Utilitech Pro 60W Equivalent LED review – CNET
The Good One of the cheapest dimmable 60W replacement LEDs currently on store shelves.
The Bad Not a perfect dimmer on any of our switches, and not as bright as advertised.
The Bottom Line You’ll get performance that’s slightly better out of bulbs that cost slightly more, but at less than $5, this dimmable LED isn’t a terrible pick.
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I’ll make this quick. This 8.5W LED from Utilitech Pro isn’t the best replacement for a 60W incandescent that I’ve tested, but at less than $5, it’s a respectable one.
Unlike a lot of other sub-$5 LED options (most notably, the Philips 60W Replacement and the GE Bright Stik LED), Utilitech Pro’s bulb promises to work with dimmer switches. Sure enough, it worked with our dimmer rig, albeit with a few caveats. First, it flickered very slightly on an old rotary knob dimmer designed for use with incandescents. With newer, more LED-friendly switches, it didn’t flicker at all — but it also wouldn’t shine any brighter than about 75 percent at the highest settings.
Utilitech Pro’s LED vs the competition
| 646 / 800 | 786 / 760 | 821 / 800 | 658 / 600 | 777 / 815 |
| 8.5 | 10 | 8.5 | 10 | 10 |
| 76 | 79 | 97 | 66 | 78 |
| $1.02 | $1.20 | $1.02 | $1.20 | $1.20 |
| 2,888 K / 3,000 K | 2,830 K / 2,850 K | 2,701 K / 2,700 K | 2,632 K / 2,700 K | 2,620 K / 2,700 K |
| none | 5,000 (+$1) | 5,000 K (+$0) | none | 5,000 K (+$1) |
| 81 | 81 | 80 | 88 | 83 |
| 4.6 – 95.8% | Non-dimmable | Non-dimmable | 6.3 – 100% | 6.1 – 100% |
| Light | N/A | N/A | None | Light |
| 18,000 hours (16.4 years) | 15,000 hours (13.7 years) | 11,000 hours (10 years) | 25,000 hours (22.8 years) | 30,000 hours (27.4 years) |
| 3.05 oz. | 1.60 oz. | 1.80 oz. | 4.10 oz. | 1.90 oz. |
| No | No | No | No | Yes |
| 3 years | 5 years | 3 years | None | 5 years |
| $5 | $10 (3-pack) | $5 | $5 | $8 |
That problem is compounded by the fact that the bulb isn’t terribly bright to begin with. It promises 800 lumens on the box (roughly what you’d expect from a 60W incandescent), but in our spectrometer and integrating sphere setup, it clocked in at closer to 650 lumens. That’s plenty bright for an accent light, but as a sole source of illumination, you might rightly want a little more.
If I needed a dimmable LED, I’d probably spend a few dollars more on the Cree 4Flow LED, or grab a dimmable Ledare LED during my next Ikea run. Still, it’s hard to be mad at a dimmable LED that’s this inexpensive. At less than $5 at Lowe’s (it’s model 740062), Utilitech Pro’s 8.5W LED isn’t a bad pick in a pinch.
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