WOW... Ordered Tuesday (2-day shipping chosen, and I was told by HD that they take 1-2 days to ship)... BUT, they arrived Weds 9am!

So, my first impression before installing it... there looks to be a cheap plastic lens used on this model... looking into the lens area you can clearly see 3 spots where the plastic lens snaps into the housing... it kind of kills the illusion that it is a regular light bulb in the can. I went back and looked at the CR6 picture on the CREE web site and on the HD web site and although the angle makes it tough to see, they look different. The HD pic shows an edge around the lens like I am seeing in person... but the CREE model does not show that. May be it is just hidden in the picture, but I am hoping the CREE model uses a higher quality looking lens... we'll see.

Other than that, the units look very solid.

I am going to install the ones I bought and give some more feedback shortly.

I have installed two EcoSmart CR6's... waiting on my CREE CR6's next week. I am comparing these two CR6s, one dimmable CFL and one R30 Philips incandescent in one room on one dimmer... here are my first impressions.

1) The dimming on the CR6s is excellent! I have a UPB switch on this circuit and I can test dimming from 0-100%. The Incandescent and the CR6s are on all the way down to 1%. The CFL turns off below 14%.

2) Color temp. is very good at full brightness. As it is dimmed, the CR6s stayed about the same temp as at full brightness... while the CFL slightly showed more red/orange and the incandescent showed significantly more red/orange. I think I am happier with the consistent color temp of the CR6... but time will tell.

3) Ease of installation: could not be easier. Stays pretty flush with the ceiling, but not completely in some spots.

I am really curious whether the CREE CR6s I get next week are the same as these... and I'd love to know how these two CR6 models compare to the LR6 (I don't have one, but would appreciate input from someone who does have both LR6 and CR6.

I am trying to decide what will be best to replace 40 in my home...

I found a youtube video of someone reviewing the LR6's... and it appears they have the exact same lens as the Home Depot CR6's... you can clearly see the 3 tabs where the lens engages the housing. So my guess is that the CREE CR6's (non-Home Depot version) will be exactly the same. Anyone get one yet?

On the CR6 it is easy to get in to the driver circuitry... but not apparent how to get a look at the actual LEDs behind the lens without breaking something... if anyone figures it out, please let me know... I'd love to know how the LED count and arrangement compares to the LR6s.

As a follow up to this... I got the CREE CR6 versions... the insides look the same except for one part... not sure what it is, but it is slightly different...

But, one thing to note, the HD versions dimmed all the way down to 1% on my UPB dimmer... the CREE versions shut off around 6-7%. Interesting. Overall I am happy with them... if anyone figures out how to get to the LEDs in them and see how they compare, that would be interesting to know.

The only one I see at HD like that is a 40-watt equivalent. Is that what you guys are talking about? (The one at the link.)

Here is a link that might be useful: EcoSmart 40W-equivalent LED bulb

No. It is only available online.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=202240932&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&cm_sp=electrical-_-lightbulbs-_-creeEcosmart-_-shopnow

Here is a link that might be useful: EcoSmart CR6

Hmm, it's rated 575 lumens and uses 10.5 watts. That's about 55 lumens per watt. That's showing some improvement, but it's still well below a good CF in efficacy - and it's quite a bit more costly.

By comparison, the low mercury 12,000 hour Neolite retrofit Edison base CFs I've mentioned here before yield 72 lumens per watt and cost $4.50 each. Compared to those, the Crees use 32% more electricity for a given amount of light, and cost 3.8 times as much per average life hour - and 11 times as much per lumen-hour. Ouch.

On the downside, the Neolite CFs aren't dimmable.

Also, if you're married to downlights, the Cree may make better use of its lumens since they're all aimed downward.

jscozz,
What type of dimmer were you using on those CR6 lights? We are planning to put 10 of these in (bought the first one to "sample" tonight at HD - love the light!!!), and then we'd like to add a dimmer...but I've seen some conflicting reviews of various dimmers with LEDs. Any flicker/buzz/other problems with your dimmer?

Thanks!
AP

Just got the CR6 delivered yesterday from Polar-Ray. Stopped in Home Depot today and by golly they have the exact same unit for $49.95. It is exactly the same. Surely these folks are not having the china plant tweek just to screw folk at home depot vs other outlets.

That said, very pleased with the quality and color temp.

They have different warranties and stated lifespan. I have some of each and looked inside... only one component looked slightly different, but could have just been a different batch... jury is still out on whether there is really any difference or just different warranty on the same light for marketing reasons.

I use HAI UPB dimmers... no problems at all. No buzzing...

One thing I wish they had was a setting to choose between constant 2700 deg or redder colors when dimmed... many people are used to the redder color of a dimmed light and prefer that... and these bulbs maintain their 2700 color temp at all dimming levels. They have special circuitry that blends red light with the whites... it would seen simple to adjust that to be redder at lower dim levels... or at least provide a choice to the end user.

We standardized on the Lutron Diva 600W dimmer in our house.

The CR6 has no problems with it.

Here in Rhode Island, the Cree CR6 is $19.97 for the 65watt equivalent bulb at Home Depot.

Sounds like somebody messed up entering the price... it is supposed to be $49.97.

If you can actually buy them for $19.97, you should go in and buy every one they have. You would make a killing reselling them for $10 or $15 more.

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Depot Catalog Page for Cree

$19.97 is the price here - it seems to be subsidized by the electric company. So come to Rhode Island!