I love the LED.
I am not mr green. I do not give a flying rats ass about the Environment except as it refers to conservation. Conservationism, and not Environmentalism, is where sanity lies.
but I loves me some LED lights.
They have been cheap- and yes, I get that they’re cheap because of subsidies, but I’ll take cheap, most ways it comes to me- but most of all they’re durable.
I cannot use those corkscrew fluorescents, because my household voltage fluctuates far too much. they either die premature deaths or catch fire, fuckem. LED’s, on the other hand, are capable of withstanding large variations in voltage, and their power supplies are internally regulated. For the very first time in the16 years I have lived in this house, I put four bulbs in outdoor fixtures and they lasted all winter. the LED lamp I put in my nightstand last week is dimmable, and never gets hot to the touch. THIS is something I can count as serious progress.
16 comments Og | Uncategorized
If only they didn’t cost 40 times more than a regular light bulb.
I have been a fan of florescents for a long time. Not because they save electricity. But because in shop lights, they don’t heat up and cause fires, or burn my arm.
I recently bought my first LED light. So far I’m not impressed. It’s just too expensive. Even teh little halogen bulbs are a serious gouge.
Really? I have put dozens of incandescents into my front outdoor lights. I don’t remember what they cost, but let’s assume they were miserably cheap, say a buck. I usually had to replace them four times a year, which means 16 bucks plus 16 times I had to drag out the ladder and climb up it to replace a bulb, plus the inconvenience of having a light out. I don’t know what your tie is worth, but at $10 an hour, the LED lights have already more than paid for themselves.
I put four $9 LED light bulbs in last summer. They are now more than a year old and show no sign of trouble. Just not having to climb up on a ladder and replace bulbs several times during the winter has been worth all the $36 total I paid for all four of these. The one I just put in my nightstand was $4.
After my experiences at work with LED bulbs in the walk-in freezers I’m sold on ’em. The CFLs in the exterior lights at home are fine from late spring to early fall but once the mercury takes a serious dip they struggle until they warm up their enclosures enough.
And I agree with you on price. A few extra bucks up front is more than offset by the longevity of the bulb.
BGM
I must be living in LED markup central. They typically run $16 to $30 each here. I only have one and it puts out a weak little 15W equivalent. I’m about to replace it with another 100W CFL (since I already have a bunch of those).
First, I don’t have your voltage problems. I have nice clean voltage so all my lights last a good long time. But I am in a new house so it’s possible the light just haven’t had a chance to fail yet.
I only use CFL indoors for I also don’t have the temperature problems. I have also grown to like how the light in my bathroom gently warms up instead of blinding me in the morning.
I also have a few halogen spot lights $10 ea for 50w size. But those are the only thing that will work for lighting up artwork right.
Based on your recommendation I will try out some LEDs for the outside lighting, if I can get them in large enough sizes.
The other thing I worry about is heat buildup. Those huge heat sinks they wrap those LEDs in worry me.
The 60 watt equivalent light bulb I put in my nightstand can sit on all day, and you can still unscrew it and hold it in your hand with no discomfort at all. It’s far cooler than a CFL. I used to burn my hand regularly turning off the lamp when it was a 60 incandescent.
(I bought the 60 on sale, but the regular price is $10.97 at the Home Depot in Washington DC.) In the store they have sale displays not advertised- for instance, I just bought 4 60’s for the fan in the kitchen on sale cheap- and they have a projected lifespan of 22 years)
That’s why I don’t use incandescent lights in my shop or in drop lights.
I love LED flashlights. I want to shoot out LED car lights.
I might have to look into some for the house. Especially out side. I really like to light up the outdoors.
I was stuck with incandescents because the voltage fluctuations killed CFL’s, the only fluorescent I can use is one that has a HUGE surge suppressor behind it, and even the incandescents have an average lifespan of about three months.
I probably spend at least $25 a month on light bulbs.
LED’s are perfect for me, because 1: they can deal with voltage spikes, 2: they generate the least heat, 3: they can deal with being outdoors, 4: they use FAR less electricity than anything else for the same light output. So if you don’t care about the excess heat generated by CFL’s, or the nightmare of cleanup if you break one, or the heat generated by incandescents, and you like changing bulbs a lot, and you like sending extra money to the power company, then LED’s are not for you.
I think the nighmare of cleanup is overblown. I have been cleaning up broken florescent bulbs for 45 years with nothing more than a broom and dustpan and I’m perfectly he… ee…althy.
lol.
Until the EPA catches you cleaning up a mercury spill without a license. A felony in Virginia, last I checked. And yes, the amount of mercury in a CFL puts it over the edge of what you must contact the EPA to clean up.
Only if you tell them about it.
Indeed! As I learned at my father’s knee:(or, actually, most of the time, over it) DON’T GET CAUGHT.
I was recently tempted to get my first few LED bulbs but noticed they have the same warning as CFLs telling one not to use them for enclosed fixtures.
I’ve noticed that that seriously reduces the lifespan of CFLs and LED are still too expensive to replace frequently.
They are perfect, however, for those hard to reach spots provided the bulb isn’t fully enclosed. (The outdoor light I’d really like to use them with is enclosed, but I’ll be changing it.)
Also, I was going to use them to replace some halogen spots but the halogens were $10 and the LEDs $40+ so since I’d gotten nearly 20 years out of the previous halogen bulbs I decided to save the $$.
I like ’em too, they don’t get all het-up, and you can now buy them at Costco now including enclosed dimmable PAR38 reflectoers and spots. People on boats use them a lot because of small size, low current requirements and output, and have devised ways to make them look better than “walking on the moon” effect.