Finally, CREE came out with their 1600 lumen model for less than $20 at 18 watts. FEIT also just introduced their 1600 watt model for $16.99 at Costco, and it only uses 15.5 watts. It's also notable that the FEIT is the first A-style bulb commercially available to hit the 100 lumen per watt efficacy. Compared to a 100 watt incandescent bulb, it should pay for itself in about 12-18 months assuming about 3 hours of use a day.
The FEIT 100 watt replacement on the left, and the CREE 100 watt replacement on the right.
These prices put it well within affordability range. They both have very CREE-quality 2700K light, and are very bright, definitely 1600 lumens. The FEIT seems to be somewhat more omnidirectional. The 1600 lumen CREE version has a similar construction to the lower wattage models where they use a "tower" of LEDs the spread out, but not so much upwards.
These do have a couple drawbacks. The largest drawback is that unlike the lower wattage CREE bulbs, they are not rated for use in enclosures. This is a really important point. I've been using them fine in open-style lamps, but the higher wattage comes at a price of creating a lot more heat. It only goes with the territory. For that reason, the heat sinks (and thus the bulbs) are much larger on these bulbs than they are on the lower wattage bulbs. As you can imagine, the FEIT bulb doesn't get quite as hot at the CREE version since it's more efficient, but the FEIT also is larger, about half an inch taller than the CREE, so take that into account before using in some fixtures. (FEIT does claim on the packaging they can be used in enclosures, but I'm wary of this claim just simply because of the amount of heat they use. The FEIT is more efficient and has a larger heat sink, so this still may be the case.)
In addition, CREE now also makes a 3-way 100 watt replacement bulb, a 30/70/100 watt equivalent, $21.97 at Home Depot. It's very similar to the 100 watt nonswitchable version in both size and light quality. It's actually more similar in light quantity to a 50/100/150 bulb, and much brighter than even 50/100/150 replacement watt CFL versions we tested. The reasoning is simple: a 50/100/150 3-way incandescent bulb uses as much electricity as a 150 watt bulb, but doesn't produce nearly as much light. The reason it because it uses two filaments, one 50 watt and one 100 watt, which isn't as efficient as using one 150-watt filament. LEDs just simply turn on more or fewer LEDs depending on the circuit, making it far more efficient.
IKEA did also introduce a 75 watt version of their LEDARE LED A19 bulbs. They are 1000 lumens and cost $10.99. 1000 lumens isn't quite a 75 watt equivalent (typically 1150-1200 lumens), but it's more than the 800 lumen 60 watts, and their excellent light and cost point are worth mentioning. We haven't yet had a chance to review it though.
