EcoRenovator - Anyone using/used LEDs?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by stevehull (Post 31001)

A year ago, a local Mom dropped a small old style mercury thermometer and it broke. She called 911 and the fire department responded. The fire department called out the state DEQ (Division of Environmental Quality) that advised the Mom and Dad to call a private biosecurity/remediation company. About $20,000 later, the house was deemed "safe" and they could move back in. About 100 mg of mercury was recovered . . . Steve

Can you cite that story?

Not saying you're making it up, but as an employee of the largest haz-waste company in North America, I find that price to be astronomical. :eek:

A $30 clean up kit, and a trip to the local household haz-waste collection would of took care of it. :)

Even if you were crazy enough to hired it out, I don't see it going over a grand. Trans, labor, disposal, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkM66 (Post 31002)

+1 here at the hospital there is still mercury in use. The kits we use have a chemical you sprinkle on the mercury then sweep it up. The kit has gloves, goggles, broom and dustpan as well as a bag to put the stuff in after you clean it up. The EPA site has great info on mercury and CFL disposal.

Mercury Releases and Spills | Mercury | US EPA

The local home depot has a collection bin for CFL lamps for recycling. The ROI for converting to LED for me would be quite a long time... my energy provider shipped me like 25 CFL bulbs when I started service with them. I already had a supply of CFLs and the house already had a few CFLs... All the incondesant lights I traded for CFLs other people didn't want... so I have enough to last me for a long time... and if I did go LED that is a lot of lights I would have to replace... The cost would be hundreds of dollars... I would also basically have to throw away a decades supply of CFLs.

Although I might dab in to LEDs eventually it would be for specific lights. Such as the porch light I keep on at night for security... Right now I have a 23W CFL in it if I can find an LED that is just as bright for 12W or something there could be a small savings...but again there are other places in the house to improve on in order to lower the energy bill.

After googling about the story the closest thing I could find was a mother used a vacuum to clean up mercury after breaking a thermometer. The story was pulled but here is the text from google's cache...

Mercury scare after mum breaks old thermometer (From The Bolton News)

Quote:

Mercury scare after mum breaks old thermometer
.8:55am Thursday 30th August 2012 in Local .

A MUM triggered a huge emergency response — after she dropped and broke a household thermometer.

Specialist hazard containment teams were scrambled to the house in Longfield Road, Daubhill, while the woman and her three-month-old daughter were rushed to hospital.

The incident was triggered when she accidentally broke an old fashioned mercury-filled thermometer in the kitchen.

The 36-year-old mum, who asked not to be named, dropped the thermometer at lunchtime on Tuesday and used a vacuum cleaner to clear up the mess, before putting it in a bag and inside a wheelie bin.

When her 48-year-old husband returned home at 6.30pm, he called the emergency services after researching the subject on the internet.

He said: “There must have been 30 people from the different services here. I was very worried until the doctor said they would be okay.

“My wife was cleaning the house when she dropped it and had no idea how dangerous the substance was inside.

“I had no idea it would be such a serious incident until I looked it up on the internet.”

Firefighters wearing masks and heavy-duty protective gloves checked the house to make sure it was not contaminated with mercury vapour released from the vacuum cleaner.

........They removed the vacuum and some contaminated clothes before putting them in the wheelie bin.

The mother and baby were both taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital by ambulance for a precautionary check-up but were given the all clear. Firefighters stayed at the scene for three-and-a-half hours until tests showed the presence of mercury in the house was at a safe level.

Hazardous materials expert Jim Collins, from the fire service, said: “Mercury is a poison, and may be harmful to your health if you inhale it or absorb it through your skin. If you spill a small amount of mercury from a thermometer in your home, leave the room, close the door and contact the emergency services.

“Do not touch or walk through the spilled material. Do not touch the damaged container. Try to avoid doing anything that will spread the contaminant around your home, such as vacuuming the area, and wait for the emergency services to arrive.”

Bolton Council ’s environmental services department was due to remove the wheelie bin yesterday.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevehull (Post 31001)

Where did this perfectly good thread about using LED lighting, go so terribly off track?

-AC

I've been a huge fan of LED lighting for a while. If they are purchased directly from China the prices are good. Imagine replacing a light for the last time. The daylight type are my favorite. I had my home full of MR-16 track lights, energy hogs and changed them to LEDs. Thinking about it for a minute the track had 6 pcs halogen MR-16s 20 watts each. That's 120 watts. And now 6 LEDs @ 3 watts each total 18 watts. LESS energy than one 20 watt. halogen and with the LED a beautiful white light.

Recently We have replaced the under-cabinet florescent lamp with LED strip lights. By comparison the florescent lighting were energy hogs. Some mornings I would come down stairs and the under-cabinet lights were still on, all night, Dam.

Now if the under-cabinet LEDs are left on, who cares, It will last longer than me and they draw 11 watts!!! That's less than one of the old florescent fixtures.

I know everyone is working on the ROI. Sometimes it shouldn't matter. Some people smoke some drink. Some head out for a coffee or a Baskin Robbins. We don't consider the ROI there. I know that there is a ROI with the LEDs. It maybe like the stock-market, buy in early and hope it turns out well. The cost of energy will go up so hopefully we're in the market early enough.

Randen

The thing that sold me on the LED bulbs is their lifespan. How much is it worth to you to never have to get up on a ladder and change that bulb over the stairwell or over the back deck again? Not to mention the ceiling fixtures with the thumbscrews that let go all at once, forcing you to play catch with all manner of hardware at heights. After 25000 or more hours of use, I'll have saved myself way more trouble than the price of the bulb.

I agree. How cool would it be to design a house and its lighting and basically NEVER have to change the bulbs? For my existing stuff I'll wait until my CFLs burn out, but my office has 6 new can lights and each will be getting a PAR30 dimmable LED bulb. Expensive at ~$20 a crack, but I'll never have to change them.

Speaking of which, can anyone suggest any good PAR30 dimmable bulbs? :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by randen (Post 31008)

I've been a huge fan of LED lighting for a while. If they are purchased directly from China the prices are good. Imagine replacing a light for the last time.

I bought quite a few LED bulbs from China also, and the price and promise of long life were definite selling points.

However, the mortality rate of the LED bulbs I got has not been a confidence builder (now approaching 50% after about two years).

Randen, can you share details of the kind of bulbs and seller info on your purchases?

I think that the markup of LED bulbs being sold in the US (which are made in China) is too much.

I also think that the lifespan of the LED bulbs I got straight from China is too little.

Please advise.

-AC

I imagine the main difference between the no-name products and the brand-name products is in the engineering. Kind of like the difference between a Symphonic tv and a Samsung tv. As you know, the devil is in the details when it comes to longevity. As manufacturers ramp up the intensity, packing more emitters into the same or less space, heat buildup and drive voltage take their toll on the less researched products.

With a low-intensity source such as strip lighting, the failure rate should not suffer as long as you don't feed them too much voltage. The heat is distributed over a much greater area. You could even feed them a little less than they are rated for, say 11 volts instead of 12. Life should improve greatly.

Of course, with the knock-off units, you will still get some duds due to lower quality control and testing. Cfl bulbs are the same way: the Lights of America bulbs just don't last as long as the Sylvanias. With the higher purchase price of high-intensity LED screw-in replacement bulbs, I will gladly pay a premium to get a warranty in case something goes awry inside the package. But for the garage, buying 6 knock-off lights for the price of one premium lamp is a definite advantage.

I wish the big box stores would come out with lifetime LED lamps. Pay $35 for a Craftsman or Kobalt brand bulb, and if it ever dies, return it to your local store for exchange. Sounds like a gimmick, but I bet they would sell millions that way. And consumers would have ultimate peace of mind about making the investment.

I have 5 LEDs that I've had in my 5 most used sockets in the house for 3 years and no trouble so far. ...I'd be worried if I did but not one of them is providing any issues. I love how I don't need to wait 3 minutes for them to get bright and in the bathroom I'm not putting a CFL directly above a sink. The 8 watt LEDs pointing down have replaced 60 watt incadescents and provide noticeably more illumination than what used to be there. My bedroom has 2 of the same 8 watt LEDs and they replaced two 13 watt CFLs and I'm impressed that the room is brighter with these than with the CFLs even though the actual lumen rating on the CFLs is higher on the CFL packaging than what the LEDs say they are.

LED Monkey Lights!