Nanoleaf Bloom LED Lightbulb Review

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As time goes on, and my CFL bulbs are popping, I’m gradually replacing them with LED bulbs. I can get LED bulbs at Lowe’s for around 9.99 each. When Nanoleaf sent me the Bloom, I was impressed as it will also add dimming features to any lamp or fixture you have, and it looks pretty cool as well.

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The Nanoleaf line of LED bulbs have a standard light bulb socket, so it will fit anywhere incandescent lightbulbs used to be used. However, the Nanoleaf Bloom doesn’t look like an incandescent. Instead of trying to look like a regular light bulb like many other LED bulbs, the Nanoleaf is made from several panels, each containing 3 LED lights.  Behind a light shade, I can’t tell the difference between this light bulb and a regular one, so at least it won’t change the look of any of your lamps too much.

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It’s dimmable in any light fixture

What makes the Nanoleaf Bloom different is that it also includes dimming circuitry. To dim the light when it’s on, you do what they call a “Bloom blink”.  That is, you turn it off then on quickly. The dimming process starts. When you get to your desired level, turn it off then on again, and it will stay at that level. If you just do the first off then on sequence, the light will continue to dim until it gets to 5 percent, which Nanoleaf calls “night mode”. What if the light is off but you want to bring it on at some point below maximum? Turn it on and the light starts off dim and gets brighter.  Do the “Bloom Blink”, and it stays where you want.  It’s kind of nice to be able to dim this lightbulb no matter what light fixture you use it in.  My only concern is this can bring additional wear and tear to the mechanical switches. Most times, I just use it in either night mode or full on brightness.

Is it energy efficient?

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Nanoleaf claims that the Bloom creates as much light as a 75 watt incandescent.  It does this and only uses 10 Watts of power. Nanoleaf claims that you will save $100 a year in your house, and if you use them in your business it will supposedly save you $797.00 per year.  This savings is both in the energy costs as well as the costs to replace CFLs or incandescents since the LED bulb will last longer than a CFL. I have other LED bulbs that are over a year old now, and I haven’t had to replace them once.  If it was a CFL, I would have had to buy at least 2 bulbs for some of these lamps, so I am sold on LED bulbs and was sold on them before the Nanoleaf.

The Nanoleaf is cool and looks cool, but the 100 W equivalent LED bulb I already had is only $9.99 at Lowes Home Improvement Stores. The bulb from Lowes also only uses 16 Watts. Not much more than the Nanoleaf.  The Nanoleaf Bloom is $39.99 on their website PLUS shipping.  I don’t know if the additional $40 dollars or so(counting shipping) is worth having the dimming circuitry built in. I like the Nanoleaf Bloom, I just don’t think it’s worth the extra money to have a dimming circuit that I can use to wear out my on/off switch! 😉  I’ll stick to the Lowe’s bulbs.

MSRP: $39.99 plus shipping

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

What I like: Dimming circuit built into bulb adds dimming to any lamp and is energy-efficient

What Needs Improvement: The premium on the cool design and the dimming circuit

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About the Author

Joel McLaughlin
Joel is a consultant in the IT field and is located in Columbus, OH. While he loves Linux and tends to use it more than anything else, he will stoop to running closed source if it is the best tool for the job. His techno passions are Linux, Android, netbooks, GPS, podcasting and Amateur Radio.