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[KingSparta]

I have had some LED track lighting for quite a few years, but Yesterday I ordered my first house hold LED 100 watt equivalent (I had converted to CFL bulbs maybe 5 or 6 years ago). I hate the warm up time Of the CFL bulbs.

they are made by Cree 

CREE-16050OMF2  Dimmable LED - 18 Watt - A21 - 100 Watt Equal - 1600 Lumens - 5000K Stark White - 120 Volt - Cree BA21-16050OMF

4-Each - $18.87ea - Total $75.48

they are some of the most expensive lights I have ever bought.

[Matt]

I say good for you!

I went through a kick getting rid of every halogen bulb in my house a few years ago.  I even switched the refrigerator bulb.

It's kind of a fun feeling now that they're all gone.

[KingSparta]

It is amazing on how much money you save with LED And CFL bulbs on your power bills.

I just hate the initial cost of these high tech bulbs.

[DarkPenguin]

I have too many enclosed fixtures to switch over every bulb.  Otherwise I love the LED lights.

[6233638]

I probably spent $400 or so on Philips LED bulbs a few years ago and regret it.
Of the bulbs that were purchased, about half of them have burned out. They were replaced under warranty, but some of those burned out too.
The older bulbs are noticeably dimmer, and a different color than they were when they were first put in. I really should have measured this over time, as I have the hardware to do so.
So much for them lasting 20 years.
 
And I just generally dislike the quality of light from LED bulbs.
Sure, I don't miss the heat from halogens, but the light quality is so much better.
LED bulbs with their narrow spectrums do not put out a pleasing or natural looking light even if it appears to be the same color on a white surface.
 
The wattage estimations are very generous. They don't light up a room the same as their "equivalent" because they seem to direct that light in a more focused spot rather than it being diffused over a larger area.
So a 35W halogen might measure 5000 lux on a certain spot, and a 35W equivalent LED might measure 5000 lux on that same spot, but the 35W halogen is lighting up a much larger area of the room than the LED.
 

What is Shark white?
All I know is when I seen that I thought of the movie Jaws, I hope nothing eats me.

Stark white seems to be their name for a 5000K bulb.
5000K is a "daylight" or "neutral" white (or should be - if it's anything close to D50) which is good for task lighting.
But if it's task light, I prefer CFLs. You can get fast-start, high CRI CFLs for considerably less cost than LEDs, and the light quality is much better. Halogens are better still, if you don't mind the heat and energy costs.
 
For indoor lighting at night something around 2700K, which is a "warm" white, is more appropriate.
And this is another area where I prefer halogens. My bedside lamps are about 3000K at their maximum brightness, but drop closer to 2000K as they are dimmed, with little-to-no blue light output to affect our sleep.
 
Maybe at some point in the future the tech will be ready, but right now I am not at all happy with the laws being put into place that would ban halogen and incandescent bulbs. LEDs just aren't worth the money, and most have adverse health effects.

[Daydream]

Isn't it that Cree holds I don't know what patents about what makes an led a Cree led (in all their variations)? Hence if they aren't knock-offs, one pays a pretty penny for anything Cree.

Ask anybody that uses a fixture made with Cree LEDs for aquariums. $250 for a 30W tile. In truth plants are growing out of the tank and up on the wall, but still, pretty expensive.

[KingSparta]

I Have 4 huge CFL bulbs In my room (I always have had my own private room where I play with projects and the sort for the past 39+ years, formally know as my computer room). I have a TV in there and my tablet, and play with things. I am thinking about buying more of them for the kitchen. I use a Y adapter to run all 4 of them from the celling light fixture. I just can't have the glass covering on it, so it looks like crap, but I can see, and with each year I need more light so I can see things, mostly small print.

I like the 6500k Color Temperature, but sometimes during down time watching TV lower temp would be nice also like 2700k I have on my track lighting (5 lights).

Sunlite SL105/65K/MED 105 Watt High Wattage Spiral Energy Saving CFL Light Bulb Medium Base 120 Volt Daylight

• 105-Watt, 5000 Lumens, 80 CRI
• 400-Watt Incandescent Equivalent
• 8,000 Hour Average Lamp Life
• 6500K Color Temperature, Daylight Color, Medium Base

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KR2OZY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
 

[6233638]

Those CFLs are only 80 CRI, so I would not recommend them.
For good color rendering you should be looking for at least 90 CRI. The better CFLs are around 94 CRI now. (and you can get fluorescent tube lighting with >99 CRI)
Most of the better LEDs are only in the 80 CRI range.
 
Now CRI is not the absolute measure of color quality.
A 2700K halogen bulb will have a CRI of 100, but there is going to be very little blue light output because it's only 2700K
There is a proposed "CQS" standard which apparently factors in color temperature, so at 2700K a halogen lamp would not be "100%" - but I have a suspicion that this is just to put better-looking ratings on low-CRI LED bulbs because they have a lot of (unwanted) blue light output.
 
A 6500K color temperature is equivalent to "mid-day" sunlight and has quite a lot of blue in its spectrum.
It is also the standard to which computer monitors and televisions should be calibrated to. (well technically that would be D65 rather than 6500K)
Again: it would be suitable for task lighting, but I wouldn't want to be using it at night unless I was working on something. For relaxing at night and watching TV or reading a book etc. I'd want something around 2700K.
 
This seems to be an artificial comparison (I wouldn't expect results that good from only 90 CRI) but here's an example of why CRI matters:

[KingSparta]

interesting never heard of CRI (Color rendering index)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_rendering_index

[KingSparta]

So far I have had two Cree 100 Watt bulbs fail

so I ordered two new Cree bulbs the other day, this one states (100w, uses only 15 watts, 1700 Lumens, 5000k), and it has a 10 year guarantee.

they base the life of the bulb at 3 hours per day for 13.7 years.

Commercial use the life is 5 years

It is also Dimmable.

two of The CFL bulbs all burn out, with a small fire at the base that filled the room with a small amount of smoke. I removed the other two just in case.

a kink to the New bulbs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K7ZWF5A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The package states Made in China.