Anyone using/used LEDs?

Daox · 09-30-08, 06:15 AM

I'm just wondering if you guys have found any good LED bulbs. Having recently read up on them and shopped around it looks like ATM they are #1 very expensive and #2 can't put out as much light as a CFL.

I have found a few bulbs that I might try out just for kicks even though they are a little more dim.

So, have you used any LEDs for anything yet?

truckncycle · 09-30-08, 11:29 AM

I haven't tried any yet for the reasons that you cited. LEDs are also very directional so they are probably best for spot lights. I have been seeing more "normal" LED bulbs being advertised though.

groar · 09-30-08, 03:03 PM

I use them in 2 locations :

Over the washbasins in the bathroom : 3x1.4W to replace 2x40W+30W
Near the change table in baby's room : 1x1.4W (blue) to replace a 35W

In both cases it's to avoid to receive too much light before going to sleep.

The blue LED have been very effective to keep everybody asleep when the baby needed to be changed during the night. Now it's always used by evening before the baby is going to sleep.

The LED in the bathroom are useful by night. In the morning during winter we use the 12W CFL (equiv 60W), during summer we use nothing and in between we use the LED.

About efficiency I have the feeling that the CFL have a better coefficient between consumption and lightning than LED, but this is my feeling.

The directional light is useful in several situations

the ones in which I use them
a little room, such as the toilets
a lamp on a desk
over a worktop
...

Denis.

PS ooops I forgot to complete my lightning thread this week-end...

bennelson · 10-05-08, 06:58 PM

LEDs are very efficient, but they don't yet beat CFLs in terms of amount of light per watt.

Currently, I have two LED bulbs in my refridgerator. They work great. They are a little bluish, and not super-bright, but VERY energy efficient. The main reason I am using them there is that they create essentially no heat to warm the food I am using my energy to cool!

I also tried using CFLs in the fridge, and they will NOT perform well. CFLs do NOT like cold and damp!!!

I also have an LED spotlight above my kitchen sink. This is the one bulb in the whole house which is almost always on, so it's the one that makes the most sense to conserve on.

I originally had a C. Crane bulb in there.
( LED Light Bulbs )

Currently, I have a (made in China) LED spotlight I got at Wal-mart. It was $20 and suprisingly bright and a great color temperature as well.

Unfortunately, I am having some trouble with it. Right now, only HALF of the LEDs are actually lighting. It still puts out enough light to be useful. I don't know if I just got a really bad bulb, or if the quality control on this particular brand really is that bad.

The C.Crane bulb still works great. I put that one in the bathroom in a can fixture that originally had a heatlamp in it.

Most of the fixtures in my house are can lights built into the ceiling. LEDs are great for that application. CFLs work better for other styles of lights.

LEDs are also good for closer-up specialty applications, such as LED puck lights under a cabinet.

I plan on doing more work with LED lighting in the future. I will post more information here about it when I do.

Daox · 10-06-08, 06:24 AM

Ben, I used your idea for my fridge too! I actually had one of the door switches go bad on my fridge and the lights wouldn't turn off. So, I took the lights out and had no lights for a while. I had picked up a pack of two nightlight sized LED bulbs that I was going to use, but then I got one of those green panel nightlights and that thing runs on .08w! So, I replaced the incandescent with that and was left with two LED lights and nothing to do with them. Well, a pack of CFLs I got with candelabra bases came with converters to the standard E27 bulb base. So, I used the LED nightlight bulbs and the converter bases to put them in the fridge. They works great, and no heat generation just like you said. Now, I still gotta find a new switch for the fridge, but at least I can see inside it at night now.

The other application I'd like to use LEDs on are my recessed lights in my kitchen. They are all par20 bulbs and get used fairly frequently. As of now, they have 50w halogens in them. The only reason I don't have CFLs in is because they are on a dimmer, and I like the dimmer. Do you guys know if LEDs dim, or do you need dimmable LEDs?

dogbreath · 12-07-08, 08:29 AM

Check out these guys:
LEDLight.com: Online Shopping for LED Lights, LED Lighting, LED Lamps & more
Bought some for our house in Gilbert, work great. Will be installing in an off grid solar/wind house we have in Snowflake, AZ.

hitmanhite · 12-31-08, 03:06 PM

I am stationed over here in Germany, and there are tons of cool and different LED's in use. Speaking with some of the Germans buying bulbs in the local Hela (same as Home Depot), a few told me they would not use CFL's becuase of the "mercury" factor. Then again, Germans tend to be more eco friendly than us, and will spend the extra money on the better product for the environment. Here is a website that I was thinking of ordering some lamps from. They are both 110 and 220 volt which is a awesome thing. I can use them here and back there in a couple of years. Product Listing - MR16

knowbodies · 01-01-09, 11:01 AM

I bought one LED puck light for testing purposes. As purchased, it uses 3 AA batteries in series. I wasn't happy with the idea of changing batteries so I made a small modification - I added a power supply. Three AA batteries is ~4.5 nominal volts so I figured an old 5 volt wall would suffice. It did.

The light is incredibly bright but very directional so it's excellent for task lighting. Currently I'm using it to light the desktop in front of my computer. I'm not happy with the inefficiency of the wallwart so the next project is to mod a USB cable and power the light from my computer (USB should provide 5V at 0.5A).

nibs · 06-26-10, 09:22 PM

This thread is a bit old, but well worth revisiting, there are many new great LED lamps available on the market. We live full time in a converted MCI bus and spend most of our time off grid. Several years ago we bought track lighting which uses MR16 lamps, I took out the transformer so that the 20 watt halogen bulbs could run directly off the 12 volt house batteries, last winter I swapped out the halogen lamps (8 of them) and installed 3 watt warm white LED lamps. The current draw went from 16 amps down to less than 2, and the light is about the same color and intensity. Most vendors of LED lamps are not aware of the color of the lamps and sell white white (5000 +/-Kelvin) lamps, Swmbo will not tolerate these as she says they are too harsh. We used warm white lamps (3,000K +/-) and they have worked out beautifully - I no longer have to be the electricity grinch, we also use 12 volt 9 emitter lamps in regular 12v rv fixtures for the bedroom.
LED's may not ever pay for themselves in saved electricity, but if you are off grid they give instant peace of mind.

Ryland · 06-30-10, 08:54 AM

I have a 3 watt LED that I used as a reading light, reflecting off my ceiling it's still bright enough to read by, I also just bought a 5.5 watt LED cluster that is supposed to replace a 60 watt light bulb I bought them from Sunny Day Earth Solutions when they were at the Mid West Renewable Energy Fair, every single LED they sell is bright, they have a display set up with their bulbs next to a incandescent flood light so you can compare brightness and color and the owner lives with LED's in his own house.

09-30-08, 03:03 PM	#3
groar X-Frenchy: very Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Toulouse, France Posts: 153 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	I use them in 2 locations : Over the washbasins in the bathroom : 3x1.4W to replace 2x40W+30W Near the change table in baby's room : 1x1.4W (blue) to replace a 35W In both cases it's to avoid to receive too much light before going to sleep. The blue LED have been very effective to keep everybody asleep when the baby needed to be changed during the night. Now it's always used by evening before the baby is going to sleep. The LED in the bathroom are useful by night. In the morning during winter we use the 12W CFL (equiv 60W), during summer we use nothing and in between we use the LED. About efficiency I have the feeling that the CFL have a better coefficient between consumption and lightning than LED, but this is my feeling. The directional light is useful in several situations the ones in which I use them a little room, such as the toilets a lamp on a desk over a worktop ... Denis. PS ooops I forgot to complete my lightning thread this week-end... __________________ Earth absorbs 1.8 t CO2/head/yr, while a French generates 6.2 t CO2/yr To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. kg saved 06/08-08/09: 1816.9+382.9 (ecodriving / 1420mi not driven) = 2199.8 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. (2.66 kg/l diesel) kg saved by 3kWc photo-voltaic solar panels : 187 kg/yr To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. (59.1 g/kWh) Radioactive wastes saved by 3kWc photo-voltaic solar panels : Long life (>100,000 years) : 2.85 g/yr (0.9 mg/kWh) Short life (<300 years) : 31.7 g/yr (10.0 mg/kWh) Based upon "official" French figures...

10-05-08, 06:58 PM	#4
bennelson Home-Wrecker Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 546 Thanks: 3 Thanked 165 Times in 96 Posts	LEDs are very efficient, but they don't yet beat CFLs in terms of amount of light per watt. Currently, I have two LED bulbs in my refridgerator. They work great. They are a little bluish, and not super-bright, but VERY energy efficient. The main reason I am using them there is that they create essentially no heat to warm the food I am using my energy to cool! I also tried using CFLs in the fridge, and they will NOT perform well. CFLs do NOT like cold and damp!!! I also have an LED spotlight above my kitchen sink. This is the one bulb in the whole house which is almost always on, so it's the one that makes the most sense to conserve on. I originally had a C. Crane bulb in there. ( LED Light Bulbs ) Currently, I have a (made in China) LED spotlight I got at Wal-mart. It was $20 and suprisingly bright and a great color temperature as well. Unfortunately, I am having some trouble with it. Right now, only HALF of the LEDs are actually lighting. It still puts out enough light to be useful. I don't know if I just got a really bad bulb, or if the quality control on this particular brand really is that bad. The C.Crane bulb still works great. I put that one in the bathroom in a can fixture that originally had a heatlamp in it. Most of the fixtures in my house are can lights built into the ceiling. LEDs are great for that application. CFLs work better for other styles of lights. LEDs are also good for closer-up specialty applications, such as LED puck lights under a cabinet. I plan on doing more work with LED lighting in the future. I will post more information here about it when I do. __________________ 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.

10-06-08, 06:24 AM	#5
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Ben, I used your idea for my fridge too! I actually had one of the door switches go bad on my fridge and the lights wouldn't turn off. So, I took the lights out and had no lights for a while. I had picked up a pack of two nightlight sized LED bulbs that I was going to use, but then I got one of those green panel nightlights and that thing runs on .08w! So, I replaced the incandescent with that and was left with two LED lights and nothing to do with them. Well, a pack of CFLs I got with candelabra bases came with converters to the standard E27 bulb base. So, I used the LED nightlight bulbs and the converter bases to put them in the fridge. They works great, and no heat generation just like you said. Now, I still gotta find a new switch for the fridge, but at least I can see inside it at night now. The other application I'd like to use LEDs on are my recessed lights in my kitchen. They are all par20 bulbs and get used fairly frequently. As of now, they have 50w halogens in them. The only reason I don't have CFLs in is because they are on a dimmer, and I like the dimmer. Do you guys know if LEDs dim, or do you need dimmable LEDs? __________________ 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.

09-30-08, 06:15 AM	#1
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Anyone using/used LEDs? I'm just wondering if you guys have found any good LED bulbs. Having recently read up on them and shopped around it looks like ATM they are #1 very expensive and #2 can't put out as much light as a CFL. I have found a few bulbs that I might try out just for kicks even though they are a little more dim. So, have you used any LEDs for anything yet? __________________ 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.

09-30-08, 11:29 AM	#2
truckncycle Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Roseville, CA Posts: 81 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I haven't tried any yet for the reasons that you cited. LEDs are also very directional so they are probably best for spot lights. I have been seeing more "normal" LED bulbs being advertised though.

12-07-08, 08:29 AM	#6
dogbreath Lurking Renovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Check out these guys: LEDLight.com: Online Shopping for LED Lights, LED Lighting, LED Lamps & more Bought some for our house in Gilbert, work great. Will be installing in an off grid solar/wind house we have in Snowflake, AZ.

12-31-08, 03:06 PM	#7
hitmanhite Lurking Renovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I am stationed over here in Germany, and there are tons of cool and different LED's in use. Speaking with some of the Germans buying bulbs in the local Hela (same as Home Depot), a few told me they would not use CFL's becuase of the "mercury" factor. Then again, Germans tend to be more eco friendly than us, and will spend the extra money on the better product for the environment. Here is a website that I was thinking of ordering some lamps from. They are both 110 and 220 volt which is a awesome thing. I can use them here and back there in a couple of years. Product Listing - MR16

01-01-09, 11:01 AM	#8
knowbodies Home Improvement Goon Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Moose Jaw, SK, CA Posts: 96 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	I bought one LED puck light for testing purposes. As purchased, it uses 3 AA batteries in series. I wasn't happy with the idea of changing batteries so I made a small modification - I added a power supply. Three AA batteries is ~4.5 nominal volts so I figured an old 5 volt wall would suffice. It did. The light is incredibly bright but very directional so it's excellent for task lighting. Currently I'm using it to light the desktop in front of my computer. I'm not happy with the inefficiency of the wallwart so the next project is to mod a USB cable and power the light from my computer (USB should provide 5V at 0.5A).

06-26-10, 09:22 PM	#9
nibs Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 206 Thanks: 1 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts	This thread is a bit old, but well worth revisiting, there are many new great LED lamps available on the market. We live full time in a converted MCI bus and spend most of our time off grid. Several years ago we bought track lighting which uses MR16 lamps, I took out the transformer so that the 20 watt halogen bulbs could run directly off the 12 volt house batteries, last winter I swapped out the halogen lamps (8 of them) and installed 3 watt warm white LED lamps. The current draw went from 16 amps down to less than 2, and the light is about the same color and intensity. Most vendors of LED lamps are not aware of the color of the lamps and sell white white (5000 +/-Kelvin) lamps, Swmbo will not tolerate these as she says they are too harsh. We used warm white lamps (3,000K +/-) and they have worked out beautifully - I no longer have to be the electricity grinch, we also use 12 volt 9 emitter lamps in regular 12v rv fixtures for the bedroom. LED's may not ever pay for themselves in saved electricity, but if you are off grid they give instant peace of mind.

06-30-10, 08:54 AM	#10
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	I have a 3 watt LED that I used as a reading light, reflecting off my ceiling it's still bright enough to read by, I also just bought a 5.5 watt LED cluster that is supposed to replace a 60 watt light bulb I bought them from Sunny Day Earth Solutions when they were at the Mid West Renewable Energy Fair, every single LED they sell is bright, they have a display set up with their bulbs next to a incandescent flood light so you can compare brightness and color and the owner lives with LED's in his own house.