LED Indoor lighting?

[ryanbatc]

Do we have any lighting guru's here?

Picked up some man stuff at home depot today, some of which were light bulbs - just the basic incandescent ones...

I noticed the high cost of LED lighting while looking at all the bulbs...

Did some basic research, found that CFL's and LED's are a better solution as far as cost is concerned (over long periods of time). But then I found two completely different opinions on LED's vs Incandescent and CFL vs Incandescent

As I understand it, LED bulbs (technically lamps I guess) are very efficient as only 10-20% of their light is converted into heat whereas Incandescent 80-90% of their light is converted into heat. This is great from a power standpoint but from a cost standpoint they are incredibly expensive. You'll spend about $25 on a LED lamp (say A19 60w equivalent) and about $1.50 on the standard joe blow light bulb.

Where LED is really cost effective seems to only be large warehouses or stores at the moment.

I was thinking of putting in four LED bulbs in our office downstairs, where I game. (I admit I like the new LED tech). It get's really cold down here so I don't mind the heat generated by the standard light bulbs I'm using now. Say I did put in LED's... I wonder how much heat I would lose compared to how much less my energy cost would be? I should note we have electric heat.

Anyway just wondered if anyone has experience with LED lighting?

[Skud]

No experience, but it sounds intriguing. I am guessing that besides the savings on energy, the life of the light would be much greater than incandescent, thus turning the high initial cost into eventual savings...from what I do know of led. I'll look into it. If you find more info, please post as I would be interested to see more.

[K PhaNTOM]

They die every 6 months. They are useless, and costly. If I wanted to look like a hippie I'd just buy an iPad and sit at StarBucks complaining about the government.

[Caddys83]

I dont use any LED's at the moment cause of the cost. I been using the CFL's for a few years now as the old incandescent bulbs burn out. But man, Last two years, CFL's suck major donkey. (atleast for me) My experience wasn't that great. They burn out quicker then the old ones. Some of the bedroom fans either have 4 or five bulbs and about a month of use, one of them burn out with the other following soon. Ace Hardware and Homedepot CFL bulbs life rate both suck. The dinning room has 6 CLF and they always burn out. But the last batch of CFL's I have bought, They improved greatly. I guess it was the quality of the material they used and better inspection. But I'm happy now.. Knock on wood. I did had to change the dinning room dimmer switch cause the round knob dimmer switch made a humming/buzzing sound. So I bought a cfl dimmer switch. If it aint one thing, its another

[NateTheBrewer]

I dont use any LED's at the moment cause of the cost. I been using the CFL's for a few years now as the old incandescent bulbs burn out. But man, Last two years, CFL's suck major donkey. (atleast for me) My experience wasn't that great. They burn out quicker then the old ones. Some of the bedroom fans either have 4 or five bulbs and about a month of use, one of them burn out with the other following soon. Ace Hardware and Homedepot CFL bulbs life rate both suck. The dinning room has 6 CLF and they always burn out. But the last batch of CFL's I have bought, They improved greatly. I guess it was the quality of the material they used and better inspection. But I'm happy now. I did had to change the dinning room dimmer switch cause the round knob dimmer switch made a humming/buzzing sound. So I bought a cfl dimmer switch. If it aint one thing, its another

Yeah, our CFL's seem to be burning out at the same rate as normal bulbs. I am actually beginning to consider LED's, but when we move in a few years we would probably have to replace them in this house with normal bulbs, and take them to the new house, to have enough of a return on the investment.

TO the original question, this article seems to indicate that the circuitry in the base of the LED bulbs actually do generate a bit of heat... not sure how much in comparison to bulbs: http://www.fun-led-light.com/light-and-heat.html

There are some other interesting articles on that site about the lifetime of the bulbs that I just skimmed through. It looks like they should last for years BUT if they do not have heat dissipators on them (basically the ones with heatsink fins) the heat does not adequately dissipate out of the base of the bulb, and they do burn out. So bottom line, you get what you pay for with the LED's as well.

[Qicmee]

I have some CFLs installed, but no LED experience. I'd avoid either one except for open (cool) applications.

Background: To reduce the damaging effects of energy production, our government (USA) outlawed 100 watt incandescent bulbs. Ready or not, CFLs and LEDs are being strongly pushed/marketed/encouraged as a wonderful alternative.

CFL and LED bulbs include sophisticated electronics. If the bulb over-heats (for example due to being enclosed), the electronics degrade. It doesn't matter how much you paid. As with any new technology, designs are improving every year.

CFL bulbs include some clean-up & disposal issues that didn't exist with incandescents. Also, it's interesting to read about the projected lifespan of a CFL or LED bulb, then read the manufacturer's warranty, and then wonder about the offset.

[Devilguns]

Most of my house is converted to LED. The light they throw is nice. You have to have the right dimmers. Even then, when they are totally dim they are still bright. I like LED because they have no warm up. Instant on.

[Apache Warrior]

I use LEDs in the lights on the sign for my store. Before that I used Halogens and CFLs. None of them lasted more than 6 months. The LEDs have been up for over a year and are still going strong. They use less energy and I saved money by not having to replace the bulbs all the time. To replace the bulbs in my sign I have to use a boom lift and that is not inexpensive. I am also in the process of converting my showcase lights to LEDs.
Apache

[Dead...Again]

I have tried various different kinds of lights, and none seem to last anylonger than standard light bulbs. I am starting to think the power coming into my house isn't clean. I haven't tried LEDs yet; they cost so much and it would really piss me off if they blew after a few months.

[goldenfooler]

I have had CFL's for a couple of years and really only replace them every 5 years or when I brake one.
I started to switch to LED. light for me is the same.
I think with 98% of things what you pay for is what it is worth. Be cheap and you replace them more.

I think this may be the last year for reg light bulbs as stated above.

The heat difference is supposed to be big with LEDS creating less heat(better for those in the south areas). They have a large size to be able to reduce heat in the LED to run.

You need to have the correct type of dimmer as well for the different bulbs.
CFLS have a longer start up time from cold... would not recommand them in a garage or out door place.

Apache did you notice any cost savings between by changing the sign lights? there is supposed to be an overall savings at 4-5 years with a LED.

[Apache Warrior]

There is a savings and when I convert all of my overhead showcase halogens to LEDs I will save big just on AC savngs.
Apache

[goldenfooler]

according to the manager for the showrooms in my Car group . Some of lights don't make sense to change some do. He changed all his in his house,but some of the areas for lighting didn't make sense.

[ryanbatc]

They die every 6 months. They are useless, and costly. If I wanted to look like a hippie I'd just buy an iPad and sit at StarBucks complaining about the government.

You're thinking of CFL's... those were the hype and my wife and I bought a bunch... but honestly I've had three die in 1 year... *sigh*

So for now I'm using GE daylight incandescent.

I like LED because they have no warm up. Instant on.

Freeking yes! I can't stand the "70%" initial light cast from the CFLs....

[Apache Warrior]

This is a pic of part of my store's overhead lighting. The large lights are Metal Halide and the small ones are Halogen. I am in the process of trying to switch from Halogen to LEDs.
The second pic is of the front left of my store.





Apache

[Donziboy2]

If you ask my ITT Tech Electronics Chair he will say Halogen are the best other then there heat output they use less energy per Lumens. He taught some of my classes so I don't doubt the man, we had a pretty big discussion on it one day and the Halo's are the most powerful energy efficient but they convert so much of that to heat its sad.

I have a good number of tube bulbs and I find them underpowered, and the LED lights are way to expensive you would never save what you spent on the bulbs.