Household LED Lightbulbs

[tom4bren]

Just ordered some LED Lighbulbs for the house (trying to go green when I can). C Crane has some on sale right now if anyone is interested.

http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/index.aspx

Probably not bright enough for reading lamps & such but should work great in my outdoor post lights (especially since they stay on all night). Theoretically they'll save you $350 over the life of the bulb as compared to a standard 40W bulb (replaced 7 times).

Tom

[TechnoPope]

Tom, thanks for the tip.
Here is another useful led replacement that I just discovered a few days ago. These replace standard four foot flourescent lamps without any modification to the fixture. Cost is still high but performance is actually better than what it replaces - unlike many of the current screw in led lamps.
http://www.everled.com/everled-tr/?
Frank

[tom4bren]

At $15 each, it sounds pricey but the savings in the long run is worth it (actually, I think it pays for itself within 6 months). Thanks for the tip. I don't have any flourescent fixtures at home but I'll pass the source on to our facilities management in case they are interested.

I did replace one small flourescent fixture over the kitchen sink with a strip of LEDs that I picked up at Lowes. Works great. The color shift may bother some people but doesn't bother me in the least.

Now I gotta start ordering the LED Christmas lights for next year.

[TechnoPope]

I agree that the typical LED color can be surprisingly blue. LED lamp manufacturers tend to use the cooler color temps because they are percieved as being brighter. It took about six years for CFL manufacturers to offer warm, cool and daylight coloring. Hopefully, LED lamps will more quickly follow that trend. I was surprised to see that the shop light replacement that I posted above comes in five different color temperatures. More manufacturers need to do the same to gain consumer acceptance (and get their prices down as well).

The LED strips that are available at the hardware stores are more freqently available in warm colors so you may want to check those out.

We went with LED Christmas lights outdoors this year. They definitely do not have a traditional look! Though, the 80% energy savings is hard to beat.

If you like to show off your LED technology, check your local Target for the River Rock 2AA 1.5 watt flashlight (I hope they still sell them). They are a little larger than a pen, have one excellent LED, and put out light like a theater spotlight. A good example of what the newer LEDs can do when utilized for their strengths.

[mdwyer]

Just ordered some LED Lighbulbs for the house (trying to go green when I can). Theoretically they'll save you $350 over the life of the bulb as compared to a standard 40W bulb (replaced 7 times).

If you're trying to save the world, LEDs might not be the best way. When you actually consider the amount of light you get per watt, things start looking pretty dire. A 40W incandescent is only about 2% efficient. CFLs sit around 7-9%. The LED bulbs can be from 1.5% to 13%. That's either really good, or worse than the bulb they're replacing. There are some fluorescent tubes that can be 15% efficient.

It gets even worse, though: Those ugly yellow streetlamps are 27% efficient. The fixtures are expensive and they take forever to strike, but if you're just going to light a large yard from dusk to dawn, they're almost perfect. There's a reason they're used as streetlights!

My yard is too small to warrant a sodium vapor fixture. I went with CFL bulbs in existing sealed fixtures. I've got a handful of 23W and 14W CFL bulbs controlled by photo diodes. I had to pay a little extra for controllers that will control CFL bulbs, but I think the security and convenience has been totally worth it.

I'm almost positive the project's paid for itself already. I'm paying about 5 cents a day for energy, compared with the 23 cents it would cost for incandescent bulbs. I'm making $5 a month!

I think anything you can do to save energy is a Good Thing. But just be careful that you're actually saving energy, and not just getting green-washed.

There's a guy a few blocks away who lights his yard up with three 1KW halogen fixtures. 3KW/h for 8 hours, at $.09/KWh... that's over two dollars a day!!

Source: Wikipedia

[tom4bren]

I know that the light output from the LED bulbs aren't all that great BUT.... They consume less than a Watt. I'm more interested in accent lighting than I am in illumination. For that purpose LEDs can't be beat. I'm not interested in reading a book outside so the light output is adequate. I have a parking lot light I inherited from a neighbor doing construction. I use that one when we want to illuminate for parties & such.

Thanks for the input mdwyer. I'll have to check on the efficiency numbers you posted though (I'm pretty sure LEDs are more efficient than that).

[etlsport]

not where sure the percentages come from? usually light efficiency is measured in lumens/watt.. heres a chart on how they compare...



the yellow street lamps you were talking about are typically high pressure sodium

[tom4bren]

Thanks Eric.

Of course those numbers are for 'stable' consumption. Some of those lights consume massive quantities to start up so are only efficient for long periods of illumination and are not cycled on and off. That said, efficiency MUST take into account application.

I don't need massive amount of lumens for my application. I need the minimum amount of power consumption for the amount of light that I'm comfortable with & LEDs answer that well. When I want to illuminate my back yard like there is a massive solar flare occuring - I turn on my mercury vapor light and like magic, 30 minutes later I'm getting a sunburn at midnight.

[mdwyer]

That said, efficiency MUST take into account application.

Yup. Still, I didn't mean to start ragging on you. I'm sorry if it sounded that way. I'm glad to hear about anyone doing anything to save some watts.

I was just in Costco a few days ago, and they've got LED bar kits -- six or them, I think, about 9 inches long. They're RGB multi-colored and intended to be attached to your AV equipment --backlight your flatscreen or something like that. They're like this item, but cheaper and more sticks included.

It was kind of tough for me to not pick them up. I'm sort of colorblind, so colors have to be pretty bold for me to care about them. That might be why I like the Proton so much...

Anyway, I love the pure colors that come out of LED lights. I'd love to have them stuck all over my house as mood lighting. That, and I like the idea that you can change a room from cold blue to hot red and the push of a button.