Vu1 Light Bulb Review

I mentioned in other posts, here and here, that a new light bulb was coming on the market from Vu1. I have now received and tested these ESL (Electron Stimulated Luminescence) lamps in recessed downlight fixtures in my own kitchen for about two months.

I am delighted to report that these lamps are very nicely made and provide great dimmable light that is very close to incandescent. The light compares very favorably with the other LED, incandescent and CFL lamps in my kitchen. In fact, I like them just as much as the incandescent, which will soon be obsolete and unavailable. The LED (a CREE LR6) and CFL fall short for various reasons, but I keep them around for comparison's sake.

I ordered eight of these lamps at $19.95 each from Vu1. I kept four for myself and passed on the other four to local designers to get their feedback.

Three went to local interior designers who have told me that they are very pleased with their performance and color rendering.

I sent the fourth to the renowned San Francisco lighting designer Randall Whitehead, who is the person who first gave me an inkling about Vu1. Randall mentioned the company last year during a seminar he was presenting. Intrigued I investigated. I have been closely following the company ever since.

Here is Randall's take:


CFL to ESL…introducing the first mercury free fluorescent

After many years of waiting patiently, I am now holding in my hands a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) that is mercury free. I've been following the development of these lamps by the VU1 Corporation for around three years now. I've been pretty excited about the possibility, but the actual production date kept getting pushed back. Now it is finally available to consumers.
I think that this is a huge step in the right direction.

Note: I keep using the word "lamp", which in the lighting industry means "light bulb", just to be clear.

Officially they are calling it an ESL (electron stimulated luminescence) lamp. I figure that's to separate their products from fluorescents in general. That's A-OK by me. The first type of lamp they have released onto the market is an R30, which is a very popular lamp for recessed fixtures and track fixtures. Even though it's a lamp that I don't use very often in my design, I can see where it makes sense for it to be the first one to be introduced.

This lamp offers 65 watts worth of illumination for 19.5 watts worth of energy usage. The color of the light is very incandescent (2800° Kelvin) which I think is a good thing. The front of the lamp is made of a thick glass, which when screwed into a recessed fixture or track light looks very much like the reflector lamps that we're all used to seeing. From the side it has a plastic collar on it which I feel gives it a little more durability. It says right on the collar mercury free and disposable. It can go right in the trash. Yeah!

The lamp is dimmable as well. I tried it out on a number of dimmers, including the cheapest one I could find and it really seemed to be doing a fine job at dimming. The lamp has a rated light of 11,000 hours which is a 1000 hours more than a standard CFL. I won't really be able to personally verify this for another 10,000 hours or so.

It also shows on the box that it is UL listed. Also a good sign. The one thing I noticed that surprised me is how hot the lamp gets. It warms up like incandescent lamp, much more than I'm used to with the standard CFL's.

If you want to learn more about this lamp go to www.VU1.com. They have a video you can watch. I do believe that this lamp is a valuable addition to the emerging category of earth friendly, energy-efficient light sources.

Randall Whitehead is a nationally recognized lighting designer and author. You can follow him on twitter @RDWlighting and on his blog http://randallwhiteheadslightingsolutions.blogspot.com/


Thank you Randall. I too remain excited about Vu1's potential. I just received notice that they have applied for UL Approval for their new A19 lamp (the old familiar Edison bulb shape), which is due out in August and projected to be $10-12.

In the meantime, if you would like to try the Vu1 R30 lamp in one or more of your existing 6" screw-in type recessed fixtures: go to Destination Lighting and buy one. If you buy three, shipping is free!

Please let me know what you think of them.

Peggy

10/20/11

An update on my testing of Vu1's R30 lamps:

Two, that I placed in 4" recessed cans, burned out after a few months of use.

Please make sure that you place these lightbulbs only in 5-1/2 or 6" recessed fixtures. The 4" fixture does not have enough room around the lightbulb for heat dissipation. My bad. It says so right on the box.

Also, Vu1 has just signed an agreement with a Chinese lighting manufacturer, Huayi Lighting Company Ltd., who produced the lighting for the 2008 Olympics famed "Birdnest Stadium", to produce all of their lightbulbs. They estimate release of the first Chinese-made products in January 2012.

Peggy

Q & A On Recycling Used Cabinets

Q.

Peggy,

Greetings! I purchased a gorgeous, custom-made kitchen from a home and missed the fact that the cabinets were glued at the fronts, between the different cabinet units, as well as screwed.

How can I get them apart at the fronts without ruining the cabinets?

Can I attach a straight-edge as a guide and run a fine carbide blade in my saw, along the glue seam and cut them apart? I am not worried about the 1/8 or so of an inch that I will lose to the blade-cut.

Should I try a vinegar or some other kind of solvent to try and lessen the grip of the glue? I have seen that, although it does not disolve the glue, it weakens it and the cabinets can be pulled apart.

Heat?

I wanted to re-purpose this fine kitchen, but have run into a snag. I am not sure if you are the right person to ask this question, but I am hoping that you will be able to direct me to someone who has been re-purposing others' kitchens. It is important to me to be as green as I can be.....I have run into a snag.........

Please advise.

Sheri

A.

Hi Sheri,

What a snafu!
You poor kid!
That's a beautiful set of cabinets and certainly worth saving if you can do it.

It's REALLY unusual to see cabinets glued together as you describe.
Normally installers just clamp and screw them together.

Are you certain that they are separate cabinets?
Custom cabinetmakers usually build face-frame type cabinets in "runs" to cut down on face frame material.
You can tell for sure by looking under the wall cabinets to see if they are individual cabinets (you've probably already done that, but just to be sure).

Assuming they are separate cabinets glued together; cutting them apart with a VERY fine blade is possibly workable. Fine blades tend to wander more than heavier ones, so you'll have to be very careful to set up a good jig to keep the saw blade cutting straight. The glue in the seam will also make the blade want to wander to the softer wood on either side.

If you don't get perfectly straight cuts, then the cabinets won't reassemble well, unless you are putting them back exactly the same as they are.

Looks like full-overlay hinges too. So you'd better check the door swing by opening two back to back doors to see how much room there is between them when open, and whether they need all of the room between them to operate freely.

If you can't cut them apart as we have proposed, with straight edges and enough room for the hinges to operate; just cut them apart and build new face frames and finish them and replace them. Face frames are pretty easy to build. Just a matter of matching the wood and stain and finish. They are mostly hidden behind the doors anyway. Or a kindly cabinetmaker could help.

You are probably dealing with a carpenter's wood glue, or "Elmer's". That stuff cures out like stone. I don't know of anything that will soften or remove it myself, especially when it's in a seam. A good paint store is where I would go to ask that question, but I think it's futile.

Hope that helps, and good luck with your cabinet recycling.

Peggy

Q & A On Fluorescent Uplighting

Q.

Dear Ms Deras:
I have a question about one of the issues you discussed on your web page "http://www.kitchenartworks.com/lighting.htm" about Kitchen Lighting Guidelines.

I came across your web page while doing some research about the use of fluorescent fixtures on top of cabinets. I had planned to place some fluorescent fixtures on top of some cabinets in a combination Kitchen/Dining Area, aiming for an indirect lighting effect.

However, on the instructions that came with these GE light fixtures, is this warning:

"Warning: Risk of Fire: Not intended for "Up-Light" applications where fixture is mounted horizontal with the lens facing up."

That led me to try to find out
(a) why this would be a fire risk, and how serious a risk is it, and
(b) if there is some kind of light I could buy that doesn't carry this warning and "is" safe for this type of installation.

Can you shed any ... um... "light" on these issues? Your website is, so far, the only place I've found that discusses putting lights on top of the cabinets---which seemed to me like a great idea.

Regards,

Phill

A.

Interesting Phill. That's a new one on me. I have been specifying just standard T8 and T5 fluorescent fixtures on top of cabinets for decades. Maybe GE has seen some problems with this, but I certainly haven't. I don't actually buy or specify the fixtures though. The electrician on the job does that. I rely on them to buy the best for the application in a generic product like this.

I would contact GE and ask them what fixtures they recommend for uplighting on top of your cabinets. They may point you to fixtures that are designed to be mounted facing up.

Here's an example from Pegasus Lighting. It can be mounted any which way:

Peggy

Q & A on Recessed Can Lights

Q.

Hi - I came across your site in trying to find answers about LED recessed lighting and thought I would take the chance and email you, I hope that is OK. (Before wasting your time, I am in New York, and understand that you are in SF, so I'll be blunt - I doubt that you will be making money by answering these questions! I will understand if you do not answer. :-)

I have questions to do with a residential remodel project and thought I would come to the experts - you - rather than relying on all of the conflicting answers I have had from local lighting stores & designers!

I am looking at installing remodel recessed lighting throughout the house and would like to be energy efficient - and use LED not CFL.

it seems there are three solutions...(at least 3 different people have told me three different things...)

(1) use low voltage cans - (approx $50) each with LED bulbs (approx $30 each) - total $80 per unit

(2) use regular cans (approx $40 each) with retrofit LED modules (approx $90 each) - total $130 per unit

(3) use dedicated remodel LED cans with integral bulb - approx $230 each

What is your advice please - I'd hate to spend $80 * 40 ($3200) units and have a bad solution, equally I'd hate to spend $230 * 40 units ($9,200) if there is a cheaper option!
Regards,

Mick

A.

Hi Mick,

You don't specify brands here so I can only speak in generalities.
If I were you (and not knowing anything about code requirements there), I would choose option 2.

My reason is this: Installing regular cans will give you more options down the road.
For instance: You might want to try the new Vu1 R30 lamps instead of LEDs.

There will be a number of new products coming out in the near future that I can not even imagine. Most will be designed to directly replace incandescent 65 watt lamps. If you can stick with that kind of fixture you will more likely be able to try them all.

You can always send me a check if you think my advice is worthwhile Mick. Good work is good work, no matter where it is performed. :-)

NOTE: Here in California we must use GU-24 base sockets, and lamps with a special base to fit them, in remodels and new construction (Existing screw-in base fixtures are grandfathered). CA Title 24 mandates occupancy sensors and/or dimmers and/or high-efficacy lights. I don't think you're there yet in New York.

Peggy