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Been researching these as an alternative to CFLs. Apparently this is the way lightbulbs are going to go in the future, but while the technology isn't quite there yet there are already some LED lightbulb products on the market. Has anyone here had experience with these?
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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I'm patiently waiting for LED lightbulbs to get better.
Compare the output in lumens to a regular incandescent or CFL. Most of the currently available LED bulbs are just too dim to be acceptable for most people. I think it's crisper, cleaner light than incandescents or flourescents but it just isn't a very forceful beam at this time. Also, the "dimmability" problem hasn't quite been solved. Many if not most dimmer switches require a minimum wattage load (often 40 Watts) to function and a string of LED lights just doesn't pull that much, so that's another thing to consider.
LED will get there, but it isn't very viable at this time.
i had some under-counter lighting LED samples. they were just too dim to be useful.
the technology will improve over time. the thing i like most about them vs. CFL's is their ability to be dimmed. CFL's still have a lot of problems in this area. its to the point where some manufacturer's are starting to produce proprietary dimmers; that's not a good solution for joe homeowner.
We had the LED christmas lights..they were awsome....we had left our lights on all night, and went up there the next day to turn them off and they were still cool..never got hot..
Yes, I had a sample LED bulb that was as bright a 60W and fit a standard socket. I had to give it back but it seemed to be a fine bulb replacement for extremely long life and low electricity use (I don't know if it could be dimmed). The issue is cost... it supposedly cost $59.00. I have done no analysis but would guess there is no economic justification until they drop to a fraction of that.
BTW, I just looked at the doc and they also sell fully dimmable models.
The claim is that the long life, low power consumption, and low heat output allows them to pay off in less than 3 years if used 8 hours a day.
The out of the box thinking isn't there yet. As I type, I have shadows cast from the overhead light in my room making the keyboard unevenly lit. Then I look up and see the crown molding. Wouldn't it be nice if the crown molding was a series of LEDs providing a nice even light in the room? How about task lighting? The booklight makers have figured out how to make a little light that works, but what about flooding a workbench with light that isn't hot? Still not developed. The first cars looked like carriages without the horse. Sticking a bunch of LEDs on a stick in an old small Edison socket is similar thinking.
I tried some under counter ones and agree - they are just too dim to be useful. But I got a lamp with a flat 6" diameter disk with a bunch of the LED lights and it works very well for my desk. It also was not a ton of money.
In my experience, you can't trust what they say about the LED bulbs. You have to try it out to see how much light they actually put out. They seem to be better for task lighting than room lighting. I think they have to work at using highly reflective surfaces to maximize the light that is put out. IF they don't do this, then there just isn't enough light. I've wanted to try some more but $50-60 per bulb is just too high to see if they will work.
As an Electrician I will wait for a while longer before recommending them to my customers yet. Good idea, just the implementation isn't up to the promises yet.
This is key when riding on streets with busy intersections because cars taking a right at a stop light will not see you from the side with a standard back facing LED tail light setup. Of course the way around this if you already own one of these is to buy a couple of those cheap LED lights you can strap on to your bike to face the sides.
Go to Home Depot or Lowes and look at a bunch of LED bulbs on the shelves. We have been using them for several years already, although the first generation ones tend to burn sooner. I have them at several locations around my house, including the stove's hood. But they are expensive.
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