LED House Bulbs?

[Mork_417]

So, I have been trying to knock down my honey-do-list this year, as per the deal i made with the GF. Yesterday i was in the hardware store returning a bunch of plumbing fittings I didn't actually use, and I decided to pick up a bulb or two for the girls' ceiling fan. When we first moved into the house two years ago, i replaced all the lights with energy saving fluorescent bulbs. Well, i have noticed that the LED bulbs are getting more & more common, so I decided to grab one, and give it a try.

Got home, and tried the new bulb. It was very nice, instant on, brighter, and only 4.5watts! I was thinking this is going to work nicely for some of our heavily used lights. :yep: Ten minutes later, it died. :stare:

Not sure if i'm going to exchange it or just get my money back. :hmmm:

Has anyone else tried these new LED bulbs, and what is your experience with them?

[Herr-Berbunch]

As far as I know - and I'm certainly no expert - you need a tranformer to bring the voltage down to either 12 or 24V. If you're shoving 110 through them I'm surprised they lasted the day. :o

[Mork_417]

No, these are made as direct replacements for the normal house incandescent bulbs. Sorry, i guess i should have been a bit more clear about the type.

http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/853454/853454003208.jpg

^^^ This is the one i bought. ^^^

But, yeah I'm sure you're right about the transformer, they are just made into the base I guess. :hmmm:

[Tribesman]

I bought a house that had lots of sunken LEDs in the ceilings. The downstairs were fine but upstairs they just went on a near daily basis.
Loft insulation was the culprit.

[AVGWarhawk]

Not much experience with LED but they are supposed to last until the cows come home at least. I would stick with fluorescent. Although there is a large scare concerning mercury in the fluorescent bulb and special clean up when broken or needing to be disposed of. The US is slowly fading out incandescent bulbs. I hardly see them anymore. LED are becoming more prevalent on the shelves at the stores. Personally I hate the light LED generate. Cold feeling. The rate we are going soon candles will be the order of the day. :hmmm:

[Herr-Berbunch]

Yeah, they're supposed to take 120V. Apparently they're susceptible to heat failures - they need a bit of ventilation. If you had it enclosed that may have been the cause. :hmmm:

[Jimbuna]

Yeah, they're supposed to take 120V. Apparently they're susceptible to heat failures - they need a bit of ventilation. If you had it enclosed that may have been the cause. :hmmm:

My lad has them almost throughout his place of abode and yes, ventilation is key.

[fireftr18]

I'm familier with them and like them, except for the price. I suppose it's a case of you get what you pay for. :hmm2:
LED lights have come into extensive use for the lighting on emergency vehicles. They are expensive, but they show up better than anything else made, and they run with significantly less power draw. Important when you have limited power production and a large draw. :sunny:
They're also great for flashlights. We now have cheap, tiny flashlights that give out as much, or more light than large, heavy, expensive lights of the past. :up:
I still like the plain old incandescent lights. Cheap and reliable.
I can't stand compact flourescents. They're good at first, then after a while, they kind of dim down.:down:

[Spoon 11th]

I bought these LEDs from deal extreme:

E27 7W 4000K 700lm 14-LED Warm White Light Bulb - Purple (AC 85~265V)

http://www.dx.com/p/152093

There might be even better models these days. I wouldn't buy anything less than 100 lumens per watt. Also, 4000K color temp is the one I like best. This model is hemisphere and the purple thingy is a heat sink, so I assume it has a long life span.

[Herr-Berbunch]

85-265V :o That's some variation for a bulb that should output a regulated amount.

[Spoon 11th]

85-265V :o That's some variation for a bulb that should output a regulated amount.
It has "wide range" Switched-mode power supply, but yeah, the white leds operate around constant 5 volts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-mode_power_supply

[Mork_417]

Yeah, it was just a simple night stand lamp, open, so ventilation should have been good. I'm going to swap it out with another one, and give it another chance. I'm all about trying to lower our electric bill every month, so i'm always lookin at new ideas.

I like the 3500k - 4000k range, but the GF likes the 2700k ones.

Thanks for the input guys! :up:

[Herr-Berbunch]

I'm all about trying to lower our electric bill every month, so i'm always lookin at new ideas.

Always admirable. We've got CFLs everywhere but I might have to look into these LED bulbs now they're a lot cheaper. :hmmm:

[Jimbuna]

Always admirable. We've got CFLs everywhere but I might have to look into these LED bulbs now they're a lot cheaper. :hmmm:

I was under the impression people in your area simply wired themselves to the street lighting :O:

[Herr-Berbunch]

I was under the impression people in your area simply wired themselves to the street lighting :O:

Shhhhh!

We're also running an extension from the neighbour's leccy supply for when the passing trams interrupt the street light supplies.

[Jimbuna]

Shhhhh!

We're also running an extension from the neighbour's leccy supply for when the passing trams interrupt the street light supplies.

LOL....I forgot your still on gas lamps :)

[swamprat69er]

I use LED's and CFL's throughout my house. I only have one incandescent bulb in the house and that is a tri-light. As soon as that one goes out I will be replacing it with LED.
So far I have had good luck with LED, but a word of caution, IF your hydro power fluctuates constantly then the LED's won't last too long.

[FredrickJenkins]

So, I have been trying to knock down my honey-do-list this year, as per the deal i made with the GF. Yesterday i was in the hardware store returning a bunch of plumbing fittings I didn't actually use, and I decided to pick up a bulb or two for the girls' ceiling fan. When we first moved into the house two years ago, i replaced all the lights with energy saving fluorescent bulbs. Well, i have noticed that the led lights (http://www.niceledlights.com) are getting more & more common, so I decided to grab one, and give it a try.

Got home, and tried the new bulb. It was very nice, instant on, brighter, and only 4.5watts! I was thinking this is going to work nicely for some of our heavily used lights. :yep: Ten minutes later, it died. :stare:

Not sure if i'm going to exchange it or just get my money back. :hmmm:

Has anyone else tried these new LED bulbs, and what is your experience with them?

Yes these bulbs are latest trend.. Even I am trying to change some CFl lights with these bulbs.. They are bit expensive but less power consuming..:up::up:

[Rhodes]

Didn't yet tried, do to this kind of led bulbs being expensive yet, but I know that a few people experimented with red led bulbs on the darkrooms to see if they were safe and had positive results.
No fogged paper and the light is more bright than the regular safe light bulbs.

[BrucePartington]

With LED's it's possible to go off grid.
I currently live in a rural house. It was my paternal grandparents house, and it had been uninhabited for a while. When I moved in, the electric company refused to reconnect, demanding a total rewire of the house, which I decided I could not afford.
So I bought and installed a 130W photovoltaic panel, charge controller, batteries, and 12V LED strips from IKEA - http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90192071/ - installed in strategical places around the house. It's perfect for a computer desk with shelves above the monitor. Light is evenly distributed along the whole length of the work area, without casting shadows, and without taking up space on the desk. I could leave them on all night long, without hardly any voltage drop at the batteries.
I'd keep adding more PV panels and batteries, as a single 130 watt is clearly not enough for a home, but for the time being that's out of reach.

[Platapus]

LED lights for the home are still pretty expensive. Buying cheap LEDs is risky (the same thing with CFLs).

I put LEDs in lights that are inconvenient to change, but until the price drops without the quality dropping, I am holding off. Not really a fan of CFLs either.

[Mork_417]

Well, as far as the night stand lamp, I did get it replaced with another one, and it's been working fine. I guess the first one was a fluke? :hmmm:

I did find my biggest savings came from when I replaced the hot water heater. The previous owner had the temp setting up as high as it would go. On the new one, i have the two elements between 115-125. The first full month's bill was alot smaller. :D

But, that's a bit off topic of this thread. I'm comfortable enough now with these LED's, that I have one in each of the girl's rooms, our master bath over the tub, and of course both our night stands. I will continue to replace the others as I can, bit by bit, because of the initial cost.


Oh, and welcome aboard FredrickJenkins :shucks:.