Why You Can Trust CNET Utilitech Pro 40W Equivalent Candelabra LED review: Decent, dimmable light from this costly candelabra LED
The Utilitech Pro 40W equivalent candelabra bulb isn't a terrible pick in and of itself -- we just wish it didn't cost so much.
- 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
The Utilitech Pro 40W Equivalent Candelabra LED.
I wish I could say that you could do worse than the Utilitech Pro 40W Equivalent Candelabra LED. The problem is that, as far as price goes, you really can't. At $11 each, it ties a similar Sylvania bulb for the title of priciest LED in its class.
Utilitech Pro 40W Equivalent Candelabra LED
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The bigger problem is that the Sylvania LED is a better performer -- as are a couple of options that cost less than both. Whether it's brightness, efficiency, or dimmability, there always seemed to be a better option than Utilitech. Mind you, it wasn't patently bad by any of those metrics, but at the price you're paying, it needs to be better than mediocre.
Let's start with brightness. Utilitech lists this bulb at 300 lumens, and it outperformed that number in our spectrometer and integrating sphere setup, clocking in at a respectable 330 lumens. That's all well and good, except for the fact that a number of bulbs I tested came in even higher -- including a candelabra LED from EcoSmart that costs a not-insignificant 36 percent less per bulb.
Next up, efficiency. The Utilitech bulb puts those 330 lumens out from a power draw of 4.8 watts, which puts its efficiency at 69 lumens per watt. That's only barely better than the least efficient of the eleven LEDs we tested, the GE 40W Equivalent Candelabra LED, which came in at 65.3 lumens per watt. Vintage-style candelabra bulbs from Feit and EcoSmart came in at 86.4 and 107.1 lumens per watt, respectively, while standard candelabra LEDs from Cree, Philips, and Walmart all managed to score up above 70, if not above 80.
As for dimmability, the Utilitech did all right, managing to dim down as low as 7.6 percent on our testing rig. Other bulbs went even lower, though, with a few dimming cleanly down to zero. We also caught the Utilitech bulb flickering on a few of our dimmer switches, though, in fairness, none of the candelabra LEDs we reviewed managed to ace our flicker tests.
Utilitech's candelabra bulb offers color quality that's slightly better than what you'd expect from an average LED.
The only spot where Utilitech managed to eke out an impressive result was in our color quality tests. The bulb's color rendering score came in at a higher-than-average 86, which means that it offers a subtle uptick in color quality compared to what you'd expect from a typical LED. After using each bulb to light a colorful bowl of M&Ms, it was hard to tell Utilitech's results apart from what we got with the Cree TW Series Candelabra LED, which boasts the best color rendering scores of any candelabra LED we tested.
Of course, that Cree LED only costs about $7 per bulb, it's better at dimming down low and it's brighter and more efficient than Utilitech, too. All of which poses the question: why would you spend $11 for this thing?
For more on candelabra LEDs, check out our full category overview.