While huge advances have been made in most lighting fields, low output decorative lighting seems to have got somewhat forgotten in some ways. Sure, we've had LED Christmas lights available for a few years now, but the likes of those decorative lights you used to see around pubs and such, usually using 25W powder coated PS60 incandescents, things like that have really not changed. LED lighting, suitable for that sort of application has been around for a while - but with one major drawback. Most of the lamps are constructed like CFL's, with a glass or plastic bulb and a separate plastic base. This means that the lamps really cannot be used outside due to the risk of water getting into the electronics. Those that are suitable for outdoor use tend to be 12V or 24V devices which will require additional control circuitry, and quite often use bespoke cap types, forcing you to buy replacements from the same company.
These however dispense with messy things like external transformers, weird cap types and multipart cases. Externally, this is a normal G45 "Golf Ball" style lamp with a proper glass bulb and metal cap. The real bonus of this, is that it means that this lamp can safely be used outside in suitable fixtures.
If you were to pick of of these lamps up, you'd think that it was a totally ordinary incandescent G45 lamp. Looks the same, feels the same, weighs the same...probably breaks just the same if you drop it too! However, it's NOT the same. Instead of an incandescent filament rated somewhere between 15W and 40W to produce the light, this uses four low power LEDs, with a step-down power supply hidden away inside the lamp cap itself.
Unlike some LED lamps, this one does not flicker at all in operation. Many use a simple transformer and a rectifier to provide power, resulting in an annoying 100Hz (twice the mains frequency) flicker. The capacitive ballast in this lamp appears to eliminate this effect though - and also causes the lamp to glow dimly for a good few minutes after being switched off.
Performance wise, well, they do what they're designed to. These are lamps intended to be decorative, rather than an actual source of light. If you were to actually replace your normal lamps with these - you'd probably end up falling over something and injuring yourself due to the lack of output - they are NOT bright. After dark however, they do look good - which is precisely what they are meant to do. Output is probably about twice what you'd get from one of those little plug in neon nightlights.
As for lifetime - lots! They're rated to 20'000 hours - I think this is quite conservative though. The LEDs themselves - provided they're not being driven beyond their recommended specs, should last into the hundreds of thousands of hours, gradually dimming over that time. The drive circuitry however may not be up to lasting such ambitious amounts of time though - hence the 20K hour estimate. I can't see many problems though - the lamps run almost totally cool to the touch - the bases included. Good for safety and longevity!
Uses mainly fall under the decorative category - but (provided the fixture was out of reach), would make an ideal substitute for the plug in neon nightlights. Available colours include amber - which would even simulate the colour pretty well.
