LED Lighting coming to our homes

[Vinny]

I know that a lot of us have LEDs in our tubs but I went into Home Depot and they are now selling LED light bulbs. They seem to be in the reflector type bulbs at this point with only a small base candelabra available as a "standard" bulb.

I quickly looked at them and at this point I am hoping they do improve efficiency. They aren't as energy saving as I thought they would be, CFLs seem to have them beat by a little margin. I was looking at a 50 watt equivalent bulb and the LED used 14 watts and I believe a 14 watt CFL gives out 60 watts equivalent - more light for the amount of electricity it uses. And CFLs tend to be available for a low cost these days

The two areas that they might beat CFLs are light quality - CFLs tend not to have crisp lighting and suffer from being cold; and longevity - LEDs tend to last forever. At this point the LEDs would be great for an area that's hard to reach as long as you can use a reflector type bulb.

Hopefully they can get energy consumption down for these bulbs. A typical LED used in electronics uses very little amperage to operate but we aren't talking a large LED either.

Just wanted to give a FYI!

[Tman122]

I saw those also. My deck lighting is going to go in that direction. The cost seemed prohibitive at the time so I passed but I bet improvement isn't far off.

[Spatech_tuo]

I saw those also. My deck lighting is going to go in that direction. The cost seemed prohibitive at the time so I passed but I bet improvement isn't far off.

I have CFLs everywhere and last year I added LED lighting in the entry way with those pointy chandelier lights. They were supposed to equal the lighting I had there but whether its the type or light or maybe it was BS as to how equal they are but it has an appearance of needing to be brighter. Its not an issue since it only the entry into the house and they are major energy savors but I’m hoping they improve.

[Vinny]

I could be wrong but don't CFLs come in the small base bulbs?

I don't know how they measure initial bulb brightness and compare a LED to CFL or Incandesent but CFLs do not have the same crispness as a incandescent and there is a formula to measure bulb brightness at distances. But I think it could just be marketing hype at this point. The brightness could also be affected by the orientation of the element giving the light. I have seen operating room lights give different lighting pattens with bulbs that have a horizontal element vs vertical ... maybe that's what's happening with this.

I will say that they were kind of expensive (could swear I saw a price on the shelf for $49) but was curious enough that if they had a standard base bulb that wasn't too expensive I would probably picked one up. They will improve and eventually be much better and cheaper.

I saw those also. My deck lighting is going to go in that direction. The cost seemed prohibitive at the time so I passed but I bet improvement isn't far off.

I have CFLs everywhere and last year I added LED lighting in the entry way with those pointy chandelier lights. They were supposed to equal the lighting I had there but whether its the type or light or maybe it was BS as to how equal they are but it has an appearance of needing to be brighter. Its not an issue since it only the entry into the house and they are major energy savors but I’m hoping they improve.

[Bonibelle]

My house is also full of CFLs and I have decided that I am now used to the definate deficiency in the brightness.  The thing that makes me angry about the CFLs is that they advertise that the bulbs have much longer lives than regular bulbs..that has not been what I have experienced at all.   

[Vinny]

Boni,

I have experienced short longevity as well. One thing I have found is that the electronics does suffer from heat problems. I had one start to flicker when I put it into a globe fixture without any air circulation. I also think that since they have been making them as "green" as possible and not using the traditional fluorescent materials - all fluorescent bulbs don't last as long. In my basement I have 4 foot fluorescent bulbs and if they are on for 20 hours a week that's a lot - they should last for at least 8,000 hours so for me that's 400 weeks and I don't think  got 2 years out of them.

I still like the incandescent for general lighting and I believe the difference is the single point of light vs a CFL that has a lighted area. I never researched on how a bulb is rated a certain wattage but I will say that it seems that incandescent and halogen definitely has a crispness to it; I was hoping when LEDs came out that crispness would be there along with energy savings of the CFL. Interesting to me is that even regular fluorescent bulbs have a better quality than the CFLs but that may be due to the higher wattage they deliver. I do use CFLs around the house where lighting quality is not a big deal - basement, bedrooms and closets but I also use the higher wattage there as well - 100 watt equivalents or more. One thing I will warn about with the CFLs - do not buy the "daylight" bulbs, they are too blue - strange color, hurts my eyes.

[Tman122]

I have found that there are allot of different grades of CFL's The cheap one seem to be just that. The better ones will probably last longer. I have never bought the more expensive ones always the cheap ones. My g-friend buys the better ones and seems to get allot more life outa hers.

[fdegree]

I don't know if this is going to be of any help to anyone...perhaps you all are already aware of this.  But......

There is a Kelvin Temperature Scale (http://www.lightenergysource.com/kelvintemp.htm), which isn't actually a temperature scale, but rather a light source scale.  Some CFL manufacturers will publish this information about their bulb, unfortunately many do not.  But, it may help you when choosing your CFL's, so you get the kind of light you want for the area you are going to use it.  Researching the bulb on-line may help find this information if it is not advertised on the packaging, and sometimes the internet is no help at all.  If you look around, you can find CFL's with different Kelvin scale values, but it may, or may not, be worth the effort.

For what it's worth, my experience with CFL's has been the same...they don't seem to last any longer than the incandescent bulbs.

[Vinny]

The Kelvin scale does measure both then color of the light and temperature. Kelvin is considered the the Absolute Temperature vs Celsius or Fahrenheit. 0º K = -270º C or something like that.

The product manufacturers try to guide you with words of "daylight", "cool white", or whatever else. Incandescent bulbs have a yellowish tint where halogens have a slightly whiter look. Fluorescent bulbs tend to be whiter than a incandescent bulb but have a greenish tint, daylight is more bluish. Modern digital cameras have an automatic white balance on them vs film cameras needed a color correcting filter. The newer expensive headlights on the cars are running at "daylight" Kelvin temps which is why the real bulbs (not the blue color coated bulbs) have a slightly blueish tint when looking at them.

I can't see spending a lot of money on CFLs simply because I do not like the quality of the light and IMO why buy one for $11.99 for 1 when you can buy a 5 pack for $8.99. I do see where the LEDs are getting closer to the light color of the incandescent bulb. I have a few LED lights (tub and Christmas lights) with white LEDs and they are too blue, hopefully in a few years we will have a good LED that gives off the same quality and color light as a incandescent bulb.

[Bonibelle]

Ok Vinny,,...I was in Target to get a few new light bulbs and found YOUR LED light..HOLY cow!! One bulb was $43.00..there goes my credit card!!

[Vinny]

Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that they were pretty expensive.

Ok Vinny,,...I was in Target to get a few new light bulbs and found YOUR LED light..HOLY cow!! One bulb was $43.00..there goes my credit card!!

[fdegree]

The Kelvin scale does measure both then color of the light and temperature. Kelvin is considered the the Absolute Temperature vs Celsius or Fahrenheit. 0º K = -270º C or something like that.

You are correct...I should have been more specific in my post.  Kelvin is actually a temperature scale, just like Celsius and Fahrenheit are temperature scales.  But, in this case, the Kelvin scale is more of a reference to light source, rather than an exact temperature.

I can't see spending a lot of money on CFLs simply because I do not like the quality of the light and IMO why buy one for $11.99 for 1 when you can buy a 5 pack for $8.99. I do see where the LEDs are getting closer to the light color of the incandescent bulb. I have a few LED lights (tub and Christmas lights) with white LEDs and they are too blue, hopefully in a few years we will have a good LED that gives off the same quality and color light as a incandescent bulb.

With CFL's having similar life span as an incandescent bulb, the initial expense may make them inefficient...you may not save enough in energy costs to offset the cost of the bulb.  I personally don't buy them unless I can find them for under $2.00 each.  Even then, I have no idea if I'm saving enough to offset their cost when compared to incandescent.

[Bonibelle]

I have to say I can take the trade off of lousy light in my kitchen because of the huge difference in the heat that incandescent bulbs produce. I have 5 high hats in the work area  and in the summer they can really heat up the kitchen!  So the CLFs have made a positive difference in that case,.

I believe the technology for the CLFs is developing but right now, you are right fdegree...I am spending way more for bulbs than I could ever be saving in electric.

[Vinny]

Maybe not. If you have 5 - 14 Watt CFLs that are burning a total of 70 watts an hour vs 5 - 65 watt bulbs burning 325 watts an hour the savings could add up  depending on how long you use your lights along with the heat savings. The diference is 255 Watts so after 1000 hours (lights on 5 hours a day for 200 days (approx 7 months)) then there would be a significant savings IF you didn't pay a lot for the CFLs - multiply 255 Kilo watt hours (1000 x 255) by your electrical rate and that should be your savings. At $0.14/kwh x 255 kw= $35.70. I think my math is correct.

[Theojt]

I'm with Vinny - I don't like 'em.  They're too 'cold' and they take a fair while to 'heat up' to full output.

More importantly, they contain mercury and while there are no dangers while they are intact, you have a mess on your hands if one breaks.  If you aren't aware of  mercury dangers, you should be. At higher levels, it will kill: and at low levels, it will cause irreversible brain damage, developmental problems, and lifelong illness. Our bodies retain the mercury, and repeated exposures will just accumulate more until the effects are noticed and most often irreversible.

Should a CFL break in your home, you are supposed to leave the room immediately and let it air out with the furnace or A/C off.  Clean up carefully being sure to wear gloves designed for handling such materials (Neoprene, PVC, vinyl).  Do not vacuum as this may aerate the mercury as well as contaminate your vacuum.

These blubs should not be thrown away (use double plastic baggies if you absolutley must).  Mercury is a heavy metal and can find it's way into ground water systems - they should be recycled at appropriate facilities.

Maybe these are energy efficient but they are NOT people friendly.  Read the fine print that comes with the bulb and do some research on the net.