Your main point is still a "no" or at best a "barely".

At equivalent or better CRI & color temp the very best LED replacement bulbs are roughly at parity with self-ballasted CFLs, but not pin-base fixture ballasted CFLs (70-80lm/w is typical for those, at higher CRI). The Zetalux 2 Pro "warm" version is only ~64lm/W- with 2800K color temp and 80CRI it's about like a so-so quality $2-3 self-ballasted twisty in most respects. The sky blue crappy CRI "cool" version may be OK for lighting up your aquarium, but has low efficacy as a reading lamp, and makes human skin tones and food look downright pukey (maybe good for kitchen & dining lighting if you're on a diet, or bathroom vanity lighting for adjusting your makeup so as to scare your deadbeat boyfriend away!? ;-) )

Efficacy is far more important than raw luminosity- if you cut down glare and keep CRIs north of 80 visual efficacy goes up- you can see better at even lower light levels. LEDs without diffusers & optics (that cut into efficiency) are inherently glarey, and some care has to be taken in the lighting design to compensate when using higher efficiiency LED downlighting to keep efficacy high.

Linear fluorescent uplighting, coves, and valance wall-washes are inherently glare-free, and typically higher efficiency than LED technology even with fixture losses factored in. No current LEDs match linear T5 or T8 fluorescent in raw luminous efficiency at reasonable CRI yet. (The Philips A-bulb entry for the L-Prize would be close to T8s though, were it available- stay tuned.) Decent T5s with mid-80s or higher CRI are over 100lm/W using relatively cheap tubes & fixtures. It's still the case that if efficiency is your primary concern, you'll do better with T8s & T5s for setting ambient light- levels. Using daylight-harvesting dimmable ballasts and/or occupancy sensors can cut total power use even further.

High CRI PAR-type or MR type LEDs definitely have a place for replacing halogen applications though, where you're looking for sharp shadows and high center-spot intensity.

These guy might have the answer - they have be vaporware for so long but it looks like they are finally shipping. They use a new technology - Electron Stimulated Luminescence - similar to the old cathode ray tube on an old TV. Has anyone ordered samples? Would love to hear how they perform - I'm thinking of getting some to test. http://www.vu1corporation.com/news/vu1-corporation-introduces-next-generation-electron-stimulated-luminescence™-r30-light-bulb-february-24-2010/

I received this catalog and was shocked at how many new items there was available in LED lighting

http://www.outwatercatalogs.com/lg_...g/page/575

LED Lights are considered as high quality lighting system and energy saving lighting solution. They are affordable, long lasting, easy to maintain and comes in various models and colors. What else you want?

Dana -

Your points are all well taken and helpful - especially about luminous efficacy - which I read about some and will now factor more into my decisions rather than just a raw Lm/watt approach.

I mostly use LED in the basement - where CRI is not as important and impact resistance is - Gotta play baseball and soccer somewhere when it thunders!

I also am currently putting T8 into the some zones in the basement. I know these get up to about 100 l/watt. I may swap them out to linear LEDs which according to my numbers are slightly higher L/watt and definitely use less total current. I suspect that since the light is directional that they may have less fixture loses. If you have data on this please let me know.

http://www.earthled.com/flseries.html

I tried to find spiculated T8 fixtures but was told that those were architectural grade and very expensive.

You'd have to model it with the photomrtric/IES files to really compare the T8 vs. LED options to know how well it works in your app.

T8s or T5s in mid-height valences can be well protected from indoor soccer/baseball, and provide glare- free ambient light. Downlighting glare can be downright oppressive in lower-ceiling applications such as basements.

Parabolic-lensed 1 x 4' troffers for 2-tube T8s fit between joists, and are reasonably low-loss, low glare, and protective against soccer (and baseball, except for fouls that go straight up.) eg: http://voigtlighting.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=171&Itemid=96 They run $80-12/fixture new, can often be had used for cheap/very cheap. (I'm using one of those over my kitchen sink- swapped out the ballast for a dimmable flavor.)