When recessed light fixtures were first widely used in houses, the bulbs were 75 watts, giving 1100 lumens. A federal law enacted to save energy mandated that R30 lamps had to be only 65 watts, giving 640 lumens. Of course no energy was probably saved, as the new lights don't give enough lights to read by, so additional lamps are necessary. Undoubtedly, some people installed more lights to make up for the lost brightness.
Now, with compact LEDs on the market, with much greater savings, there's no reason why R30s shouldn't be made with higher levels of brightness. Will anyone make an R30 or BR30 that gives 1100 lumens?
One alternative is to use a PAR30. These generally give a narrow beam, and may have a pattern to the light.
Another alternative is to use an R40 size LED. These are longer, so they protrude from a 5" fixture.
I have sent this email to Feit Electric:
"Any chance you might introduce an 1100 lumen R30 or BR30? When recessed lighting was first widely used, the lamps were 75 watts, giving 1100 lumens. Federal law limited these lamps to 65 watts, which produce a paltry 640 lumens. LEDs offer the promise of more light for less energy. How about getting our brightness back to where it was intended to be?"
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