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Which LED floodlight should you hang overhead?
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Plenty of homes keep things lit using overhead floodlights in recessed lighting setups. BR30-shaped bulbs like those are ideal for overhead lighting because they cast all of their light downwards, thanks to the "bulging reflectors" that make up the "BR" of BR30.
If you're looking to upgrade bulbs like those, or if you've just had one burn out on you recently, then the answer is almost certainly to go with an LED, where your choices are on the rise as prices continue to fall. But which one should you go with?
The answer will depend on what you need out of your lights, but the good news is that you've got a lot of good options. All you need to do is sort through them to find the best light for your living space -- and hey, that's where I come in!
First things first: How much should I spend?
Like I said before, prices have fallen pretty steadily over the past few years, with most dimmable LED floodlights settling in the $5 to $8 price range. That's great, since swapping in an LED for a 65W incandescent will knock an average of about $7 per year off of your energy bill. That means it won't take very long at all for any of these LEDs to pay for themselves in energy savings.
Given how many options you have for $8 or less, I really don't think you should spend any more than that per bulb unless you've got a really good reason. Also, keep an eye out for multi-packs. Manufacturers use them to help bring down the cost per bulb without having to sacrifice too much on quality, so they can be a very good deal on some very good LEDs, especially if you need multiple bulbs anyway.
Dimmable 65W Replacement LEDs
Cree GE GE Reveal Osram Sylvania Philips Target Up & Up Walmart Great Value
Brightness in lumens (measured/stated) 655 / 665 810 / 700 711 / 650 641 / 650 639 / 650 624 / 650 669 / 650
Energy consumption 8 watts 10 watts 11 watts 9 watts 9 watts 10 watts 10 watts
Efficiency (lumens per watt) 82 81 65 71 71 62 67
Yearly energy cost (3 hours of use per day at $0.11 per kWh) $0.96 $1.20 $1.32 $1.08 $1.08 $1.20 $1.20
Color temperature Soft White (2,621 K) Soft White (2,673 K) Soft White (2,693 K) Soft White (2,805 K) Soft White (2,669 K) Soft White (2,699 K) Soft White (2,618 K)
Dimmable Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Dimmable range 2.7 - 99.9% 10.4 - 100% 0.6 - 100% 0.0 - 100% 0 - 100% 0 - 99.5% 21.1 - 100%
Expected lifespan 25,000 hours 25,000 hours 15,000 hours 10,000 hours 10,000 hours 25,000 hours 25,000 hours
Warranty 10 years 5 years 5 years 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years
Average price per bulb $8 $7 $13 $5 $5 $8 $7
OK, so what are my options?
I've tested several LED floodlights over the years, and I tested several more for this roundup, including brand-name options from the likes of Cree, GE, and Philips, as well as store-brand bulbs from Walmart and Target. I honed in on dimmable, soft white-toned, 65W replacement LEDs since those are the most popular option, but if you want something nondimmable or daylight-tinted, you'll find bulbs like those, too.
No matter what you pick, you'll want to look for a bulb that puts out at least 650 lumens of brightness from a power draw of 10 watts or less.
At this point, ask yourself what you want from your lights. Is brightness the most important thing? Dimmability? Color quality? Do you just want the cheapest acceptable option? No matter your answer, I've got a bulb for you.
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