Anyone using/used LEDs? - Page 3

Exalta-STA · 05-15-12, 08:15 PM

I was considering to replace all the lights in the house with LEDs so I got one multi-LED bulb (the one thats wrapped around in LEDs facing multiple directions) and tried it all over the house. Apparently they are not that good for lighting up huge areas (like you guys previously mentioned) but they are good for focused ambient lighting as you said.

I use them for the spotlight aimed at the paintings and also for recessed hallway lights. Electrical consumption has improved since most of the lights which are left on all night for security and comfort purposes (going to the john in the middle of the night) have been switched to LEDs oh and I love the fact they dont give much heat so it's okay to focus them on paintings.

Exalta-STA · 05-23-12, 01:54 AM

Finally, I got some real good LED bulbs...not only have they lower wattage than the CFL bulbs they replaced but they are even brighter and the light is bright and spread out unlike the others I have tested

3 watt LED replaced a 15 watt CFL for the hallway =Php 374/$8.31
5.5 watt LED replaced a 21 watt yellow CFL for front gate/doorway=Php 514/$11.42

Xringer · 05-23-12, 08:40 AM

Here's a video of the LEDs that I posted about above..

Green slot :: LEds video by Xringer - Photobucket

The three 60w LEDs we use in our main lamps, seem to be just as bright
as the 100w CFL they replaced. Not sure why..

The last 60w shown is only used as a reading lamp in that corner of the room.
The living room and main den 60w blubs are on a few hours every night.

We do have some other LED lighting. In the living room there is a motion activated night light and,
there are some small always-on LED light lights in the bath room and kitchen.
The LED reading lamp on the master bedroom headboad is solar powered.
It's used 2 to 3 hours each night by my wife.

Hey, I forgot.. This new 22" display has an LED back light..

randen · 05-23-12, 04:39 PM

We have a lot of track lighting that was using MR 16 metal halide 12 v mostly 20w and some 50w. I had replaced them about a year ago with some Chinese LED 3 w super white. The lighting is amazing and about the same lumins as the 20 w they replaced. Of the 20 pcs I had purchased 2 had quit. Oh well I suspected they may not last. I still intend to buy a bunch more for some other fixtures. I like the super white lighting. Most of our lighting in the house is the 12v MR-16 powered by some large format batteries that are waiting for solar PV install. For now they are charged via a high end charger powered by the grid. Running the calculations it will take 20 years for the lights ROI. But that is at todays dollar. The next time we have an increase in the cost of energy that ROI time will shorten. Just hope they will stand the test of time.

Randen

randen · 05-23-12, 05:01 PM

The best thing about them is my wife likes them. They work very well for the kitchen food prep. area.

Randen

epson · 05-24-12, 12:36 AM

I'd like to point something what I find out about LED's.There are two or three characteristics why LED's are important.very low consumption and very long life.In any data book about any LED tipe you will find a lot of technical characteristics like volts,watts,lumens,dimensions,etc...but you will not see from what material electrods are made ,how pure is or how much silicium is in there .Is important because this is what gives LED a longer or shorter life.Nichia Co., is a very serious LED producer,for ex..
Here is a method to solve the unidirectional characteristic of LED light,spreading the light with liquid,kerosene ,for ex. I can not post link,so search with Google liquid LED light bulbs.

davidbr13 · 05-29-12, 09:00 PM

The utilitech pro brand available at lowes is great. I get the "40watt equivalent" that costs under $9 each. They are brighter than the "60W equivalent" CFL's. I have them side by side in the light fixtures over the bathroom vanities, and side by side with those CFL's in ceiling fan light fixtures, so it is a direct side by side comparison. The bathroom fixtures are the kind that is designed for 4 or 6 40W incandescents in a row. I currently have plenty of light with 3 of these LEDs and 1 CFL in the 6 light fixture, and 2 of these in the 4 light fixture. They have outlasted several CFL's already, over more than 2 years.

The light is exactly like a regular incandescent, and the bulbs with their integrated heatsink are actually rather decorative (certainly more so than the CFL's!).

Contrary to most of the posts on this topic, these are not highly directional. If you make your own or jury-rig something that is based on the typical tiny 3.5 mm LED, then yes those are directional, but these are every bit as diffuse as an incandescent. Light only comes out the front 180 degrees, though.

They do seem to make versions that are directional for spotlights, I've seen them there in the display at lowes next to these, but I don't have any experience with those.

Xringer · 05-29-12, 09:54 PM

I like how bright those are, but I'm not so sure about their lifespan..
Yesterday, I had another 40w failure. That's the 2nd one that's died.
One of the others that failed was a round designer type (from bathroom fixture).

Glad these have the 2 year store replacement deal..

I've got two new ($15) 60w LEDs from Home Depot that are working good so far.
AmbientLED 12-Watt (60W) A19 Soft White (2700K) Light Bulb-423343 at The Home Depot

They look odd, but they work very nicely..

Brightness: 805 lumens
Light Appearance: 2700K (Soft White)

$5 cheaper than the Utilitech 60-Watt Equivalent Model #: LA19/OM800/LED

Exalta-STA · 05-30-12, 08:52 PM

Nice, at least we know now that there are a lot of LED bulbs available in the market now.

@davidbr13
the LEDs i got are great too, they light up quite a big area for their size and wattage.

davidbr13 · 05-31-12, 07:13 AM

The utilitechs I have have been going strong for over 2 years. For the price, that is better than most of the CFL's I have used. The other utilitech variations that are at the local lowes seem to be much higher priced for some reason (these are under $9, the "60W equivalent" ones next to it are like $18).

The obstacle I would like to see them overcome is the form factor. You always see the larger bulbs with a weird shape or extra length or girth. These are good, but I'd like to see a bigger (100W equivalent anyone?) offered that would fit into a porchlight fixture.

05-23-12, 01:54 AM	#22
Exalta-STA Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: May 2012 Location: Philippines Posts: 107 Thanks: 12 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Finally, I got some real good LED bulbs...not only have they lower wattage than the CFL bulbs they replaced but they are even brighter and the light is bright and spread out unlike the others I have tested 3 watt LED replaced a 15 watt CFL for the hallway =Php 374/$8.31 5.5 watt LED replaced a 21 watt yellow CFL for front gate/doorway=Php 514/$11.42 Last edited by Exalta-STA; 05-23-12 at 01:58 AM..

05-23-12, 08:40 AM	#23
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Led tv Here's a video of the LEDs that I posted about above.. Green slot :: LEds video by Xringer - Photobucket The three 60w LEDs we use in our main lamps, seem to be just as bright as the 100w CFL they replaced. Not sure why.. The last 60w shown is only used as a reading lamp in that corner of the room. The living room and main den 60w blubs are on a few hours every night. We do have some other LED lighting. In the living room there is a motion activated night light and, there are some small always-on LED light lights in the bath room and kitchen. The LED reading lamp on the master bedroom headboad is solar powered. It's used 2 to 3 hours each night by my wife. Hey, I forgot.. This new 22" display has an LED back light.. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

05-23-12, 05:01 PM	#25
randen Uber EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Strathroy Ontario Canada Posts: 657 Thanks: 9 Thanked 191 Times in 129 Posts	LED photos The best thing about them is my wife likes them. They work very well for the kitchen food prep. area. Randen Attached Thumbnails

05-29-12, 09:54 PM	#28
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	utilitech I like how bright those are, but I'm not so sure about their lifespan.. Yesterday, I had another 40w failure. That's the 2nd one that's died. One of the others that failed was a round designer type (from bathroom fixture). Glad these have the 2 year store replacement deal.. I've got two new ($15) 60w LEDs from Home Depot that are working good so far. AmbientLED 12-Watt (60W) A19 Soft White (2700K) Light Bulb-423343 at The Home Depot They look odd, but they work very nicely.. Brightness: 805 lumens Light Appearance: 2700K (Soft White) $5 cheaper than the Utilitech 60-Watt Equivalent Model #: LA19/OM800/LED __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

05-15-12, 08:15 PM	#21
Exalta-STA Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: May 2012 Location: Philippines Posts: 107 Thanks: 12 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	I was considering to replace all the lights in the house with LEDs so I got one multi-LED bulb (the one thats wrapped around in LEDs facing multiple directions) and tried it all over the house. Apparently they are not that good for lighting up huge areas (like you guys previously mentioned) but they are good for focused ambient lighting as you said. I use them for the spotlight aimed at the paintings and also for recessed hallway lights. Electrical consumption has improved since most of the lights which are left on all night for security and comfort purposes (going to the john in the middle of the night) have been switched to LEDs oh and I love the fact they dont give much heat so it's okay to focus them on paintings.

05-23-12, 04:39 PM	#24
randen Uber EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Strathroy Ontario Canada Posts: 657 Thanks: 9 Thanked 191 Times in 129 Posts	We have a lot of track lighting that was using MR 16 metal halide 12 v mostly 20w and some 50w. I had replaced them about a year ago with some Chinese LED 3 w super white. The lighting is amazing and about the same lumins as the 20 w they replaced. Of the 20 pcs I had purchased 2 had quit. Oh well I suspected they may not last. I still intend to buy a bunch more for some other fixtures. I like the super white lighting. Most of our lighting in the house is the 12v MR-16 powered by some large format batteries that are waiting for solar PV install. For now they are charged via a high end charger powered by the grid. Running the calculations it will take 20 years for the lights ROI. But that is at todays dollar. The next time we have an increase in the cost of energy that ROI time will shorten. Just hope they will stand the test of time. Randen

05-24-12, 12:36 AM	#26
epson Lurking Renovator Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Transilvanya Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I'd like to point something what I find out about LED's.There are two or three characteristics why LED's are important.very low consumption and very long life.In any data book about any LED tipe you will find a lot of technical characteristics like volts,watts,lumens,dimensions,etc...but you will not see from what material electrods are made ,how pure is or how much silicium is in there .Is important because this is what gives LED a longer or shorter life.Nichia Co., is a very serious LED producer,for ex.. Here is a method to solve the unidirectional characteristic of LED light,spreading the light with liquid,kerosene ,for ex. I can not post link,so search with Google liquid LED light bulbs.

05-29-12, 09:00 PM	#27
davidbr13 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	The utilitech pro brand available at lowes is great. I get the "40watt equivalent" that costs under $9 each. They are brighter than the "60W equivalent" CFL's. I have them side by side in the light fixtures over the bathroom vanities, and side by side with those CFL's in ceiling fan light fixtures, so it is a direct side by side comparison. The bathroom fixtures are the kind that is designed for 4 or 6 40W incandescents in a row. I currently have plenty of light with 3 of these LEDs and 1 CFL in the 6 light fixture, and 2 of these in the 4 light fixture. They have outlasted several CFL's already, over more than 2 years. The light is exactly like a regular incandescent, and the bulbs with their integrated heatsink are actually rather decorative (certainly more so than the CFL's!). Contrary to most of the posts on this topic, these are not highly directional. If you make your own or jury-rig something that is based on the typical tiny 3.5 mm LED, then yes those are directional, but these are every bit as diffuse as an incandescent. Light only comes out the front 180 degrees, though. They do seem to make versions that are directional for spotlights, I've seen them there in the display at lowes next to these, but I don't have any experience with those.

05-30-12, 08:52 PM	#29
Exalta-STA Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: May 2012 Location: Philippines Posts: 107 Thanks: 12 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Nice, at least we know now that there are a lot of LED bulbs available in the market now. @davidbr13 the LEDs i got are great too, they light up quite a big area for their size and wattage.

05-31-12, 07:13 AM	#30
davidbr13 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	The utilitechs I have have been going strong for over 2 years. For the price, that is better than most of the CFL's I have used. The other utilitech variations that are at the local lowes seem to be much higher priced for some reason (these are under $9, the "60W equivalent" ones next to it are like $18). The obstacle I would like to see them overcome is the form factor. You always see the larger bulbs with a weird shape or extra length or girth. These are good, but I'd like to see a bigger (100W equivalent anyone?) offered that would fit into a porchlight fixture.