Can I replace 70W incandescent bulbs with 15W (100W equiv) LED bulbs?

[sixdogs]

My wife has a chair lamp that has a maximum rating of two 70W bulbs. Incandescent bulbs. Is there any reason I couldn't use two 15W LED bulbs that are "100W equivalent"? The 15W LED's are 1600 lumen out put and the 70W ones we now have in the lamp are 1140 lumens.

Seems I would be fine and the only issue would be heat output on the shade. But since I think LED's put out way less heat output, that should be OK as well. All this may be basic to those that know, but I've only recently come over to the LED side. Can I do this?

 

[Diggin It]

As I understood those 'maximum' ratings, they were for heat output under the shades or in the sockets to prevent melting or discoloring. LEDs put out nearly no heat at all in that size so I don't see a problem.

One thing though, you may find that they're actually brighter than you think and you may find 7W units to be more than enough.

 

[sixdogs]

As I understood those 'maximum' ratings, they were for heat output under the shades or in the sockets to prevent melting or discoloring. LEDs put out nearly no heat at all in that size so I don't see a problem.

One thing though, you may find that they're actually brighter than you think and you may find 7W units to be more than enough.

Thank you. Brighter is what I'm going for.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Have done similar here. Brighter is better. There are different light spectrums on the various bulbs. Daylight is preferred here for a “brighter” light. Nice thing about the new bulb letting us get more light and use less electricity and less heat.

 

[Oldoak]

sixdogs, No problem at all with what you want to do. And Redlands noted the advantages of doing so.

I have been doing exactly the same over the last two years until all of our bulbs are LEDs and much brighter than the original bulbs.

 

[RNeumann]

Much the same as above. LEDs are DC voltage and your house current is AC. Most of the heat is in the transformer. You will notice some bulbs have aluminum fins on them to help dissipate that heat. But in your case it will be fine.
Kelvin is the “color” of the light. “Daylight” is around 3500k. Softer light is is 2500k-3000k and above 4000k starts to look blue to some. Below about 2600k and you you get into the yellow/orange range.
If you want your mind blown read up on light color and your circadian rhythm. Getting the brightest, bluest light for your home or “read” before bed may not be the best idea. However, if it’s your shop or office bright blue light is good. Bottom line- blue bright light = awake and orange/low light = sleep. Just don’t overdo it.....she won’t come to bed!

 

[dmccarty]

Do pay attention to the lumen and color. I found some R30 LED bulbs on the get it cheap table so I bought them.

Danged lights have a very harsh color and the family made comments as soon as I installed one of the bulbs. The bulb would be ok in a workshop and I don't mind it in the kitchen because it is bright but in other rooms it is a bit much.

Later,
Dan

 

[newbury]

If you are concerned about heat output check it!

I've been using some "socket splitters", up to 5 bulbs from one socket. I put in 4 LED bulbs, 8.5 W each, 36W total pumping out about 3200 lumens total.
Checked the heat and it was a lot cooler than 1 60 watt bulb, as expected.
/edit for your application try some of the 16 watt LED's (equivalent to 100 watt incandescent) they can really light up your life!

 

[California]

My wife has a chair lamp that has a maximum rating of two 70W bulbs. Incandescent bulbs. Is there any reason I couldn't use two 15W LED bulbs that are "100W equivalent"?

... the only issue would be heat output on the shade. ... Can I do this?

The Watts ratings are the heat output. So two LEDs that draw 15 watts each will make a lot less heat than the original two 70 watt bulbs. You'll be fine.

Others have mentioned light output color. In addition to daylight or incandescent 'colors' rated in K, some of the cheapest bulbs have awful color.

There is an additional specification Color Rendering Ability to measure this.

From a Google search:
====
The higher the CRI, the better the color rendering ability. Light sources with a CRI of 85 to 90 are considered good at color rendering. Light sources with a CRI of 90 or higher are excellent at color rendering
====

 

[sixdogs]

Very informative thread. I only had slight knowledge of the color issues but on checking found we had an assortment of ranges. Plan now is to avoid bright in that reading light and go for a softer tone. Light will still be brighter than the two 40W but not so much s to be annoying is my thinking.