The first challenge with the fixture is that it is a 3-way bulb fixture. You know the kind, one click to low brightness, second click to medium brightness, third click to maximum brightness, and fourth click to off again. The second challenge is that it has a relatively short harp (the metal piece that goes around the bulb and holds up the shade). This means that the replacement bulb has to be realtively short and the CFL 3-way that I purchased a few years ago never worked because it didn't fit. Not willing to use an incandescent, I have been using a 60 Watt equivalent CFL.
The image below shows the Switch LED to the right and a 3-way CFL to the left.
The next most impressive thing is the weight of the LED, 10.2 ounces (289 grams). That is more than twice as much as the CFL at 4.9 ounces (140 grams) and probably ten times heavier than an incandescent bulb.
Part of the reason for the high weight of the Switch LED is that it is liquid filled. This liquid pulls heat away from the light emitting diodes which is critical to keeping them cool which is critical to long life. This is a big issue with LED bulbs. Although LED bulbs are naturally much cooler than incandescent bulbs, the truth is that LEDs are much more sensitive to heat. As a result, many LED bulbs are not suitable for enclosed light fixtures. The excessive heat build-up for an LED in an enclosed fixture would greatly shorten the bulb life. Switch claims that their LED bulbs can be used in an enclosed fixtures which is great.
The real headline for this bulb is that it produces the same light as a 100 watt incandescent while using only 20% of the energy.
30/70/100 watt, incandescent
11/18/23 watt, CFL (shown above)
6/13.5/19.5 watt, Switch LED
So not only is the Switch LED more efficient than the incandescent, it is significantly more efficient than the CFL.
The other number of importance is the amount of light output which is measured in Lumens.
305/905/1300 lumens, incandescent
300/800/1100 lumens, Switch LED
So the Switch LED is a little less bright than a traditional bulb, about 15% less on its highest setting. But I don't think that is too noticeable. I don't have the numbers on the CFL since it was produced before the EPA started mandating lumen labeling on bulbs.
What's that, price, [cough, cough] you want to know the price? You might want to sit down first. Ah well, it was $45. Yes I know that is a lot more than the $2 for an incandescent, and more than the $14 for a 3-way CFL. However, there are some other things to consider.
Firstly, Switch just introduced a new line of less expensive bulbs, that are more like $20 per bulb than $50 per bulb. This new line isn't shipping yet, nor does it have a 3-way model. However, I think it is reasonable to expect a $20 3-way LED bulb within the next year. Secondly, these bulbs should last 25,000 hours or about 12 times longer than an incandescent. To do a little math, 12 incandescent bulbs at $2 each is $24. So if the LED price comes down to $20, the price is more comparable.
One more piece of math, there are 8760 hours in a year. A 100 watt incandescent bulb running for a year would consume 876 KWH, or (at $0.15/kwh) $131 worth of electricity. By contrast, the LED equivalent would only consume $26 worth of electricity. So if the price of the bulb plus electricity is considered, the LEDs are not as expensive as you might think. In fact, for heavily used bulbs, LEDs bulbs are much less expensive than incandescent bulbs.
To wrap things up, let's talk about the subjective aspects of the bulb. Personally, I like the look of the LED bulb a lot more than the curly CFL bulb. The light color of the LED is pleasing, it is instant on, and dimmable (not that you would with a 3-way). The light distribution pattern seems to be quite uniform, which is a weakness for some LEDs that are naturally more directional than an burning hot filament.
Overall, I'd say the Switch LED is a winner, once the price is down to $20 anyway.
For reference, the Switch LED number is A23WY1FUS27A4-R and the CFL is a LightWiz S23WL3 or H23327 bulb.
