surfaces is totally warm and almost not to be recognized as coming from LED!

Why? I have no clue, it does not make sense to me, but it's the best bulb in terms of coming close to the "original" and deserving the name Warm White that I have seen so far, and I have tried about 35 Bulbs from vendors across US, Europe and China claiming all below 3000k!

AND one more benefit not like most other LED-Bulbs that claim to replace a 20W or 35W or even 50W traditional bulb, it is really totally equal to a 35W.

Comment: I bought one at Home Depot today for $30 to try out in an Ikea light fixture next to the existing 35W halogens and a couple other models of LED GU-10 bulbs.

This bulb works well and puts out a nice color of light. The other reviewer claiming it appears blue next to the halogens is partially correct: The light cast off to the sides in the fixture and on the edge of its flood beam is cooler (blueish when seen next to any incandescent bulb). The majority of the actual focused light is a nice warm color and is not out of place with the halogen beams.

Are there warmer GU-10 LED bulbs? yes, but they may be harder to find. The benefit of this bulb is the Philips brand and chances of finding these in retail stores. For a warmer similarly bright GU10 base LED bulb take a look at: [...]

Comment: If you look at the back of the package, it claims to be in the "warm white" color range (~3000K), but when put in a fixture next to regular halogens it's as blue white as ice.

So, a decent bulb otherwise and probably fine if you replace all your halogens at once, but don't get it thinking you can add it into the mix.