LED Light bulbs

[huntpeter]

Led bulbs are good source of light, as well as, consumes much less energy than normal bulbs.

 

[lesliemorris85]

LEDs are powered with solar PV power augmented with grid electricity, even bigger savings can be gained by using DC, according to the research.

And as the cost of LEDs decrease, the savings from transitioning to an LED-DC combination will improve, according to CMU researchers. By 2015, projections from the Department of Energy show use of LEDs in a 48,000-square-foot comer cial building with traditional alternating current could see cost savings of $10,000 per year compared to fluorescent lamps. The researchers found that decreasing the capital and operating costs of using LEDs especially when used with solar PV, a technology that produces DC electricity and usually requires an AC converter to feed it back to the grid are key factors to make a dedicated DC strategy worth considering.

 

[sleuth]

Anybody have a good resource for understanding the labelling of the LED bulbs?

I still haven't figured out which LED bulbs are equivalent to a standard 60W incandescent in lumens and will fit in the socket.
Also, if anyone knows of any good shopping websites to get the best value on LEDs?

 

[Hinotori]

800 lumens is how much light a 60w incandescent bulb puts out. On all the LEDs I've bought, the 12w bulbs are 800 lumens.

We picked up some Zenaro brand bulbs at Batteries Plus around Christmas that I like a lot. They are expensive things, but their were a couple discounts at that time. $4 off from the company and $10 off from the local power company. That made them run $9 bucks each.

The tulip looking ones are multi-direction lights (they cast the light better than the omni-directional that only shine it forward) and work just as good as the incandescents in the overhead lights. We replaced the CFLs we had in the bedroom and it made a huge difference. We put an omni-directional bulb above the kitchen sink and it is much improved over the CFL as well. The light is a better color and looks like incandescent.

 

[Emerald]

I just buy the little $5 to $7 LED ones at walmart. In my ceiling fan light fixtures the 3 of them together are plenty bright enuf. I'd say each one puts out about 40watts worth of light.. I prefer the orangy colored ones the white/blue ones are too harsh..
I have smaller led ones that I got at Menards for $1.50 each(big sale) that are not very bright but brighter than nightlight bulbs and we have them in the upstairs hallway sconces they are bright enuf to see by but not so bright that it wakes you up when the cat opens the door at night( she has mastered the doorknobs.. who knew they could do that ).

Now when you look at wallyworld make sure that you get the ones that look like little squares on either a pyramid or pole in the middle not the one with a cluster of "plastic LEDs" the small squares put out far better light than the little "bulb clusters". They are listed on the walmart web catalog if you want to see.

 

[lesliemorris85]

Anybody have a good resource for understanding the labelling of the LED bulbs?

I still haven't figured out which LED bulbs are equivalent to a standard 60W incandescent in lumens and will fit in the socket.
Also, if anyone knows of any good shopping websites to get the best value on LEDs?

How about these websites:

* amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/189-6490706-9206661?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=LED+Lights
* ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=LED+Lights&_sacat=0&_from=R40
* illustralighting.com/led-lights/

Just copy and paste the URL on your browser. There tons of websites out there selling LED and which I think you'll find a good one.

 

[Joel_BC]

I think the evolution of the tech and of the cost-effectiveness of LED bulbs is getting to the point where, within the next few months, investment in LEDs with at least a five-year warranty is going to make sense. With roughly an 80% energy-cost savings over equivalent incandescent bulbs, and a 50% savings over CFLs, I think a lot of people will see the LED option as worth the investment. I've been told by several knowledgeable people that the U.S. price on a 60w equivalent (a 12w, 800-lumen LED) will be commonly down to around $15 - that's $3 per year, if averaged only over the warranty period. Many estimates claim that these bulbs could function for as long as 25 years.

Here is a link to an LED thread I've been a part of on a lighting forum:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lighting/msg0312562013759.html

Edit: I updated the web link, above, because it wasn't getting onto the proper thread. Hopefully this corrected link will continue to work right.

 

[Dennis Thatcher]

the second needed to brighten up doesn't personally bother me but i still much prefer LEDs because there's zero toxicity

never shop at Sam's or another others as i think its best to go online - ledcanada.com/

 

[robinhoodie]

I have had a bunch of 2-3W LED light bulbs running in my house for over 2 years straight, no problems so far. I have some other cheap ones that I bought 5-6 years ago which are now a bit dimmer. But they were like some of the first on the mainstream market and kinda bad quality tbh.

LED bulbs are definitely a good choice, they are much better quality these days and can last up to 20-30 years.

 

[Britesea]

I was thinking of getting LED's for starting seedlings, as I've heard the light quality is much better for the plants. I was looking at reviews of some of them and it seemed like a lot of people were complaining about the lights burning out in 6 months. I'm trying to square this with what I'm reading here?