# LED light bulbs yield big savings in energy



## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

LED light bulbs yield big savings in energy.

*One way the United States could slash its electricity use, dependence on fossil fuels and emissions of heat-trapping gases is really quite simple: better light bulbs.*









LED Lamp with E27 Edison screw. Image: Wikipedia.

-- Tom


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I've tried a number of different LED bulbs, and IMO they're not quite ready for prime time. It's a good idea, and will make a difference when the development is advanced a bit more, but right now they're just not cost effective. An on target quote from that article, which is what I find as well.

"There's an enormous and exciting potential, but we have a long way to go before we see anything besides directional lighting,"


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## Koot (Nov 25, 2007)

I don't care for the color (kelvin degree temperature) they produce. Plus, each LED's intensity is concentrated in such a small area, that whether there's one LED or a hundred LEDs making up the light source, the intensity is no where close to what we're used to having [seeing] for low-level residential lighting.


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

I cant see anything at all with them.


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## DarqueMist (Jan 16, 2001)

I actually own a LCD flashlight I use for "emergency" purposes. Offers brilliant bright light and batteries last in it forever. Also around here most traffic lights have been converted to LCD, a great use for low consumption directional lighting. But as John said, they aren't quite ready for prime time. But I will bet before long we will be squeezing enough light out of them that they will work their way into everyday use.


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

the light itself is bright...but when i am under a sink or similar I cant see anything with them..the light frequency isnt very ideal IMO.Not near white enough.
I cant see very good anyway so they dont help me much.


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## Koot (Nov 25, 2007)

The problem is not so much the lumen output that can come from clustering numerous LEDs together, but the [color] wavelength that LEDs produce along with their high intensity. Most people like residential lighting to be a soft warm (3000+/- degree Kelvin) light that is not concentrated in too small of an envelope area. LED lamps for residential lighting is just unnatural compared to what we're used to seeing.


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

Koot said:


> The problem is not so much the lumen output that can come from clustering numerous LEDs together, but the [color] wavelength that LEDs produce along with their high intensity. Most people like residential lighting to be a soft warm (3000+/- degree Kelvin) light that is not concentrated in too small of an envelope area. LED lamps for residential lighting is just unnatural compared to what we're used to.


That makes sense....different lights..different frequency's
Florescent lighting does me the most good..followed by incandescent.
I honestly cant see anything with led lighting....I mean nothing

I can be under a hood with a 60 bang led light and would gladly trade it for a simple 7 watt night light,to help me find that bolt


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

They're working on the color issue:

http://www.mobilemag.com/2006/04/13/scientists-develop-oled-light-bulb-that-emits-natural-light/

[WEBQUOTE="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_lamp"]phosphor converted LEDs (pcLEDs) uses a single high energy short wavelength LED (usually blue or ultraviolet) in combination with a phosphor, which absorbes a portion of the blue light and transmit a broader spectrum that fills out the rest of the wavelengths necessary for white light. The major advantage here is the low cost, while the disadvantage is the inability to fine tune the character of the light without completely changing the phosphor layer. So while this will not yield high CRI (color rendering index) values without sacrificing some other performance property, the low cost and adequate performance makes it the most suitable technology for general lighting today.[/WEBQUOTE]


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## DarqueMist (Jan 16, 2001)

Florescent and incandescent lights come a variety of task oriented hues (cool white ... leans towards blue, soft white ... leans towards pink ....). I prefer cool for reading, the blue makes white paper look whiter so a better contrast with black ink, soft white is supposed to be more "calming" so gets used in a lot of business settings. Making LCD lights more "natural" can be as simple as placing a film over the cluster.

edit - appears john beat me to the explanation that colour output can be controlled and will / is being worked on.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

They are good for spot lighting and flash lights but that is about it. Well running lights you see along the floor and steps and places like that but again it is limited.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I have a number of the 110V units, I buy one when I see a different type, just to see how it works. So far, they have very limited application IMO. There is promise there, but it has yet to be realized.


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## jp1203 (Jul 21, 2005)

I hope they improve and become popular, myself.

Those spiral energy saver bulbs that are so popular now are far from perfect. They take a while to "warm up" (but not nearly as long as the first generations of them) and there's no way a 100 W spiral replacement is as bright as a 100W incandescent, IMO.

I use them in the basement and closets, mostly, where I don't really care about the quality of light. In the summer, I'll use them outside, but in the winter they're useless (though I think on the packaging it mentions temperature restrictions).

Someone told me they make LED headlights for lawn tractors. I keep meaning to buy some for my ancient Ford because the engine only puts out around 4-5 amps on full throttle, which is what the headlights draw. On anything other than full, I'm just draining the battery while I use them. Apparently the LEDs use about 1 amp and are much brighter. They would be nice, since even on idle the engine puts out about that. 

Power consumption should be a huge plus on them when they're perfected.


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

JStergis said:


> I hope they improve and become popular, myself.
> 
> Those spiral energy saver bulbs that are so popular now are far from perfect. They take a while to "warm up" (but not nearly as long as the first generations of them) and there's no way a 100 W spiral replacement is as bright as a 100W incandescent, IMO.
> 
> ...


 those spiral florescent?
they do them by comparison...i have one that is 42 watts..it puts out the equivalent of a 150 bulb...it is very bright....the socket is only good for 60 watts..so its the perfect solution

Anyway the light is usable,some people dont like the lighting from them..it works very for me though.

For whats it worth my 42 watt bulb dominates any 100 watt incandescent bulb.

What brand are you getting?


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## jp1203 (Jul 21, 2005)

I know, I'm saying the ones that say they're equivalent to a 100W bulb seem nowhere close to me. I had five 100W incandescent bulbs in the basement, and replaced them with the 100W equivalent energy saver spirals and it's noticeably darker down there now. I leave them, though, as I don't go down there much and prefer using about 200 watts instead of 500 to light the basement.

The ones I bought are all GEs, FWIW.


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

I follow you now
The incandescent do put out whiter light...especially the cheap ones that burn out in a month.


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## jp1203 (Jul 21, 2005)

Do you notice if yours take a little while to warm up? I'd say mine take 2-3 minutes to be usable, and as much as 10 to reach their full brightness. When I first turn them on, it's like candlelight. It may be because they're a few years old and the technology has improved, but it's one of the reasons I don't use them everywhere.


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

mine are go to go in about a second....i boughtt a few about 2 years back.
most were to replace the 60 watters ......they draw 20 some odd watts if i remember right...some are yellowing and arent as bright...try you a new one next time you see one on sale..they have came along ways they stay white for quite a while..the one in the room I am in now is about 2 years old..its yellowed a little...its on about 14 hours a day so has done pretty good....it came from walmart..i dont remember the brand of the bulbs..I had bought several at once


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## RootbeaR (Dec 9, 2006)

brett888 said:


> those spiral florescent?
> they do them by comparison...i have one that is 42 watts..it puts out the equivalent of a 150 bulb...it is very bright....the socket is only good for 60 watts..so its the perfect solution
> 
> Anyway the light is usable,some people dont like the lighting from them..it works very for me though.
> ...


They work for me too.

I find them brighter to read by, yet not anywhere near as harsh to my eyes.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Not all florescent bulbs are the same either.
I got some at costco that said only 33 watts but as bright as a 111 watt incandescent. Not sure if I got how many incandescent watts right but think it is.
I put the first one in the kitchen over head light above the sink and turned it on and said NO. It was very dull looking but went outside to have a smoke and came back in and said WOW that is very brite. It gave out lots of very good light. At first it too longer to warm up and give out more light but then it get faster and gives the full light almost right away. 
I love that light because with the white cabinets that kitchen you could see everything easy and it was because of that florescent bulb.


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## tjamnz (Jun 15, 2004)

NEAT ! man...


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