LED's For Home Use

[tvguy]

I'm ready to try some LED lighting. So far my use of CFL's has been mostly a failure. I've been waiting for the prices to come down and it looks like they have.

I have one of those lights in the bathroom over the mirror that takes four bulbs.

The CFl's I have used there suck. Even if they last they lose the ability to come on at full brightness unless you wait a couple of minutes
And then later they NEVER have the brightness that they have when they were new.
So sure they may last a million years but the aren't working properly after the first 2 months .

I got free CFL bulbs from the Energy trust of Oregon. I like them fine, but I am not so sure they last as long as they say. I have had a few stop working.

Yes I also had a few duds. But the price was right Anyone who didn't take advantage before when I posted this link can still get a free kit which has several free CFL's and a shower head.


http://energytrust.org/residential/incen...aver-kits/

[chuck white]

I have used LEDs for sometime now.
I get most of them from

Chuck's favorite LED store

They are cheaper than buying from Walmart. The shipping is free.,
They come from china, so it takes about four weeks.

The bulbs are rated for indoor use, but I used them outdoors in dry areas.
The early ones had a 33% failure rate in the first two years. (spot lights). The rest died within 2 more years.
The LEDs were fine, but the internal electronics failed.
They probably weren't rated for freezing conditions.

The ones I bought for indoor (corncob leds) have lasted I have had one fail out of 4.
I haven't done a autopsy yet, but I suspect workmanship. I have to say, the Chinese are the most piss-ass solderers, I have ever seen.

Most white LEDs change over time. They can drop half their brightness in 2 to 3 years.

My LED Christmas lights didn't do well outdoors in the rain. (I didn't usually run them when it was raining) . Indoors the strands lasted much longer than filament types.

The LED Christmas lights I made years before they sold them have lasted all this time. A good seven years or so.
I took old buned out strands and replaced the bulbs with LEDs., You have to put them in the same direction through out the strand. The last bulb I replaced with a diode and a resistor. (insulated with shrink tubing)

Fifty is about the max number of bulbs in a strand. Which happens to be the length of most strands. (100 strands are generally two fifties)

Bottom line is LEDs are great light sources.
The electronics that drives them makes all the difference.

Great informative post CW! I'll try your favorite LED store too. In our current place I only need bulbs that produce 100 W brightness and my wife prefers a more white light for kitchen and bath rooms, is there one you would recommend for those purposes?

a lot depends on the fixture.
I have some lamps that I put these in
http://www.ledshoppe.com/Product/ledp/LP4018.htm
but they are bigger than a standard bulb and can't work in all places.

[Valuesize]

a lot depends on the fixture.
I have some lamps that I put these in
http://www.ledshoppe.com/Product/ledp/LP4018.htm
but they are bigger than a standard bulb and can't work in all places.

That would work. For that price I would try it in this lamp and the recess in the bathroom where the heat lamp would normally go.

[tvguy]

a lot depends on the fixture.
I have some lamps that I put these in
http://www.ledshoppe.com/Product/ledp/LP4018.htm
but they are bigger than a standard bulb and can't work in all places.

That would work. For that price I would try it in this lamp and the recess in the bathroom where the heat lamp would normally go.

The LED light uses 7 watts. I found this info below that says a 5 watt LED is comparable to the light you would get from a 40 watt incandescent bulb.

So this 7 watt LED that Chuck is recommending should have almost as much light output as a 60 watt incandescent.
Is that enough light for that lamp or your bathroom? I don't think so

In order to save energy, we design LED cron light to replace incandescent and CFL bulbs. Comparing with incandescent bulbs, our high power LED bulbs can save 85% - 90? electricity cost. For example, our 3W and 5W LED 20W cron light can replace 20W and 40W 100W incandescent bulbs. Lampholder can be E14, E22, E26 and E27. Benefits of LED bulbs are as follow:

[Valuesize]

The LED light uses 7 watts. I found this info below that says a 5 watt LED is comparable to the light you would get from a 40 watt incandescent bulb.

So this 7 watt LED that Chuck is recommending should have almost as much light output as a 60 watt incandescent.
Is that enough light for that lamp or your bathroom? I don't think so

In order to save energy, we design LED cron light to replace incandescent and CFL bulbs. Comparing with incandescent bulbs, our high power LED bulbs can save 85% - 90? electricity cost. For example, our 3W and 5W LED 20W cron light can replace 20W and 40W 100W incandescent bulbs. Lampholder can be E14, E22, E26 and E27. Benefits of LED bulbs are as follow:

Thanks. I haven't had time to look at the website much yet, I'll look after dinner tonight. I noticed most of the LED's in stores are those that emit equivalent of 60 W or less. I assume the size of the unit that will emit more light won't fit in most lamps so they don't stock it. For where I intend to try them I can use a larger flood shaped lamp so I'll look for that.

[tvguy]

The LED light uses 7 watts. I found this info below that says a 5 watt LED is comparable to the light you would get from a 40 watt incandescent bulb.

So this 7 watt LED that Chuck is recommending should have almost as much light output as a 60 watt incandescent.
Is that enough light for that lamp or your bathroom? I don't think so

In order to save energy, we design LED cron light to replace incandescent and CFL bulbs. Comparing with incandescent bulbs, our high power LED bulbs can save 85% - 90? electricity cost. For example, our 3W and 5W LED 20W cron light can replace 20W and 40W 100W incandescent bulbs. Lampholder can be E14, E22, E26 and E27. Benefits of LED bulbs are as follow:

Thanks. I haven't had time to look at the website much yet, I'll look after dinner tonight. I noticed most of the LED's in stores are those that emit equivalent of 60 W or less. I assume the size of the unit that will emit more light won't fit in most lamps so they don't stock it. For where I intend to try them I can use a larger flood shaped lamp so I'll look for that.

A standard light bulb like a 60 or 75 watt is called an A19. So you are right that in that size of a bulb an LED is limited. Here's one I found that is the standard size. It uses 12 watts and is the equivalent of a 65 to 70 watt incandescent.

But they want 30 bucks for it




12 Watt A19 Globe bulb
E27-A19-xW12W: 12 Watt A19 Globe bulb More PhotosNew Product
$29.95 ea.
Write a Review
More Information & Buy Compare Products
Product Code: E27-A19-xW12W | Stock: Various Options In Stock
Relative Intensity
Color
Cool White Warm White
Lumen(Max)
1150 Lumen
Beam Angle
360 degree
Base
E26/E27 (Medium)
Bulb Type
A19 (Standard)
Volts
85~260 VAC
Total Power Consumption
16.92 Watts
Lens Color
Diffused
Dimmable
No
Comparable Wattage
65~70 Watts


E27-A19-xW12W series globe type LED replacement bulb for traditional A19 medium screw base lamps. Consumes 17 Watts of power using an Epistar MCOB (Multiple-chip-on-board) LED.

[chuck white]

I have some LEDs that I been playing with that are 10 Watts and a 1000 lumen.
They leave you a little blind when looking at them. I have them on a 12 volt power supply.
these are experimental lights I've build and not ones that are in LED bulbs yet.

[tvguy]

I have some LEDs that I been playing with that are 10 Watts and a 1000 lumen.
They leave you a little blind when looking at them. I have them on a 12 volt power supply.
these are experimental lights I've build and not ones that are in LED bulbs yet.

Cool. I have a bunch of red 12 volt LEDs that came out of a sign. When I get a round to it I was thinking about putting some in the tail lights on my car.

[csrowan]

I have some LEDs that I been playing with that are 10 Watts and a 1000 lumen.
They leave you a little blind when looking at them. I have them on a 12 volt power supply.
these are experimental lights I've build and not ones that are in LED bulbs yet.

Cool. I have a bunch of red 12 volt LEDs that came out of a sign. When I get a round to it I was thinking about putting some in the tail lights on my car.

[chuck white]

I have some LEDs that I been playing with that are 10 Watts and a 1000 lumen.
They leave you a little blind when looking at them. I have them on a 12 volt power supply.
these are experimental lights I've build and not ones that are in LED bulbs yet.

Cool. I have a bunch of red 12 volt LEDs that came out of a sign. When I get a round to it I was thinking about putting some in the tail lights on my car.

Old dead Christmas light strands are great for wiring LED singles. The old bulbs pop out and you can remove the old glass bulb from the plastic holder. I pop in a LED, mark the short lead on the plastic, fold the leads back and snip them at the same length as the glass ones, pop them back in to the strand. (Always in the same direction.)

[oregon 67]

Costco has some led recessed light LED replacements. I am fairly impressed with the light output of them. They are way less expensive than the Sylvania or Lithonia comparable items.

I don't know about the length of service though.

On the commercial side Cree makes a great replacement for office ceilings.

Another for area lighting is Efficient Lights. Mostly really big areas though .

[tvguy]

Costco has some led recessed light LED replacements. I am fairly impressed with the light output of them. They are way less expensive than the Sylvania or Lithonia comparable items.

I don't know about the length of service though.

25000 hours If I did my math right that means you can have your recessed lights on 4 hours a day for 17 years

They are 25 bucks each and they are dimmable. Most who have recessed lighting want dimmers.
I always thought it was odd that right in the middle of a wave of conservation and energy saving devices .That suddenly all the builders decided recessed cans were all the rage.
I've wired houses with as many as 70 of them. I remember reading that a recessed light only puts out 1/3 of the light of a surface fixture.
Whatever, it's gotta look good , that what's important

here's a link to the Costco LED lights...


http://www.costco.com/led-light-bulbs.html

[chuck white]

Costco has some led recessed light LED replacements. I am fairly impressed with the light output of them. They are way less expensive than the Sylvania or Lithonia comparable items.

I don't know about the length of service though.

25000 hours If I did my math right that means you can have your recessed lights on 4 hours a day for 17 years

They are 25 bucks each and they are dimmable. Most who have recessed lighting want dimmers.
I always thought it was odd that right in the middle of a wave of conservation and energy saving devices .That suddenly all the builders decided recessed cans were all the rage.
I've wired houses with as many as 70 of them. I remember reading that a recessed light only puts out 1/3 of the light of a surface fixture.
Whatever, it's gotta look good , that what's important

here's a link to the Costco LED lights...


http://www.costco.com/led-light-bulbs.html

I was shocked, until I noticed they were a 4 pack.

[oregon 67]

Costco has some led recessed light LED replacements. I am fairly impressed with the light output of them. They are way less expensive than the Sylvania or Lithonia comparable items.

I don't know about the length of service though.

25000 hours If I did my math right that means you can have your recessed lights on 4 hours a day for 17 years

They are 25 bucks each and they are dimmable. Most who have recessed lighting want dimmers.
I always thought it was odd that right in the middle of a wave of conservation and energy saving devices .That suddenly all the builders decided recessed cans were all the rage.
I've wired houses with as many as 70 of them. I remember reading that a recessed light only puts out 1/3 of the light of a surface fixture.
Whatever, it's gotta look good , that what's important

here's a link to the Costco LED lights...


http://www.costco.com/led-light-bulbs.html

I was shocked, until I noticed they were a 4 pack.

I had a customer want 6 in a smaller kitchen. We dimmed them .

As with most LED lamps, they are dimmable , The problem with dimming on a marginal load( less than 40 watts) is a strobing affect at the lower than 50% dimming range. Be sure to get an LED compatible dimmer.

[chuck white]

Costco has some led recessed light LED replacements. I am fairly impressed with the light output of them. They are way less expensive than the Sylvania or Lithonia comparable items.

I don't know about the length of service though.

25000 hours If I did my math right that means you can have your recessed lights on 4 hours a day for 17 years

They are 25 bucks each and they are dimmable. Most who have recessed lighting want dimmers.
I always thought it was odd that right in the middle of a wave of conservation and energy saving devices .That suddenly all the builders decided recessed cans were all the rage.
I've wired houses with as many as 70 of them. I remember reading that a recessed light only puts out 1/3 of the light of a surface fixture.
Whatever, it's gotta look good , that what's important

here's a link to the Costco LED lights...


http://www.costco.com/led-light-bulbs.html

I was shocked, until I noticed they were a 4 pack.

I had a customer want 6 in a smaller kitchen. We dimmed them .

As with most LED lamps, they are dimmable , The problem with dimming on a marginal load( less than 40 watts) is a strobing affect at the lower than 50% dimming range. Be sure to get an LED compatible dimmer.

I also found that some times I have a leaky light switch and the bulbs give off a faint glow when turned off.

[PonderThis]

I never heard of such a thing as a leaky light switch. You don't think it's back feeding from something else?

[chuck white]

I never heard of such a thing as a leaky light switch. You don't think it's back feeding from something else?

5 watt LED draws about 41 ma,
If a switch had a 1 Meg ohms of leakage. You could get a 0.12 ma which is about 0.3% brightness.
In the dark it's a faint glow.

[PonderThis]

If that was happening across the land, it seems like that would translate into a 0.3% suck on the grid even with everything turned off, and a needless 0.3% increase in peoples power bills. Can this really be happening, and everybody just accepts this? Or is this really just certain light switches?

[PonderThis]

How about using a capacitor somehow, so you could capture that lost energy and zap somebody with it or something.

[chuck white]

If that was happening across the land, it seems like that would translate into a 0.3% suck on the grid even with everything turned off, and a needless 0.3% increase in peoples power bills. Can this really be happening, and everybody just accepts this? Or is this really just certain light switches?

It's only 0.3% of 5 watts.
That's is 15 mw.
That comes out to 1 watt of power for every 60 leaky switches.