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LED lighting for the home
Who has made the leap to LED?
I have purchased a few locally, and have decided that I like them. The light is pleasant enough, there is no lag time when they turn on, and they dim pretty well. Just bought some lots of each style I need in the house, going to completely switch over. I will be watching the meter closely, and waiting to calculate savings over time. Anticipate a maximum of 2 months before the new lamps have paid for themselves. On a side note... it can be a real eye opener when you actually count up the number of light bulbs in your house.... Over 30 spot lights Equal number of bubble bulbs About 25 of the e14 candle style... Of course, I haven't even taken in to account the 2 dozen or so bulbs outside of the house.... Probably should have doubled down on the e27 bubbles.... |
Not interested in the jump just yet...I still have plenty of the swirly florescent bulbs from a sale that Costco had 2 years ago. I'm set for the next 10 years on bulbs.
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About 75 CFL's... used many, gave some away, and left a pretty good pile for the renters in my old house. In general I was relatively happy with the CFL, but didn't really care for the delay after turning on the switch, especially in cold areas, it can take those little buggers a few minutes to actually produce light. I prefer warmer color tones, generally around the color of a Halogen (~3200 Kelvin) although supposedly that color temp is available now in CFL, they still don't typically list temperature on the label, only lumens. Also they are just not as efficient as the LED, which means more $$ per lumen and more heat in the house. There are also a number of folks who feel that the increased EMI from the CFL is potentially harmful. Glad to see you posting again JP!!!:D |
I bought a few as a test. They come on at the flick of a switch, burn in a nice color and don't seem to get hot.
Plus they are supposed to last for many, many years. I am slowly redoing the entire house with them. When I am at the hardware place I just pick up four of them and replace a bulb here and there. I am saving all my old bulbs. When I move I intend to take all the LED's with me and just put the old style bulbs back in. However, at my age, the LED's may outlive me. No matter; I always do things with the long view in mind. |
We skipped CFLs, having experienced the overstated life and negative characteristics. We are changing over to LED as the incandescent lights go out. We have a hallway lit by two and our front house lighting halogens were replaced by LED. Just bought one for an outdoor security flood fixture, so we'll see what it looks like tonight. Considering the current prices, burglars would be adding to their stash by taking the bulbs too.
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I ordered bulk, straight from China.
Paid about ~$2.50 per bulb. |
Diffusion of the light can be an issue in some ways and applications. Each led projects a narrow beam. Buying some from China can be cost effective from ebay.
I am interested in the conversion of some fixtures existing and otherwise using flexiable 12 volt led strips. Price is around a dollar a foot when I purchased my last batch. Warm color temperature strips as well as the ones that look daylight temperature to me are available. This gettting reasonable diffusion without too much loss of lumens in the process is where I am currently at. Currently manufacturers tend to direct the focus of many bulbs in the different directions in an attempt to obtain it. There is no doubt they are cheap to operate. |
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I am pretty much sticking with CFLs- I have been happy with them for 5 years. We do have some unusual light shelves in all our rooms that I am lighting with half price LED Xmas lights. In the living room it has taken 800 lights worth $60 and using 70 watts to light the area. I like them, but I think they have a way to go to be cost effective over CFL, at least the way we use them. |
I have made the switch to LED's, and never looked back.
They are superior to CFL's in every way, and even produce better quality light than halogens. I swapped out all my recessed cans with retro-fit LED cans. I had a few cans on my cathedral ceilings, and switched out the bulbs in these to the BR30 LED's. The only disadvantage to LED's is the cost. |
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The couple I have purchased locally are plenty bright. I'll have to wait and see about the Ali Baba bulbs.;) Figure that they are probably all made in China anyway, may as well buy from a supplier over there. At about 1/10th the price of local, it is a gamble I figured was worth taking. |
I was very surprised at the efficiency of LED's in my anchor light:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/open-discussion/333274-led-anchor-light.html |
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I haven't switched but have been thinking about it. I really dislike the florescents. Their light stinks, you can't dim them or if you try they buzz. Mercury issues and their lifespan is the biggest marketing lie ever perpetrated on consumers.
I recently bought a "1000" lumen little LED tactical flashlight to fool around with. I have three Streamlight Ultra Stingers that sit on chargers all the time. Two in the house and one in the barn. Great lights, but they cost a hundred bucks apiece and the bulbs are 6 bucks and have to be ordered, last about 6 months under normal use. The Stingers are supposedly 75K candlepower, that little 40 dollar LED, which I'm sure isn't really 1K lumens, throws a much brighter beam much farther and lasts about as long. Are there LEDs that can replace the halogens in track lighting? On recessed can floods, is it necessary to re-do the fixture itself in order to use them? |
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All fairly common bulb and bases will likely be produced at some point. The issue with the one you mention is the lack of room to get a dropping transformer or device incorporated while still retaining the size. Most suppliers will stay away from situations where the customer has to install a separate power supply I suspect. That does not close the door entirely though. Some fixtures you may be able to modify yourself. |
Our LED in the hallway are in cans, no mod required. On testing, they take a half second longer than incandescent to light, but unlike CFL, the start at full output.
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