Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Anyone using LED indoor lighting instead of compact fluorescent?

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » The DU Lounge Donate to DU
 
tk2kewl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 09:37 AM
Original message
Anyone using LED indoor lighting instead of compact fluorescent?
Edited on Thu Jan-25-07 09:48 AM by tk2kewl
Do they really work with standard 120V dimmers?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
hedgehog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 09:42 AM
Response to Original message
1. Also - what is the color range?
Are they similar to natural light?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
tk2kewl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 09:46 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Good question...
They are even more energy efficient than compact fluorescents, I know that.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Tesha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 11:58 AM
Response to Reply #1
15. LEDs tend to be very bluish (so "Daylight" colored)
Edited on Thu Jan-25-07 11:59 AM by Tesha
> Also - what is the color range?
> Are they similar to natural light?

LEDs tend to be very bluish (so "Daylight" colored).
A few fancy fixtures (from Herman-Miller and the like)
offer a selectable color temperature so you can have
"warmer"-appearing light if you wish.

Tesha
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
seabeyond Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 09:46 AM
Response to Original message
3. those little twirly lined lightbulbs that are suppose to last forever?
lol lol. hubby does this stuff, can you tell. we changed out lightbulb to ones that are supose to be different. lighting is a bet different but i have gotten use to them. they last much longer than the regular. my house is full of dimmers. my lightbulbs dont work on the dimmer though i have chosen them in some of the spots.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
tk2kewl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 09:48 AM
Response to Reply #3
4. I think you talking about the compact fluorescent bulbs that look like this
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
seabeyond Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 09:58 AM
Response to Reply #4
6. yup, thanks. guess it isnt what you are talking. lol. n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 12:00 PM
Response to Reply #6
17. I scored big on those flourescent twirly bulbs. 4 for $2.99
UI bought a bunch and replaced the regular bulbs all over the house :)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
wuushew Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 09:49 AM
Response to Original message
5. Its tough to beat the savings of cf bulbs
Edited on Thu Jan-25-07 09:51 AM by wuushew
a 1600 lumen bulb runs a little over two dollars, lasts 8000 hours and consumes 23-26 watts.

I have replaced nearly all the incandescents in my apartment since I signed my lease in July.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
alfredo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 02:06 PM
Response to Reply #5
24. They have them shaped like light bulbs now so they can be used with
lamps that have shades that attach to the bulb.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
sweetheart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 10:02 AM
Response to Original message
7. I have been using G10 LED's
and i'm not impressed with bulb-longevity. I desgined and built a special
fixture for them, as they are not as bright as incandescents, but i've found
that the designers of some of these LED bulbs have designed in a short lifespan
so they can keep selling units... They are expensive per bulb, but i was
expecting them to last near forever, not the same as incandescents....

Can't help you with operating them on a dimmer, after using them (mains 240V Led bulbs),
i would build such fixtures in to a new house for 'little lights' for things like
stairs and the toilet bowl, not a main light for a table or a kitchen.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Tesha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 12:00 PM
Response to Reply #7
16. Did the entire lamp fail or just a few of the LED elements? (NT)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
sweetheart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 12:47 PM
Response to Reply #16
20. The coloured ones in this photo

The fixture is a wood beam (a beam of light) and the 14 LED GU10 bulbs
are set in to the wood. The bulbs are so cool at 2-3 watts, that they
don't burn the wood, and its a beautiful lamp.

The total lamp is 30 watts and lights a worktable. The bulbs are 10 dollars each!
And the white ones are blowing out, and the coloured ones are lasting forever.
I first mixed some red bulbs in there to warm the spectrum a bit from the very-flourescent
spectrum of the white LED's.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 10:07 AM
Response to Original message
8. I think I will probably start to replace the fluorescents as
they burn out, but I've still got a small stash of bulbs and it'll be a while.

The LEDs will probably come down in price considerably by then.

I have been pleased with the fluorescents except there are a few fixtures that simply won't accept them. I use those fixtures very sparingly and most have light bulbs that predated the first set of fluorescents I put in.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
madrchsod Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 10:51 AM
Response to Original message
9. do not throw fluorescents in the trash
they contain mercury. i`ve tried the cheaper ones and they fail just as bad as regular bulbs. i`ve replaced some of my lights with fluorescents but use regular bulbs for reading..
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 11:18 AM
Response to Reply #9
13. Really? Mine haven't gone out yet.
What are you supposed to do with them if not trash?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 12:01 PM
Response to Reply #13
18. Crush them and use as an ice cream topping? (sparkly sprinkles)
:shrug:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
madrchsod Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 12:30 PM
Response to Reply #13
19. no one really knows....walmart is going to push these bulbs
and ran into the problem of disposal. they have`t figured out how people can return the bulbs...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
hedgehog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 11:10 AM
Response to Original message
10. Has anyone had problems with flicker from these bulbs?
I had some on the Christmas tree and one of my kids was complaining about the flicker effect.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 11:17 AM
Response to Reply #10
12. The CF I got for my front light did for a while, but then it stopped
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Tesha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 11:55 AM
Response to Reply #10
14. It depends on the supporting electronics
Edited on Thu Jan-25-07 11:56 AM by Tesha
> I had some on the Christmas tree and one of my kids was
> complaining about the flicker effect.

It depends on the supporting electronics. Christmas tree LEDs
run in a very, very simple circuit and definitely exhibit
noticeable 50/60 Hz flicker which many will probably find
annoying. FYI: Because of the very simple circuitry, LED
Christmas lights dim just fine.

LED replacements for light bulbs may or may not exhibit this
depending on how sophisticated the supporting electronics in
the "light bulb" are. This also affects whether they are
"dimmable".

Me, I find the flickering of LED taillights on cars quite
annoying and wish the regulations would be changed to force
the eliminatiom of that flicker.

Tesha
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
hunter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 01:41 PM
Response to Reply #10
23. I hate the flicker of LED Christmas lights.
So much that I built a custom non-flickering power supply for them.

But line voltage experiments like this can electrocute people and start fires, so it's not the sort of thing everybody should play with.

I'm eagerly awaiting low voltage LED christmas lights with a built-in D.C. power supply. They could be made to be very, very reliable -- something you have to buy only once. Heck, if they used U.V. and weather resistant cable, you'd only have to hang them once!

That would be so cool, permanent Christmas lights. You could also turn them on for parties.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 11:17 AM
Response to Original message
11. Not a big fan of the LEDs
They are not anywhere near as bright as CFs and conventionals, at least not the one I got which was ostensibly 60w comparable. I use it for a nightlight now. I got some LED "outdoor floods" and they are just worthless. They last a long time, though, so I am using them in the two-flood fixture along with a regular flood. Haven't burnt out yet.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Javaman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 12:51 PM
Response to Original message
21. I just got them for under the cabinet lighting in our kitchen.
They have a blue color temp and actually I find it very soothing. :)

We installed 6 of them and what is nice is if I have to get up in the middle of the night, the light although bright, it's not harsh and doesn't "sting" my eyes.

I have yet to use LED's for the rest of the house. They are still a bit pricey, but I may try one or two to see the effect.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
KurtNYC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-25-07 01:29 PM
Response to Original message
22. They won't work with standard dimmers
Edited on Thu Jan-25-07 01:42 PM by KurtNYC
The price of LEDs are coming down rapidly but they are still pricey.

The white ones do not last as long as the colors but any of them will last much longer when operating dimmed. Right now there are alot of LEDs which are being over-driven current wise and that is killing them. Heat IS an issue too.

The big applications for LED right now is as neon replacement, grazing (backlighting glass panels) and other industrial applications. The home market isn't expected to develop for another 2 years or so.

Handy white paper here:
http://www.aboutlightingcontrols.org/education/papers/controlLED.shtml

Edit: found an answer at variance with mine (eg 'they WILL work but...):

The question of led light bulbs and dimmers is a bit complicated. Many of our led light bulbs are dimmable using common dimmer switches. However, most 120-volt AC dimmers need a minimum amount of resistive load (typically about 40 watts) in order to function properly. Because led bulbs often do not provide the load a dimmer needs, it is usually necessary to have one incandescent or halogen bulb on the same dimmer control as the led bulbs. The dimmers we have always require at least one incandescent bulb on the circuit in order to function properly.

Even with a proper load, some 120V AC led bulbs respond better to dimmer switches. Some led light bulbs dim down smoothly and completely similar to an incandescent bulb. Our Par38 126-led and 165-led bulbs are in this category. Others will dim down only about 50% even when the dimmer is turned nearly off. Our D19, Par20, and Par30 led bulbs are in this category. Our PAR38 108-led bulb and 96-led 360-degree bulb do not respond to a dimmer; they are either on or off. Similarly there are differences in how the same led light bulb will respond to different dimmer controls.


http://www.besthomeledlighting.com/faqs

I still say if you are going to sink good money into LED I would use them with the right driver and controllers to get the most out of them. To much power will bake them in a hurry.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
tk2kewl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-26-07 09:39 AM
Response to Reply #22
25. Thanks... that's the best advice I've gotten. n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Fri Dec 27th 2024, 06:10 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » The DU Lounge Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC