LED Light bulbs

[frustratedearthmother]

I did- and they're doing well!

 

[CrealCritter]

I did- and they're doing well!

Awesome... I would hate have to give bad recommendations. I mean for $1.00 a LED bulb it's hard to beat!

 

[flowerbug]

if you are in a state where the power company will subsidize LED bulbs it can be well worth it.

some months ago we came across a display where we could get six LED bulbs for $3 - there was a limit of two packages per customer so we both got two and that was enough bulbs to completely replace all the incandescent bulbs with the LED bulbs. i had hoped to do this eventually as prices came down, but for that price it was time to do it then.

some of our lighting is track lights that do not get used too often, but when all of them were on it would chew up quite a bit of power. now i don't mind using them as much.

still, i'm frugal and don't normally have a light on at night in my room here because the computer monitor is plenty enough light.

the indirect/reflecting lights we use for bright light in the house are four foot led shop lights which are aimed up at the egg shell white painted ceiling. when we first put them in Mom was looking at her fabrics/quilting and saying, "I didn't even know it was that color!" it's like a day at the beach in her room with those lights on. i don't even like to go in there in the morning. it's just too bright for me. amazing to me that for 84watts that much light.

oh, and the other nice part of LED lights, with such a low power draw for that many lumens i can run a light off the battery backup for the computer for pretty much as long as i want if needed during a power outage.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

An other benefit of LED: they do well in cold weather. Not the flickering/warm up of flourescent. We've found good deals on LED here, but could use some more. I also keep my eyes open for incandescent bulbs which are harder to come by... but can sometimes be found at discount stores. Need 2 40W bulbs in each incubator.

 

[flowerbug]

An other benefit of LED: they do well in cold weather. Not the flickering/warm up of flourescent. We've found good deals on LED here, but could use some more. I also keep my eyes open for incandescent bulbs which are harder to come by... but can sometimes be found at discount stores. Need 2 40W bulbs in each incubator.

we donated a box of the 60 watt incandescent bulbs to the discount store when we got rid of ours. if someone else could use them i could not throw them away. if i can reuse anything i will. i just told my brother to keep the hanging pot that he was going to throw away so i could recycle the root ball/potting soil. our clay can use all the organic matter it can get and the worms love having a nice chunk to hide in too.

if shipping weren't an issue i'd have sent them to you if we still had them! lol

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Thanks, for thinking about shipping. But, I've found that shipping just about anything is not cost effective. It's easier and cheaper to buy (even new at full price) than it is to pay to ship anything. I've even found that seed exchange via mail is not cost effective. Again... I can order from a seed catalog cheaper than paying for shipping on a seed swap. I think 60W bulbs would be too much power for my incubators. I do have a few bulbs saved, but... it's always good to keep spares on hand, especially since I don't know when they will become dinosaurs.

 

[flowerbug]

Thanks, for thinking about shipping. But, I've found that shipping just about anything is not cost effective. It's easier and cheaper to buy (even new at full price) than it is to pay to ship anything. I've even found that seed exchange via mail is not cost effective. Again... I can order from a seed catalog cheaper than paying for shipping on a seed swap. I think 60W bulbs would be too much power for my incubators. I do have a few bulbs saved, but... it's always good to keep spares on hand, especially since I don't know when they will become dinosaurs.

heat mats are not expensive, is the light required constantly? why not use LED light for light and heat mat for heat? might even be more efficient to have the heat closer to where it is used (below) than coming down from above. but i actually don't know didly about this so i'll shaddup for the moment. lol

as far as seed swap goes. i'm very happy to exchange seeds with someone via the mail, but i've just done my first seed swap in person this past winter and i really enjoyed that so i will continue doing that too. i just had a friend send me some melon seeds for the price of a stamp for them. i think that's pretty good price. i'll pass them along to anyone who wants them after i grow them out next season.

i think being willing to send seeds and plants to others is just a way of paying it forwards for all the people who have given me plants and help over the years. i do have a budget so i can only do so much each year, but i don't begrudge it in the slightest. not at all. since i love talking gardens, plants, seeds, beans, etc with anyone who will sit still long enough to listen finding others just starting out or wanting specific plants is just a part of the fun too.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I use the incandescent bulbs (2 x 40W in case one bulb quits) as my heat source, hooked up to a thermostat in my incubators. The lights cycle on and off to keep a constant temp at 100*F. A heat mat wouldn't give the constant temp control required. How high does the heat go with a heat mat? Incubation has a very small tolerance for temp variation. And, I have the set ups made for the bulbs. No need for a heat mat. For starting seeds, I use my heating pads (which do double duty as chick brooders, or place my seedling trays under the wood stove or on top of the fridge.

 

[flowerbug]

I use the incandescent bulbs (2 x 40W in case one bulb quits) as my heat source, hooked up to a thermostat in my incubators. The lights cycle on and off to keep a constant temp at 100*F. A heat mat wouldn't give the constant temp control required. And, I have the set ups made for the bulbs. No need for a heat mat.

oh, ok...

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

I went to Costco this week and they had three pack of clear (nice and bright) LED lights for 17.00, they are AWESOME so far! They replaced the fluorescent in my chandelier that used 42 watts total for now a total usage of less than 10 and I have more light output, I am going to purchase a pack every payday and replace all in my home. I saved 30.00 a month off my electricity 4 years ago switching to fluorescent now I am excited to see what the LED's will lower my bill. Has anyone else bought/seen them at Costco?

LED lights are up to 80 percent more efficient than traditional lighting systems, such as fluorescent and incandescent lights. 95 per cent of the energy in LEDs is converted to light and only 5 per cent is wasted as heat.