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Hello, can I have a discussion here about LEDs? I didn't
know if this was the right place for it. In particular general
usage for household applications, for light fixtures, lamps, etc.
I'm asking for another member who has a thread elsewhere, but
I think it might be more appropriate here.
Hello, can I have a discussion here about LEDs? I didn't
know if this was the right place for it. In particular general
usage for household applications, for light fixtures, lamps, etc.
I'm asking for another member who has a thread elsewhere, but
I think it might be more appropriate here.
Thanks!
What's your question? I assume if it's about house usage it should be okay in this category.
The one thing I don't like is most of them have a bad color range, so it's hard on the eyes. The ones that have good color will cost more. I noticed Costco and Sam's are selling them at somewhat reasonable prices.
Most of the glare or color problems with the light can be corrected by using the right lens on the bulb.
Super long life and about the lowest power consumption make it a big winner. We should be phasing out all incanddescent and allowing only the more efficient bulbs to be on the market.
Not only for the Green Effect but it would make a huge difference in the amount of power generation capacity that could be "Replaced" or not required if you did it all nationwide. Part of an energy conservation policy, easy to do and implement, save a lil bit at each house, all adds up to huge national efficiency.
Part of the problem might be all the vested interest that don't want to see far more efficient use of electricity for what ever reason. Should have been done a long time ago based on its own merits.
We will need to replace the present generation of Nuke electric generating plants in a lil bit. They all are way over their design working life span. One good way is just eliminate a lot of power required, one light bulb at a time. Sure would help to have a comprehensive energy policy if which one hand knew what the other was doing / promoting.
I love the HE bulbs. Every single light in my house has them with the exception of two ceiling fans because they have halogen bulbs (grumble grumble) and my garage door opener which they won't work with for some reason. I try not to use the ceiling fan lights and use the floor lamps with HE bulbs instead. I probably have over 25 of them throughout my house.
I didn't know this was an alternative for household use -- I'll have to look into it more. I have not converted to the CFLs because of the mercury and associated hazard. I just know I'd break one as soon as I got it!
LEDs are expensive right now. They do pay out if you can find the right color that doesn't bother you. The higher your electricity rate the faster they will pay you back. It appears to be about 7-8 division factor when trying to find an equal to incandescent light bulb. So if you're trying to find something to replace a 60 watt bulb you'll need to find something close to 8 watts if it's an LED. The price per bulb for an 8 watt LED will flip you out. However you need to think in terms of the span of life for the light bulb and the cost to run it. Typically over a years time period you should see savings above using an incandescent. I wish the price would come down on them but it'll be a while I think. They have grow-lights now too. One light I was looking at was $137.00 for a 45 watt model with both blue and red spectrum. It's 12.25" x 12.25" by 1.5" and can be as little as 3" of the tops of the plants. Two of those would be enough to grow 16 very healthy plants... i.e.. tomato, cucumber, peppers, etc. I'm not referring to whacky tobbacco...
What I don't exactly get is that, I assumed there was nothing "burned" out or consumed with LEDs unlike CF or incandescents... why is there a "life" for LEDs? Anyone know why an LED would fail later? It doesn't make sense to me...
Typically overtime, from what I understand, it's the heat. In some cases they've had LEDs last over 1,000,000 hours. Here is some info from Energy Star:
Quote:
Do LEDs create heat?
LEDs create some heat, but the LED won't feel hot to the touch like other light sources. Incandescent bulbs produce heat that is felt in the beam of light, much like the heat that is felt from sunlight. The light from an LED does not transmit this heat, but it creates heat that moves from surface to surface. As a result, the light from an LED does not create additional heat in a room.
The heat generated can break down an LED and reduce the quality of the light. To combat the negative effects heat has on LED performance, luminaire manufacturers incorporate heat sinks in their designs to move the heat away from the LED. Like a cold spoon that warms up in a hot cup of water, the heat leaves the LED through the heat sink in a process called conduction. This reduces the impact of the heat, while still not putting any additional heat into the room.
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Technology whose time has come
