LED Lighting

[glockmail]

It's been about three years since I bought my first LED light bulbs and most of them are still working. First I installed on fixtures that we use all the time. As the prices have come down I've slowly replaced all my regular sized incandescents, then CFLs, with LEDs. Now they are essentially the same price as incandescents if you buy in bulk. I've seen a substantial savings in my electric bill.

Then I replaced all my sconce bulbs with chandelier type "crystal" bulbs. The bulbs themselves are not very attractive but they are not normally seen in my fixtures.

Now I'm working on the odd-sized stuff, like microwave bulbs and chandeliers.

These microwave bulbs are under $5 each if you buy in sets of 6. They are rather odd looking, but hidden behind shades so that's not an issue. These will do an overhead microwave and most refrigerators. I've been looking forward to replacing these, as the old 40W bulbs are $4 each and I'm replacing them twice/ year. These are 4W each and should last years.

Next, for chandeliers where the bulb is visible, I found these filament type, 2 watt, non-dimmable, for about $5 each in . When these first came out they were extremely expensive. Even my wife commented on how attractive they are- better than the incandescents that they replaced. And they are actually brighter then the old 25 watt bulbs.

Now to find some dimmable ones for my large dining room chandelier...

[Abbey Marie]

I'm not a fan of LED lights, and have been hoarding incandescent bulbs for a while. Lighting is very important to me.

[Drummond]

Here, the move is firmly towards LED lighting (Halogen bulbs, also, to an extent) and away from the old-style 'incandescent' filament bulbs. Those bulbs have been in the process of being phased out for quite some time.

The only reason that they've not yet completely disappeared from British stores is because such large stocks were previously manufactured. Even so, the majority of lighting shops do not, now, carry any stock of them.

Give it a year or 2, and we'll fail to have any decent choice available to us.

[NightTrain]

I'm not a fan of LED lights, and have been hoarding incandescent bulbs for a while. Lighting is very important to me.


Interesting... why don't you like LEDs? I can't see any difference in the quality of light with the new bulbs.

I'm sold on the longevity and superior efficiency... got most of my house converted now.

[Abbey Marie]

Interesting... why don't you like LEDs? I can't see any difference in the quality of light with the new bulbs.

I'm sold on the longevity and superior efficiency... got most of my house converted now.

I see a difference in the warmth of the glow.

[Perianne]

I'm not a fan of LED lights, and have been hoarding incandescent bulbs for a while. Lighting is very important to me.


Interesting... why don't you like LEDs? I can't see any difference in the quality of light with the new bulbs.

I'm sold on the longevity and superior efficiency... got most of my house converted now.

I have been buying these (http://www.amazon.com/Philips-433227-10-5-watt-Style-Dimmable/dp/B00JXAJ9DC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452038342&sr=8-1&keywords=Philips+433227) for a while and notice no difference between them and regular bulbs.

Here is another thread about LED lighting. http://www.debatepolicy.com/showthread.php?47675-L-E-D-Lighting&highlight=

[Black Diamond]

I see a difference in the warmth of the glow.

With the squiggly bulbs yes.

[NightTrain]

With the squiggly bulbs yes.


Talking about these?

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8238&stc=1

I never liked those. Total scam and the light was crappy.


I switched to bulbs like these for the chandelier :

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8239&stc=1

And then normal looking ones like Peri linked to above for the rest of the house. Honestly, the light is the same to me.

[NightTrain]

Holy crap that pic is huge! Sorry.

[Black Diamond]

Talking about these?

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8238&stc=1

I never liked those. Total scam and the light was crappy.


I switched to bulbs like these for the chandelier :

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8239&stc=1

And then normal looking ones like Peri linked to above for the rest of the house. Honestly, the light is the same to me.

Yeah. Last longer and more efficient.

[NightTrain]

Yeah. Last longer and more efficient.

Yeah, I tried a few of those and they didn't last anywhere near as long as they claimed they would. The new generation LEDs are far superior in longevity, power usage and quality of light.

[glockmail]

I'm not a fan of LED lights, and have been hoarding incandescent bulbs for a while. Lighting is very important to me.

I've had such a huge variety of bulb types, and I have tended to stock up when I find a sale, so that my collection expanded past a 36" shelf in a kitchen wall cabinet. As I've been converting to LEDs my unused bulbs go into a box in the garage, and when convenient donated to the ReStore. If you have a place like that you should be able to get incandescent bulbs for pennies on the dollar.

[Abbey Marie]

I've had such a huge variety of bulb types, and I have tended to stock up when I find a sale, so that my collection expanded past a 36" shelf in a kitchen wall cabinet. As I've been converting to LEDs my unused bulbs go into a box in the garage, and when convenient donated to the ReStore. If you have a place like that you should be able to get incandescent bulbs for pennies on the dollar.

I've never heard of it. Is it a general resale shop, or something more specific to hardware? Our resale shops only have clothes or home decor.

[glockmail]

I've been getting rid of my squiggly bulbs as well, getting rid of the potential for mercury contamination should they break. Years ago (maybe 10?) I replaced the eight 100W floodlights around my house with CFLs. They are squigglies inside of a standard reflector. They are all a PITA to change; two of these are two stories up and I have to stand on a 6' stepladder then use and extension pole to get to them. All eight are still working. During cold weather they take a good ten minutes to warm up to full brightness but the light quality when warm is very good. I have been well-pleased with that purchase and plan to let them run out their life cycle.

[glockmail]

I've never heard of it. Is it a general resale shop, or something more specific to hardware? Our resale shops only have clothes or home decor.

It's similar to a Salvation Army or Goodwill but it caters specifically to building supplies. It is division of Habitat for Humanity.

http://www.habitat.org/restores

[glockmail]

One type fixture that I won't be converting is my 4' fluorescent T8 shop lights. I can buy T8 bulbs in a 12 pack for $30 at Lowes and they are just as efficient as LEDs, and far less expensive.

I've been replacing my older, less efficient T12 shop lights with new LED shop lights from Costco at about $50/ unit though. Mainly because the cheap fixtures themselves have rusted badly over 20 years. In cool white, good for shop work, the light quality is far superior.

[Abbey Marie]

I have been buying these (http://www.amazon.com/Philips-433227-10-5-watt-Style-Dimmable/dp/B00JXAJ9DC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452038342&sr=8-1&keywords=Philips+433227) for a while and notice no difference between them and regular bulbs.

Here is another thread about LED lighting. http://www.debatepolicy.com/showthread.php?47675-L-E-D-Lighting&highlight=


They don't look like they would work with a clip-on shade.

[Perianne]

They don't look like they would work with a clip-on shade.

They won't.

[NightTrain]

And then normal looking ones like Peri linked to above for the rest of the house. Honestly, the light is the same to me.


I should clarify that I was referring to the 'warmth' factor between the new LEDs and old-school incandescent bulbs.

[glockmail]

They don't look like they would work with a clip-on shade.


Lowes has boxes of six 40W equivalent for something like 9 bucks that are the same size and shape as a standard incandescents. Try a box.

[glockmail]

The thing about LEDs is that the manufacturer can make them just about any color they want. The most common mimic incandescents (warm white). Others go higher temperatures to mimic sunlight.

[glockmail]

Costco has teamed up with Duke Energy's rebate system and selling LED bulbs at dirt cheap prices. I found these decorative chandelier (dimmable) bulbs there yesterday. Here's what they look like off, and dimmed as much as possible.

[glockmail]

Costco also has PAR38 (outdoor floodlight bulbs) dirt cheap as well. I had already ordered a box of ten online for $85, free delivery. Last week I replaced the pair that I can reach without borrowing my neighbor's ladder. I'm also replacing all of the outlet boxes, as the old ones are all rusted out and look like shit.

These replace CFLs that have been up there for about ten years. Two of eight have blown out so I'm replacing all of them. These are instant on, use less power and are brighter.