LED vs. CF vs. Incandescent (2012/2013 DOE testing)

Daox · 12-12-13, 09:47 AM

There is a quick write up on some DOE testing on LED vs CF vs incandescent lighting. They evaluated everything from the life cycle of the product; manufacturing, transportation, use, and disposal. There is some very interesting info. I haven't read the full DOE reports. They do appear to be fairly lengthy.

LED vs. CF vs. Incandescent | Home Power Magazine

Here are some interesting tid bits:

Quote:

According to the analysis, the “use” phase of incandescent, CF, and LED lamps is the most energy-intensive portion, accounting for approximately 90% of a lamp’s total life-cycle energy. The manufacturing and transport phases follow, respectively—with energy use due to transportation representing less than 1% of life-cycle energy for all lamp types.

...

By 2015, if LED lamps meet performance targets, their life-cycle energy use is expected to decrease by approximately 50%, which will give them a big efficiency gain over both CF and incandescent lamps.

...

By 2030, the DOE forecasts that LED lighting will represent 74% of lumen-hour sales in the U.S. general illumination market. From 2010 to 2030, the cumulative energy savings is estimated to be 2,700 terawatt-hours, which at 2010 energy prices and electricity-generation-mix conditions represents approximately $250 billion in savings and a greenhouse-gas emission reduction of roughly 1,800 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

...

The environmental impact of the incandescent lamp’s energy use were markedly more significant than for CF and LED lamps because of its low efficiency. The CF lamp is slightly more harmful than the 2012 LED lamp against all but one criterion: hazardous waste sent to the landfill. The energy and environmental impact of the manufacturing of the aluminum heat sink used in LEDs causes the impacts to be slightly greater for the LED than for the CF. The study notes that heat sinks should diminish in size for succeeding generations of LED lamps as efficiency gains are made. Environmental impacts of a 2017 LED, for example, are predicted to be about 50% lower than the 2012 LED and 70% lower than the CF.

pinballlooking · 12-12-13, 10:08 AM

I was looking at this study yesterday. I never liked CF but I am on board for the LED lights I only have a few lights left in my house that are not LED. We are happy with them so far but it would be nice to see the cost come down more.
Mark

jeff5may · 12-12-13, 12:00 PM

Most of my light fixtures are still CFL, due to the high retail prices of screw-base replacement LED lamps. I have replaced a few old-school fluorescent lamp fixtures with LED strip lights and love them. I would change the plain-jane bulbs, but I don't feel the marketers have fully developed the lamps yet.

I have a feeling it will take another ten years before LED replacement lamps will fall close to the price of CFL lamps. Once the OEM's figure out how to produce more light with less heat (I believe they will), and make a power supply suited to the application, prices will come down. The market is there for the manufacturers, they just haven't perfected these products yet.

Daox · 12-12-13, 12:07 PM

Ditto. I'd like to go to LEDs too, but the efficiency isn't a huge jump, but the price is. I currently only have one screw base LED bulb in the house. The rest are CFLs minus a few select PAR20 halogens that I can't find CFLs for (they're on a dimmer).

pinballlooking · 12-12-13, 12:09 PM

I got a bunch of these
EcoSmart 40W Equivalent Bright White (3000K) A19 LED Light Bulb (4-Pack)-ECS GP19 WW 40WE 120 at The Home Depot
They use 6 watts about $5 a bulb and they are Dimmable
I really think they are brighter than a 40 watt bulb.

I have these in my 3 light fans and on my porch outside lights even my vanity lights in the bath rooms.

Robaroni · 01-21-14, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinballlooking

I got a bunch of these
EcoSmart 40W Equivalent Bright White (3000K) A19 LED Light Bulb (4-Pack)-ECS GP19 WW 40WE 120 at The Home Depot
They use 6 watts about $5 a bulb and they are Dimmable
I really think they are brighter than a 40 watt bulb.

I have these in my 3 light fans and on my porch outside lights even my vanity lights in the bath rooms.

I'm going to pick a pack of these, thanks Mark.

OK, here's my take. I get all the latest electronic trade journals and chip manufacturers literature including lots of free chip samples. The electronics for LEDs is here, maybe some refinements but the efficiency of the power supplies is very good and a lot of chip producers have been actively designing chips for LEDs for awhile now.
Some of the big LED manufacturers (Lumiled, etc.) are doing better with the formulas also but there's a way to go yet and the big hurdle is still cooling.

I have a few LEDs in the house now and they're quite good but like most of you I still run CFLs which I have a lot of. They last better than the first generation, which failed left and right (poor electronics), but CFL's aren't my favorite bulbs. There are issues with the light causing sleep problems, so don't read by CFL's in bed before you go to sleep.

In my view five years from now, at the most LED's are going to rule.

Rob

Daox · 12-12-13, 12:12 PM

I can handle $5/bulb. Its the $25 par20 bulbs (the one I have cost me $23) that I can't justify. My kitchen has 7 total I think for a total of $175 in light bulbs... ouch.

pinballlooking · 12-12-13, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

I can handle $5/bulb. Its the $25 par20 bulbs (the one I have cost me $23) that I can't justify. My kitchen has 7 total I think for a total of $175 in light bulbs... ouch.

I agree with you I waited until they were worth the move to me anyway.
I have more than 35 of these bulbs and they are working well. I got some of them on Clarence the old ones were 6.5 watts

My Master bath has 6 of these LED bulbs
I would put them @50 – 57 watt equivalent

Yes 7 x $5 works out a lot better.

ecomodded · 12-12-13, 06:29 PM

I suggest quality led light bulbs if you are going to try switching over.

My led bulbs that I bought off of eBay started flickering then died ,within 18 months. My store bought led light ultra bright dinning room bulb is still going strong, I paid $20 for it and $3 a piece for the eBay bulbs which turned into a added expense rather then a savings.

WisJim · 01-21-14, 03:33 PM

Everytime I think an LED bulb is expensive, I have to recall that I paid about $20 each for my first CFL bulbs back in the 1980s, and thought that they were worth it in energy savings. That $20 is more like $50 in today's economy, I would guess, so $20 LEDs don't seem so expensive to me.
The only problem I have with some LED bulbs is the tremendous radio interference on FM, primarily with the small reflector-type LED bulbs (I think PAR20 size) used in the range hood over the kitchen stove. Turn on the light, the radio goes silent.

Jim

12-12-13, 12:07 PM	#4
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Ditto. I'd like to go to LEDs too, but the efficiency isn't a huge jump, but the price is. I currently only have one screw base LED bulb in the house. The rest are CFLs minus a few select PAR20 halogens that I can't find CFLs for (they're on a dimmer). __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

12-12-13, 12:09 PM	#5
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I got a bunch of these EcoSmart 40W Equivalent Bright White (3000K) A19 LED Light Bulb (4-Pack)-ECS GP19 WW 40WE 120 at The Home Depot They use 6 watts about $5 a bulb and they are Dimmable I really think they are brighter than a 40 watt bulb. I have these in my 3 light fans and on my porch outside lights even my vanity lights in the bath rooms. Last edited by pinballlooking; 12-12-13 at 12:13 PM..

12-12-13, 12:12 PM	#7
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	I can handle $5/bulb. Its the $25 par20 bulbs (the one I have cost me $23) that I can't justify. My kitchen has 7 total I think for a total of $175 in light bulbs... ouch. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-21-14, 03:33 PM	#10
WisJim Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 42 Thanks: 7 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Everytime I think an LED bulb is expensive, I have to recall that I paid about $20 each for my first CFL bulbs back in the 1980s, and thought that they were worth it in energy savings. That $20 is more like $50 in today's economy, I would guess, so $20 LEDs don't seem so expensive to me. The only problem I have with some LED bulbs is the tremendous radio interference on FM, primarily with the small reflector-type LED bulbs (I think PAR20 size) used in the range hood over the kitchen stove. Turn on the light, the radio goes silent. Jim Last edited by WisJim; 01-21-14 at 03:40 PM..

12-12-13, 10:08 AM	#2
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I was looking at this study yesterday. I never liked CF but I am on board for the LED lights I only have a few lights left in my house that are not LED. We are happy with them so far but it would be nice to see the cost come down more. Mark

12-12-13, 12:00 PM	#3
jeff5may Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA Posts: 2,431 Thanks: 431 Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts	Most of my light fixtures are still CFL, due to the high retail prices of screw-base replacement LED lamps. I have replaced a few old-school fluorescent lamp fixtures with LED strip lights and love them. I would change the plain-jane bulbs, but I don't feel the marketers have fully developed the lamps yet. I have a feeling it will take another ten years before LED replacement lamps will fall close to the price of CFL lamps. Once the OEM's figure out how to produce more light with less heat (I believe they will), and make a power supply suited to the application, prices will come down. The market is there for the manufacturers, they just haven't perfected these products yet.

12-12-13, 06:29 PM	#9
ecomodded Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Vancouver Island,Canada. Posts: 1,037 Thanks: 116 Thanked 100 Times in 87 Posts	I suggest quality led light bulbs if you are going to try switching over. My led bulbs that I bought off of eBay started flickering then died ,within 18 months. My store bought led light ultra bright dinning room bulb is still going strong, I paid $20 for it and $3 a piece for the eBay bulbs which turned into a added expense rather then a savings.