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Old 09-27-12, 09:58 AM   #71
Xringer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by classradiance View Post
So are the low voltage appliances also cheaper to run ?
or have the manufacturers just changed the Power Supply Unit spec to fit demand in a Lower Voltage Market ?
If you had a house fire, and your insurance company saw you had a DC power
system installed, they would look for the goverment approval stamp.
A DIY system might mean your fire insurance might not be paid.

Anyways, if you didn't have a solar powered battery bank, you would need
a power supply unit with low heat losses to connect up your LEDs.
A transformer supply, like a wall wart can be low loss. Those that don't heat up are the best.
An inverter type (like a phone charger) that doesn't heat up would be my choice for using DC LEDs.
I use a small 12V car battery (solar charged) for the LED reading lamp in our master bedroom.

For lamps used every night around the house, we use all 120 Vac LEDs.

Right now my go-to LED comes from Home Depot.
Philips, 12.5- Watts (60W) LED A19 Soft White (2700K) Light Bulb (E*), 422154 at The Home Depot - Mobile
The 60w Philips I recommended before (posted above) is no longer listed.
So this $12.97 blub is what I plan to buy when I upgrade my next CFL lamps.
I've just about given up on trying to find good dimmers for LEDs, so most of mine are running full power. Which isn't much.

Pay-back? Break-even? This stuff is my hobby.. Besides, I'll be 67 years old in a few months.
My outlook for a long life isn't the best, so I'm not going to worry about a few dollars.

But, I do like the idea of being able to run good lighting in my house
during grid failures, using a small back-up (solar charged 120vac) system.
And, LED lighting is cool!

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Old 09-27-12, 10:59 AM   #72
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That is interesting about insurance .... (sicko the movie comes to mind)
I shall look at that ... Thank you

I have worked in the Philips, Cambridge a few times here in the UK.
They are very nice people and I too have always looked at them and what they design with admiration .

Break even is a new one on me, its to do with selling I think.
But saving money is real important now more than ever as the cost is through the roof,
which ironically is where the all the panels are going.
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Old 09-28-12, 10:33 AM   #73
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I picked up two packs of 2 Luminous EXTLED at costco yesterday. $22.99 a pack. Specs are 470 lumens 58 lumens/watt 8 watt 25000 life, 3000K

The reason I grabbed all 4 was I needed 3 in my dining room chandelier and 1 in my basement. Dimmers were in use in both places and I didn't see the point of saving a couple of bucks to get dimmable CFL's which were about $8 each last time I managed to find them.

Last night I replaced the downstairs one which had just been a regular 13W CFL and I had to run the dimmer on full. The light coming from the bulb is much whiter then the CFL it replaced and really makes the one remaining dimmable cfl on the circuit look quite yellow. I prefer the new light.

This morning I did the dinning room chandelier. The 3 bulbs replaced three candelabra 60 watt bulbs. First thing is the bulbs are way brighter then the 3 replaced. Light is a bit whiter. There is however an issue. The dimmer appears to be a special one to allow dimming of CFL's. I seem to remember reading that on the box. Anyway At full power it makes the LED's flicker. At lower power they flicker then go live.

Right now I'm thinking I'll switch the dimmer with the basement dimmer. Then I can take that bulb in the basement and put it in the last remaining spot with IC beside the bed. I can then use the fancy switch with CFL's in the basement where it doesn't matter.

Overall I like the lights but think they're still pretty pricey. I'm however not impressed that they don't handle the funky switch.
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Old 09-28-12, 12:06 PM   #74
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I am not sure, but are they now being called superflux?
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Old 12-15-12, 08:33 AM   #75
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Quote:
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I use a small 12V car battery (solar charged) for the LED reading lamp in our master bedroom.
If you short out your 12v Battery (which should be fused)and burn down your home, would your insurance be null and void ?
Does your car have a relevant approval?

Just a thought !!

Ironic that a Solar advert which keeps you tied to a system which sucks you dry of money is above and below our discussion at random.

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Old 12-15-12, 09:08 AM   #76
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Quote:
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If you short out your 12v Battery (which should be fused)and burn down your home, would your insurance be null and void ?
Does your car have a relevant approval?

Just a thought !!

Ironic that a Solar advert which keeps you tied to a system which sucks you dry of money is above and below our discussion at random.
Insurance companies write their policies, so they always have an 'out'. (We call it the fine print).
They don't have to pay off on much of anything. But, they do pay a lot of claims,
because they would get too much bad PR and not have any customers.

My guess is, anyone who has a TV antenna that got hit by lightning is covered. But, if it's a Ham radio antenna.. Maybe not.

No, wait a second.. They might have "an act of God" in the fine print..

I do have a 3A fuse on the battery clip, but the battery is located underneath my Ham radio desk!
So, regardless of the actual cause of the fire, chances of being covered aren't so good.

The battery charger on my car is UL listed, and I did install a fuse at the battery connection. (There was none with the charger, IIRC).
Chances of being paid, if it sets the garage on fire? 50:50..



Insurance companies aren't really 'nice' people that want to help others.
They want your money. They don't want to give you money.

If you think of it that way, you will be more likely to be careful and use
safety devices where possible. Hopefully, you will reduce the likelihood of a fire or other accident.

If you own a tester or VOM, you might want to test new appliances,
to make sure they have been wired correctly. Sometimes, they make mistakes at the factory.
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Old 12-31-12, 12:53 AM   #77
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Default Turning the Best Attribute of Each Type of Light to Your Benefit

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Originally Posted by Alister91 View Post
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.
LED lighting expensive, but if you get them straight from China via ebay, they're more reasonable. I did that, and although the infant mortality rate was fairly high (15% within a month), it was still cheaper and the variety of lighting was far greater than where I live (USA). Trying to return bad bulbs to China is a losing game.

Yes, you are right, the total light output of LEDs is lower than CFL, but the light is usually focused by built-in plastic lenses, so the level of useful light is quite acceptable.

In my opinion, the best bet is to use compact fluorescent for indirect and fill lighting, and LEDs for task lighting. That way you are turning the best attribute of each type of light to your benefit.

Best,

-AC
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Old 12-31-12, 01:16 PM   #78
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Happy new year

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Old 08-06-13, 10:00 PM   #79
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yes i using LED in many things at home, for reading and lighting. Using LED can help me save money and saving energy.
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Old 08-07-13, 10:48 AM   #80
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Let's be careful with the mercury issue in CFLs. When people tell me that they don't use CFL's "because of the mercury", I ask them if they eat canned tuna fish . . .

Turns out that the amount of mercury in a can of tuna is just about the same as that in a CFL. And, what is worst, is that the tuna has methylated mercury which is highly bioabsorbed. The CFL mercury is mostly in the elemental form and largely inert.

Fact, liquid mercury was used for decades in medical imaging for gut GI issues. Yup, swallow it down and lie for the x-ray. I don't advocate this, but the metallic liquid mercury is not as dangerous as is postulated.

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 . . .

The recent paranoia about mercury, especially in the liquid form is highly misplaced. What is an issue is the methylated or volatile mercury. "Mad as a hatter" was a true statement as methylated mercury was used to felt beaver skins (for hats).

I suggest putting in LEDs over CFLs where it is difficult and/or dangerous to replace. High ceilings immediately come to mind. I also prefer LEDs in the kitchen as I do not want any broken CFL debris (mostly glass) in a food preparation area. The blue LEDs are also excellent as night lights and I have replaced all my old style tiny incandescent night lights with LED types. Turns out, the old 2-5 watt incandescent added a lot ot phantom load, were hot and only lasted 2000 hours.

Good discussion!

Steve

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