LED bulbs ready for prime time?

[SW315]

I would love to go LED in my ceiling fan light.. I have tried "dimmable" CFL's in it but, with my digital dimmer they flicker constantly... Quite annoying

[Ohio2112]

Cree produces a high quality LED, thats for sure. Whats available in todays marketplace is not quite ready for prime time in my eye,from led christmas lights to led floodlamp bulbs,color and reliability leaves alot to be desired....in time these challenges will be overcome.

My outdoor LED Christmas lights have only been through 2 seasons. I hope they last a lot longer.
I actually like the look better. They aren't as bright and they give off a cool glow that I like.
If I remember correctly, I think I figured they should pay for themselves after 2 years.
They replaced the big C9's.

[MorpheusPA]

I do like my Philips, which is currently happily lighting up a third of my office. Nice CRI. No flicker. Bright.

[andy10917]

Not to knock anyone here, but the Christmas lights LED technology is 1990's technology. The stuff that Cree is working on is three generations later. Back in the Christmas lights technology, they thought that a true White LED light was impossible (try finding a white LED on the whole chain). Now it is the standard.

[MorpheusPA]

It's been the reason I refuse to adopt LED Christmas lights, besides the expense. The color is awful. That and the fact that I use a few hundred pieces of crystal on my tree and LEDs don't break the spectrum nearly as nicely as incandescents do.

[HanLawn]

It's been the reason I refuse to adopt LED Christmas lights, besides the expense. The color is awful. That and the fact that I use a few hundred pieces of crystal on my tree and LEDs don't break the spectrum nearly as nicely as incandescents do.

Morph,dont know exactly what type of lights you are currently using {i suspect clear mini light strings} if so,the typical incandescant mini light bulb standard used to be a 1/2 watt bulb, and within the last decade,the standard has dropped to .42 watt,.33watt, and even some of the newer ones are .20watt bulbs, all in an effort to "save energy"..........BUT, I have found{not sold in many stores} 2 different incandescant clear mini light sets that are super super bright at .75watts per bulb- they would make those crystal pieces POP! They are the GKI/Bethlehem lights Heavy Duty mini light strings {energy hogs at 75 watts per 100 light string} and the GE 8mm 100 light strings, also 75watts per 100 light string,these use an 8mm bulb, which is a similar length but fatter bulb than the typical set.....stunning looking! Both are expensive at about $20 per 100 light string, in a world of $2 throwaway strings,but if you purchase after xmas,deals are to be had as most wont spend this kind of $$$$ when so many cheap sets are out there-I bought about 30 sets last year at 50-70% off!

Yes, I am a christmas light fanatic!

[andy10917]

The real action is at the other end of the game. Not lowering wattage, but getting economies of scale up in the 3 watt neighborhood. Color rendering is getting really, really good. I'm tracking the LED lighting closely because 400 watts of planted aquarium lighting costs a lot to run, and generates gobs of heat. Right now you have to DIY to get good, accurate LED aquarium lighting at reasonable prices, but the day is coming...

[SW315]

The real action is at the other end of the game. Not lowering wattage, but getting economies of scale up in the 3 watt neighborhood. Color rendering is getting really, really good. I'm tracking the LED lighting closely because 400 watts of planted aquarium lighting costs a lot to run, and generates gobs of heat. Right now you have to DIY to get good, accurate LED aquarium lighting at reasonable prices, but the day is coming...

I have yet to jump to LED's over my salt tank due to cost, using a 150 watt MH right now..

Andy, have you looked at any of these products? premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supply/LED.html several different brands in the menu on the left.

[andy10917]

Andy, have you looked at any of these products?

Yeah. For a 72" tank, it's well over $3,000. I have a DIY based on Cree lamps right now. It cost me less than $700.

[MorpheusPA]

Yes, I am a christmas light fanatic!

I see that. I overlamp the tree desperately, typically 1200-1500 lights, so I'd use almost the whole breaker with those! Also--the heat!

I tend to be hyper-exacting and adjust a light behind the crystals far enough to render it a rainbow. Some of the larger pieces get clusters of lights. Or vice-versa; I hang the crystal in front of a light.

The real action is at the other end of the game. Not lowering wattage, but getting economies of scale up in the 3 watt neighborhood.

The only one I use in that range is a standby hall light, and for that a chandelier bulb (fluorescent) is good enough for right now. 3 watts gently lights the hallway at night with a good enough color rendering that I don't notice the issues (it's in a blue shaded Tiffany-style lamp).

[bpgreen]

I've now replaced almost all of my light bulbs with LED or CLF bulbs. In some cases (closets, hallways, chandeliers), I've replaced 40 and 60 watt bulbs with 2.5 and 3.5 watt bulbs. They don't produce nearly as much light, but the old bulbs were overkill. In most cases I used 7.5 watt LEDs

[MorpheusPA]

For the most part, we've done the same with any bulb that spends appreciable time on. I left incandescents in most of those that don't, or in the chandelier for display purposes (we barely use that anyway). As those die, I'll put in fluorescent or replace with another display bulb.

Since those incandescents are now seven years old and still going, it gives you an idea of how often those are ever on.

[andy10917]

I've replaced 40 and 60 watt bulbs with 2.5 and 3.5 watt bulbs.

I'm not sure whether we're talking across each other or not, but just to be clear with everyone, there is a BIG difference between the 3-Watt lamps that I'm writing about and the 7.5-watt bulbs that BP is writing about. The "bulbs" have more than one "lamp" (LED chip) in them. The 3W stuff I'm talking about is the actual LED chip.

[BuckeyeChuck]

I stocked up on some of these CFL's to save money. Then, I found out my electric company would provide 6 "free" bulbs to each customer that calls and requests them. Catch is all customers are going to be charged for the 6 bulbs on their electric bill whether they order them or not.

They call this a "cost recovery fee". I called to get my "free" bulbs. I told several friends about this so they could order theirs also.

I bet 90% of people never heard of this and never got their bulbs but were charged for them on their bill and never knew it.

[MorpheusPA]

Probably. Ours did it differently--they subsidized sales at local stores, so CFLs came down to $1 per bulb or less. I picked up a nice stack at that point.

[jglongisland]

I'm still waiting for a 40 watt equivalent LED candelabra bulb for our 6 bulb foyer chandelier which is on 12-16 hours a day. 240 watts, day-in, day-out. I put some fugly CFL's in it a few years ago and got in a lot of trouble.

[bpgreen]

I'm still waiting for a 40 watt equivalent LED candelabra bulb for our 6 bulb foyer chandelier which is on 12-16 hours a day. 240 watts, day-in, day-out. I put some fugly CFL's in it a few years ago and got in a lot of trouble.

Does it really need to be a 40 watt equivalent? Does it need to be dimmable?

I was going to steer you to some 25 watt equivalent non-dimmable bulbs, but I found this instead. It's a 3.5 watt dimmable that's a 40 watt replacement bulb:

http://www.amazon.com/candelabra-85-265 ... B0058KU8SQ

[jglongisland]

I'm still waiting for a 40 watt equivalent LED candelabra bulb for our 6 bulb foyer chandelier which is on 12-16 hours a day. 240 watts, day-in, day-out. I put some fugly CFL's in it a few years ago and got in a lot of trouble.

Does it really need to be a 40 watt equivalent? Does it need to be dimmable?

I was going to steer you to some 25 watt equivalent non-dimmable bulbs, but I found this instead. It's a 3.5 watt dimmable that's a 40 watt replacement bulb:

http://www.amazon.com/candelabra-85-265 ... B0058KU8SQ

Needs to look like a normal incandescent for me to be able to get away with it, rest of specs are ideal. We have the boring GE ones in there now, like this:


http://www.lampsplus.com/products/ge-40 ... 90809.html

[bpgreen]

I'm still waiting for a 40 watt equivalent LED candelabra bulb for our 6 bulb foyer chandelier which is on 12-16 hours a day. 240 watts, day-in, day-out. I put some fugly CFL's in it a few years ago and got in a lot of trouble.

Does it really need to be a 40 watt equivalent? Does it need to be dimmable?

I was going to steer you to some 25 watt equivalent non-dimmable bulbs, but I found this instead. It's a 3.5 watt dimmable that's a 40 watt replacement bulb:

http://www.amazon.com/candelabra-85-265 ... B0058KU8SQ

Needs to look like a normal incandescent for me to be able to get away with it, rest of specs are ideal. We have the boring GE ones in there now, like this:


http://www.lampsplus.com/products/ge-40 ... 90809.html

I don't see enough difference to see a problem.

[texasweed]

Guys you need a dose or reality. LED's ar no more efficient than cheap China made CFL, and only half as efficient as tube type fluorescent lights like T5 and T8.

The US government will not allow them into their buildings because there efficiency is so low, and CRI is terrible.