[Narz]

Prices have come way down this year. Home Depot has more LED bulbs than I could even find online a few years ago at prices a quarter of what similar products cost then.

That's good news I reckon (though I'm sure someone somehow can put a downer spin on it).

[Graeme]

LED Lights to Cut 60-Watt Bulb to Five Watts

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')hilips has cut the amount of power of its overhead LED tube light in half, a sign of continuing improvements in LED lighting geared at displacing incumbent technologies.

The company says it has built a prototype of a tubular overhead LED light that produces 200 lumens of light with a watt of power. Its current products produce light at 100 lumens per watt, about the same as florescent tube lights. Even though the price of LEDs will be higher, Philips thinks that they can start to displace more of the florescent tube lights that are everywhere from office buildings to parking garages based on energy savings.

The company plans to commercialize the technology in 2015 and transfer it to other products, including consumer light bulbs. In a consumer LED light bulb, that would mean that a 60-watt replacement would consume about 5 watts. “You could easily see how it will work through the entire retrofit line,” says Coen Liedenbaum, the innovation area manager in lighting at Philips Lighting. (See, How to Choose an LED Light Bulb.)

Engineers were able to get the jump in efficiency by tuning the light the lamp gives off. The LED semiconductor and the phosphor – the coating material that converts blue LED light to white light – have been optimized for how people perceive brightness. “We are trying to exactly match the eye sensitivity of people, therefore needing less energy to perceive the same level of brightness,” Liedenbaum says. The optics and other components were also improved for efficiency.

[Graeme]

'World first' LED hydrogen fuel cell lighting tower launches

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') partnership between Youngman and TCP has produced the Ecolite-H2, which it claims is the world’s first LED hydrogen fuel cell lighting tower.

Central to the operation is the Hymera fuel cell, which is manufactured by BOC and generates energy by combining bottled hydrogen with oxygen from the atmosphere to produce water and electricity.

The process is virtually silent and there are no particulate or smoke emissions as the only ‘exhaust’ is water, making the unit particularly well suited to working in environmentally sensitive or built-up areas.

The Ecolite-H2 is fitted with four high-intensity light emitting diode lights powered by the fuel cell. An ambient light detector automatically switches the lights off at dawn to conserve the bottled hydrogen; it switches them on again at dusk.

Through the optimisation of their colour temperature and the use of prismatic lenses, the four 31 W LEDs are said to produce illumination roughly equivalent to two traditional 1,000 W halogen bulbs.

[Beery1]

I'll believe it when I see it. I've used LED lights - they are crap.

[OZ_DOC]

I've swapped out my halogen downlights for these http://www.enviroshop.com.au/shop/Brigh ... t-LED.html
I find them slightly brighter and as nice or better in terms of light warmth as the Halogens they replaced, the Halogens used 50w each, these use 10w. 80% reduction in power usage for lighting and avoiding a room full of little radiant heaters in summer? yes please. I think it is early days for LEDs but I have no doubt they are going to become the predominant player in lighting for the foreseeable future.

[MD]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Beery1', 'I')'ll believe it when I see it. I've used LED lights - they are crap.

[MD]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('OZ_DOC', 'I')'ve swapped out my halogen downlights for these http://www.enviroshop.com.au/shop/Brigh ... t-LED.html
I find them slightly brighter and as nice or better in terms of light warmth as the Halogens they replaced, the Halogens used 50w each, these use 10w. 80% reduction in power usage for lighting and avoiding a room full of little radiant heaters in summer? yes please. I think it is early days for LEDs but I have no doubt they are going to become the predominant player in lighting for the foreseeable future.

[dinopello]

My county has been replacing all streetlights with the LED kind, but people generally do not like them.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')omplaints come on many fronts: The lighting is too bright; it has a harsh, cold, white hue (described by some as what you’d expect in prison); and it overpowers curtains and drapes, forcing its way, unwanted, into bedrooms and other interior rooms.

[careinke]

I bought an LED light bulb made by CREE. I normally do not like the light LEDs give off, but this one gives off a natural light. Plus the bulb looks like a light bulb. It was 9.5 Watts, for 200 lumins, and costs $14. I am so impressed with it I, will probably replace all my CFLs as they burn out. Some other pluses for this bulb; It comes to full brightness immediately unlike CFL's, It will last a LOT longer than CFL's, and it is always cool to the touch. Most importantly, it gives a great light.

Oh, I found them in Home Depot.

[Tarrel]

We live in a northern latitude (58 deg N), in an old cottage with thick walls and small windows. In the depths of winter we get around 6 hours of daylight. So energy-saving lighting is important for us!

I swapped out our halogen downlighters (50W) for 5W LEDs last year. There are ten in our kitchen / hallway, so we've gone from 500W to 50W. They have a colour temp of 2700k, which is quite a warm white, and we're really pleased with them. Expensive though; £8 each here in the UK.

I think we need to change our mindsets away from seeing light bulbs as a consumable item, and more towards seeing them as a long-lasting part of the fixtures and fittings. Ours should pay for themselves in a year or so, but I anticipate them lasting much longer than this.

LEDs certainly get my vote!

[Shaved Monkey]

I'm a convert
I got a corn cob LED to replace a halogen spot light.
I will slowly replace every light globe to LED

EBAy out of China with free postage is dirt cheap.

[Surf]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')eery1 wrote:
I'll believe it when I see it. I've used LED lights - they are crap.


You've used the wrong ones then. I've used some of those too, but I have used others that are fantastic.

[Tanada]

Picked up two 75W/1100 lumen equivalent bulbs yesterday for overnight (security) lighting now that we are getting into the dark season of the year. These are Utilitech Pro brand rated at 3000K color frequency for 25,000 hours of useful life. They were the new brand on sale at Lowes and are shaped to fit a standard incandescent socket fixture/cover.

They consume 16 Watts of power in use and give off a bright white light, somewhat harsher than I would prefer. Hopefully they will stand up to harsh outside weather as well as the Sylvania LED spotlights I purchased last fall that they are supplementing to light up my back yard for security reasons.

[kuidaskassikaeb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hen many people look at LEDs they look at price and its incandescent equivalent. This is not a good way to go about selecting a LED bulb. There are not set rules for the incandescent equivalent. I tried a number of LED bulbs but frequently find the bulbs are dimmer than the incandescents they are claimed to replace, especially the cheep ones.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kuidaskassikaeb', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hen many people look at LEDs they look at price and its incandescent equivalent. This is not a good way to go about selecting a LED bulb. There are not set rules for the incandescent equivalent. I tried a number of LED bulbs but frequently find the bulbs are dimmer than the incandescents they are claimed to replace, especially the cheep ones.

[lper100km]

I have an extensive number of ceiling downlights in the house, most installed as MR16 halogens. So far, I have replaced about half with LEDs. The reasoning is twofold. The halogens burn so hot that over time, the 12v two pin plug is degraded to the point that the contact is compromised. Secondly is the power usage issue, where I can burn 10 LEDs for one halogen. I have found no problem with the light quality in cool or warm light designations.
I am now contemplating installing further LEDs as a new installation rather than as a refit. Whilst these lights require 12v only, it is interesting - and frustrating - that there are no standards or fittings available for 12v dc distribution wiring. I'm not talking about the under cabinet wiring harnesses that are available for kitchens but for ceiling mounted downlights. The present codes require that bulky 120v enclosures intended for incandescents are used with the added complication that each light must have a 12v driver attached in most cases. MR16 halogens are already 12v so their housings are fitted with a transformer. A 5 or even 9 W LED hardly needs the heat box size that a 50W halogen needs.
It would be so much simpler for the codes to recognise and support the growth of 12v, low wattage systems and to encourage manufacturers to create ganged drivers, fittings and wiring standards appropriate to this need. It seems that the UK and Australia have already gone this route.

[Peak_Yeast]

I have tested (and are testing) a long range of different LED bulbs.

From my current results I must say they are not good:

I purchased approx. 15 different LED bulbs from 15 different manufacturers about 1 year ago.

Of these 4 bulbs has died - all cheap chinese products. - 3 of them werent even used much. Nr. 4 was permanently on for approx 3 months before dying.

The remaining are still holding on. To me it looks like its a gamble to buy cheap chinese products.

The lifetime is something they can tell you which will cost them nothing.

I have had zero of my flourescent light bulbs that has died prematurely (approx.15 also).

[Timo]

I don't get the dissatisfaction with LEDs that i'm reading here. I have 6 LEDs in different places around my house, 3 in our kitchen, and the are all fantastic with a nice warm glow to them, and not the sterile pale blue that a typical CFL emmits. The lights in our kitchen have an opaque silver bottom to each bulb, thus directing the light more in an upward and outward direction, which is perfect for where they're located. Also in our kitchen we have 2 CFLs, and those take several minutes to warm up to full brightness, thus minimizing their usefullness, and the light the do give off is like i described above. Sure, LEDs cost more, but the payoff in quality, less power consumption, and longevity greatly exceeds any downside, which as far as i'm concerned is only the cost. I'm anxiously waiting for the day when i can put dimmable LEDs in our diningroom chandelier.

[KaiserJeep]

There is one simple consideration that many people do not know about.

Both LED bulbs and CFL bulbs intended for common Edison screw-sockets contain electronic components which are in the housing near the base.

This type of CFL when burned coil down, has all of the heat convect upwards where it raises the temperature of these electronic components, and reduces reliability. When burned coil-down while centered in a reflector, the heat is also concentrated on the electronics. Whenever possible, CFLs should be used sideways or coil-up for maximum reliability.



LED bulbs actually come with built-in heatsinks for cooling the LED silicon chips. These bulbs for maximum reliability should be oriented so that the cooling fins are vertical, and convection cools the heatsink. I favor this design for flush downward facing LED bulbs:



...and this design for desklamps and upwards-facing or downwards-facing lamp fixtures:



The important thing to avoid with costly LED bulbs: Installing them sideways where convection cooling does not move air through the heatsink fins.

Simple thermodynamics. As one of my professors once noted: "There are many more people who understand Physics than there are who ever use Physics."