Led bulbs

[Rolf N]

The thing I saw was the Toshiba E-Core. There's a bit of info on that here: http://www.toshiba.co.jp/lighting/ecology/index.htm

Really pleasant light, excellent diffusion. Rated color temperature is 4000K, which is a big plus in my book. I'm sick of those frackin yellowish tints.
Too bad they still cost 36€ for the 5W version.

 

[Mize]

What are the lumens on that? This is my second biggest complaint about LEDs so far.
My number one complaint is that I cannot find outdoor flood lights. I can find indoor floods - but I don't need those!

My outdoor floodlights are on motion sensors so I can't use CFLs and would love to switch them to LEDs provided I could get weatherproof bulbs with good lumens.

 

[Rolf N]

What are the lumens on that? This is my second biggest complaint about LEDs so far.

I think it's around 400ish, and Toshiba advertises a slightly higher one, too (no idea where to buy it though). It's still not ideal for larger rooms. They're close to being viable drop-ins for 60W bulbs though.
Maybe in a year or two ...

My number one complaint is that I cannot find outdoor flood lights. I can find indoor floods - but I don't need those!

My outdoor floodlights are on motion sensors so I can't use CFLs and would love to switch them to LEDs provided I could get weatherproof bulbs with good lumens.

It's funny that you should ask. They make those too!
PDF: http://www.toshiba.co.jp/lighting/products/pdf/english/ECORE_OUTDOOR_English.pdf

 

[Mize]

I saw that, but I have no idea where to buy it. Feit makes one too, but I can't find it either.

 

[Sxotty]

LED bulbs today (that I've seen) are pretty dim compared to other types of bulbs. Even standard fluorescent bulbs are dim compared to a 100W incandescent bulb, LED lights are much weaker in comparison.

I have used an LED bulb and it sucked, but that is just a reflection of companies seeking profits and trying to hit certain price points. Anyone who has used a high power LED torch/flashlight can tell you that LED bulbs can be ridiculously bright compared to regular bulbs. It is questionable if such LEDs are better than florescents now though in terms of energy efficiency.

BTW mize if you find where to get them reasonably let me know. I always wanted to get some and ended up getting some craptastic one as I mentioned just b/c it was cheap enough though still like $18, but that was a few years ago now.

 

[Mize]

I bought an LED flood at Costco for a decent price and I use it for an outdoor flood where it's under a good overhang (it says not to expose to water) and it's nice and bright. Just wish I could replace about 5 other floods with LEDs. The big deal are the motion/light activated locations since CFLs cannot be used there...

 

[Sxotty]

I meant regular indoor bulb replacements mize. Even back in the dark ages when I was looking (3 years ago ) they had floods and these tiny bulbs that were for "indoor" replacement, but they were super blue and low brightness.

 

[3dcgi]

Why can't CFLs be used in motion activated lights?

 

[Rolf N]

Why can't CFLs be used in motion activated lights?

They don't last very long if you cycle them on/off a lot. There's also the issue that they need a ~2 minute warmup period to even achieve their nominal brightness.

I have (experimented with) this 7W GU10 bulb for a fixture in the hallway, and when it's cold I can't even tell whether it's on or off without looking straight at it. And no exaggerations here. First thing I did was check to see if the breakers were on.

If you use lights with this particular "quality" in places where they'll typically switch on for a minute or two at a time, you're never getting the light you want at the time you want it.

 

[Mize]

They don't last very long if you cycle them on/off a lot. There's also the issue that they need a ~2 minute warmup period to even achieve their nominal brightness.

The balast fails quickly on any type of activated switch. Motion sensing switches are the worst as the balast flickers. Instead of getting a couple years, you'll be lucky to get a couple weeks life.

 

[3dcgi]

I will test it next time my outdoor lights need a new bulb. I would be shocked if they only last a few weeks.

I've never noticed a brightness problem with my indoor CFLs. They're plenty bright nearly instantly.

 

[Grall]

Hm, I've never heard anything about CCFLs dying extremely rapidly to being power-cycled. Sounds bogus to me, just as it's bogus that regular FL tubes cause issues when cycled.

I have FL lights in my bathroom, they turn on/off plenty often and the CCFL bulbs last years anyway, and the tube above the mirror has never been replaced. Kitchen FL tubes have only been replaced once in roughly FIFTEEN YEARS of quite heavy use (many hours/day). I dunno how long the original pair in the ceiling fixture burned before I moved in in june 1995, but I didn't replace those until august 2006...

 

[MrGaribaldi]

At work we have some CFL down-lights, same shape as halogen, with several tiny arches that light one after another. To get them to an acceptable light level, from cold state, takes several minutes which is great when working late....

Though those are extreme, I have never seen a CFL that have anywhere near the same speed as a LED, halogen or incandescent light.

 

[Sxotty]

CFLs do not work well in the cold though. Not sure what the physical reason for that is, but it is undeniable.

 

[Mize]

CFLs do not work well in the cold though. Not sure what the physical reason for that is, but it is undeniable.

I have Outdoor CFLs and, in Winter, it takes them much longer to light up, but they do get bright after a few minutes. Typical Winter nights here are below 0 C.

 

[Sxotty]

I have Outdoor CFLs and, in Winter, it takes them much longer to light up, but they do get bright after a few minutes. Typical Winter nights here are below 0 C.

I know, but I don't know why. The energetic process of exciting electrons to higher energy states and them then decaying and emitting photons doesn't seem like it would be that dependent on temperature that a change from 0-20C would be that big a deal, but it is. So maybe it is something in the ballast or who knows what that needs to warm up.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Hm, I've never heard anything about CCFLs dying extremely rapidly to being power-cycled. Sounds bogus to me, just as it's bogus that regular FL tubes cause issues when cycled.

I have FL lights in my bathroom, they turn on/off plenty often and the CCFL bulbs last years anyway, and the tube above the mirror has never been replaced. Kitchen FL tubes have only been replaced once in roughly FIFTEEN YEARS of quite heavy use (many hours/day). I dunno how long the original pair in the ceiling fixture burned before I moved in in june 1995, but I didn't replace those until august 2006...

Better than mine. Perhaps it's the semi-regular brown outs that we get that cause momentary power outage for the bulbs.

But I've now had 4 CCFL's die in less than 2 years. In those particular fixtures, regular incandescents lasted about as long. I think I'm going back to incandescents when my remaining CCFL's die. I like the light they put better anways. And then I'll just wait until LED lights mature to a useable and affordable state.

Regards,
SB

 

[Mize]

Hm, I've never heard anything about CCFLs dying extremely rapidly to being power-cycled. Sounds bogus to me, just as it's bogus that regular FL tubes cause issues when cycled.

It's not bogus. From wikipedia:

The lifetime of any lamp depends on many factors including operating voltage, manufacturing defects, exposure to voltage spikes, mechanical shock, frequency of cycling on and off, lamp orientation, and ambient operating temperature, among other factors. The life of a CFL is significantly shorter if it is turned on and off frequently: In the case of a 5-minute on/off cycle the lifespan of a CFL can be up to 85% shorter, reducing its lifespan to "close to that of incandescent light bulbs".[13] The US Energy Star program suggests that fluorescent lamps be left on when leaving a room for less than 15 minutes to mitigate this problem.

I have three bathrooms. Two are CCFL and one is incandescent. I have replaced the CCFLs in the two bathrooms TWICE and the incandescent bulbs are the ones that were there when I bought the house in 2005. Having trained my kids to always turn off lights when they leave a room has proved quite costly for bathrooms, but I don't seem able to retrain them.

 

[3dcgi]

I can't remember how long I've had them, but I have yet to have a CFL burn out. Also, if 5 minute cycling only reduces a CFL's lifespan to close to that of an incandescent why would Energy Star have a 15 minute guideline. Are they accounting for a cost difference?

I'm sure you can question the scientific validity but Myth Busters tested incandescent and florescent bulbs and determined it made sense to turn them off if you'd be out of the room for more than 30 seconds.

They probably didn't test long enough to get a true idea of longevity, but they did cycle the lights a lot. I think their conclusion was cycle time doesn't matter much more than total on time. I don't think CFL was tested either though I saw the show a long time ago so my memory might be fuzzy.

 

[Grall]

I've used CFLs pretty much since they went commercially available where I live, and while I've had to change a bunch of them (particulary these cheap IKEA units I have at the moment), I can't say I've noticed much of anything regarding cycling. The bathroom ones go on and off a lot, the kitchen, bedroom, PC area lights stay on for long periods. They all last years.

I guess I should write the date I screw 'em in, try and see exactly how long they live...