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Would you pay $60 for a lightbulb?

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
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borcester rhymes
I would, if I would make a significant part of that money back and the color was similar to the warmth of an incandescent bulb. We just moved into a new house and all the bulbs were early CFLs and the sickly blue light they give off is awful. I don't want to be a hoarder, but part of me wants to stock up on 60w incandescents until more of these bulbs are released. I also hate the way that LEDs flicker, or at least Xmas light strings do.
 

DamienC

Turbo Monkey
Jun 6, 2002
1,165
0
DC
LED light bulbs seem to be coming down in price. This 8.6 W (40W equiv) LED bulb at Home Depot is going for $10. I'm phasing in LEDs into all the recessed lighting in my house as they get cheaper. So far so good. The color output of the one I've tried is similar to the old incandescent bulbs and they seem to play well with dimmers without any flickering.
 
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?????

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,678
2
San Francisco
CFL's look nearly identical to incandescent bulbs if you know how to buy the correct ones.

LED's can look the same as well.

LED, CFL, incandescent is the technology behind the bulb, it has absolutely nothing to do with the color.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
LED light bulbs seem to be coming down in price. This 8.6 W (40W equiv) LED bulb at Home Depot is going for $10. I'm phasing in LEDs into all the recessed lighting in my house as they get cheaper. So far so good. The color output of the one I've tried is similar to the old incandescent bulbs and they seem to play well with dimmers without any flickering.
Thanks for the tip, I'll try and check them out. It would be nice to phase in LED's much like you are, but I'm not in a terrible hurry as the tech just keeps getting better.

You probably have 6500k CFL's if they are white/blue. Get get 3500k or 4100k CFL's for a warmer, red light similar to the incandescent bulbs.
Yes, as I stated they were original to the house, so I think the previous owners installed them when CFLs were first getting on the market. There are some that look very similar to the incandescents I installed to replace the bluish CFLs, but they still take 2-3 minutes to warm up to full brightness. I suppose I'll have to eventually replace all of them, but hopefully they last long enough for LED tech to be fully realized.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
I was at Lowes last week and they had 800 lumen 13 watt LED bulbs for $16/piece:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_338931-75774-LA19/OM800/LED_4294801193?AID=10926682&PID=4485850&SID=jOr_jI1oEeGGsGpDFXlv0Q0&cm_mmc=AFF_CJ-_-Slickdeals+Inc-jOr_jI1oEeGGsGpDFXlv0Q0-_-1122587-_-10926682

Home Depot has a 850 lumen 13W for $14/each:

http://www.homedepot.com/EcoSmart/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1vZ4b8/R-202668646/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=LED&storeId=10051

As ????? mentions, color has nothing to do with bulb technology. CFLs come in a range of color temperatures and the better electronic ballast are instant-on with little to no warmup.
 
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?????

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,678
2
San Francisco
LED'S also make A LOT more sense economically, even if they are more expensive initially if you own a business and have to pay an employee or outsource a company to replace the bulbs in your office ceiling or street sign every few months. Same goes for outdoor and ceiling lighting in a double height space if you don't have an extension ladder.

Buy LED'S and replace bulbs about as often as you replace the shingles on your roof.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
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borcester rhymes
Well if the journalist knew how to search then you can get them for $23.99 on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230724158698?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

I have 6 total of them and they work really well. Compared to CLFs the light color is really good and they are dimmable. They also turn on quicker too. I highly recommend them especially the Philips ones.
What fixtures do you have them in? Do they look similar to incandescents even at dimmed levels?
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,862
4,160
Copenhagen, Denmark
What fixtures do you have them in? Do they look similar to incandescents even at dimmed levels?
I have them 4 in these lamps:



And 3 others in a mix of different lamps. Its not 100% the same but its really close and not something I notice. I actually like the light the give up better. Started out with 3 and then bought more.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
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borcester rhymes
I have them 4 in these lamps:



And 3 others in a mix of different lamps. Its not 100% the same but its really close and not something I notice. I actually like the light the give up better. Started out with 3 and then bought more.
Very cool. I have a feeling we'll be all but through with CFLs within another 5 years, and it sounds like LEDs are going to take the lead. Regular bulbs won't really be an option soon so I'd like to get what works the first time (BIFL). I appreciate the feedback.
 

sstalder5

Turbo Monkey
Aug 20, 2008
1,942
20
Beech Mtn Definitely NOT Boulder
Does anyone have actual numbers on power bill savings? My roommate and I are considering switching our house over to LEDs but we're a little hesitant to make any kind of investment in a rental house if the return is going to take more than a few years. Has anyone seen noticeable monthly savings? We'd be switching over about 10 fixtures from incandescent to LED.
 

?????

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,678
2
San Francisco
Does anyone have actual numbers on power bill savings? My roommate and I are considering switching our house over to LEDs but we're a little hesitant to make any kind of investment in a rental house if the return is going to take more than a few years. Has anyone seen noticeable monthly savings? We'd be switching over about 10 fixtures from incandescent to LED.
Not really, unless the lights are on all day long. But, take the bulbs with you when you move. I have a collection of them that I bought while in college. I can only remember 3 of them burning out and I started buying them almost 8 years ago. The rest of them got put into my parents house after graduating.
 

C.P.

Monkey
Jan 18, 2004
547
8
SouthEastern Massachusetts
You probably have 6500k CFL's if they are white/blue. Get get 3500k or 4100k CFL's for a warmer, red light similar to the incandescent bulbs.
at 3500-4100, that is still too blue/white to compare to incandescent lamps, especially if they are going to be used in the evening or after dark in "living" areas (rather than "task/work" areas like kitchen).

3500k is good for the kitchen and maybe a bath, but for most other rooms, living room, den, tv room, bedroom etc, 2700k is the way to go.
 

C.P.

Monkey
Jan 18, 2004
547
8
SouthEastern Massachusetts
Sstalder What state/county do you live in? there are many utility sponsored retrofit programs around the country that practically give away lighting retrofit(s) (among other things).
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,520
7,069
Colorado
I have switched all of our regular usage bulbs to LED and have most of the rest as CFL. There are a few bulbs where neither the LED/CFL options are available or best, so I still have incandesant bulbs in those. Given that most LED bulbs have a 50k hour warranty, they are in effect, lifetime bulbs. I am willing to pay a bit more up front for bulbs that have a lower electical usage that will last virtually forever.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,862
4,160
Copenhagen, Denmark
at 3500-4100, that is still too blue/white to compare to incandescent lamps, especially if they are going to be used in the evening or after dark in "living" areas (rather than "task/work" areas like kitchen).

3500k is good for the kitchen and maybe a bath, but for most other rooms, living room, den, tv room, bedroom etc, 2700k is the way to go.
Agree I would not to go higher.

Like Joker I still have some lamps where incandescent is the only options and the bulb are part of the design like this one I have in my kitchen



I hope I will be able to keep buying the bulbs.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
at 3500-4100, that is still too blue/white to compare to incandescent lamps, especially if they are going to be used in the evening or after dark in "living" areas (rather than "task/work" areas like kitchen).

3500k is good for the kitchen and maybe a bath, but for most other rooms, living room, den, tv room, bedroom etc, 2700k is the way to go.
Color temperature preference is actually an arbitrary regional based preference (varies by country) unless you have special needs like SAD (in which case bluer temps are closer to sunlight peak as long as the CRI is decent but research has shown this natural looking light is not ideal for a healthy sleep environment).

CRI is actually out of date especially for LEDs and CQS is the new ideal.

More on LEDs and ideal work environments (objective research rather than regional preferences):

http://www.ledsmagazine.com/features/5/10/14
 
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bean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 16, 2004
1,335
0
Boulder
at 3500-4100, that is still too blue/white to compare to incandescent lamps, especially if they are going to be used in the evening or after dark in "living" areas (rather than "task/work" areas like kitchen).

3500k is good for the kitchen and maybe a bath, but for most other rooms, living room, den, tv room, bedroom etc, 2700k is the way to go.
I bought a bunch of 2700k and I don't like them much. They're the best CFLs I've seen, but the color is still bad. LED is much more promising right now. I have an LED task lamp that I bought at Ikea a couple months ago. The light from it is much more pleasant. There's also a new restaurant here that I thought had all halogen lighting, but it's actually all LED. It's very nice.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
I bought a bunch of 2700k and I don't like them much. They're the best CFLs I've seen, but the color is still bad. LED is much more promising right now. I have an LED task lamp that I bought at Ikea a couple months ago. The light from it is much more pleasant. There's also a new restaurant here that I thought had all halogen lighting, but it's actually all LED. It's very nice.
2700K is the default regional color temperature choice for the US and most LEDs and CFLs sold are that color temperature. Any big box store now carries at least 3-4 different temperatures in most bulb types. CFL ballasts can vary significantly by brand and the older designs were pretty annoying. As I mentioned above color temperature is only one small factor in the quality of the light - CRI and now CQS are not consistent across any lighting technology and often its a arbitrary preference rather than what is truly significant in comparing these technologies these days.
 
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bean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 16, 2004
1,335
0
Boulder
2700K is the default regional color temperature choice for the US and most LEDs and CFLs sold are that color temperature. Any big box store now carries at least 3-4 different temperatures in most bulb types. CFL ballasts can vary significantly by brand and the older designs were pretty annoying.
These are only about a year and a half old. Maybe good CFLs exist, but I haven't seen them.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
These are only about a year and a half old. Maybe good CFLs exist, but I haven't seen them.
They do, most people just don't know what they are doing when buying them, they aren't looking at all the specs. Its not as simple as just buying an analog light bulb in one color temperature where the only notable difference would be how long they last between brands.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
I would agree that CFLs are simply not suited to dimming (even the specialty dimmable ballasts) and useful life is reduced in CFLs if they are frequently turned on and off. LEDs are far better in either of those situations or in unprotected fixtures (solid state lighting is significantly more durable).
 
Does anyone have actual numbers on power bill savings? My roommate and I are considering switching our house over to LEDs but we're a little hesitant to make any kind of investment in a rental house if the return is going to take more than a few years. Has anyone seen noticeable monthly savings? We'd be switching over about 10 fixtures from incandescent to LED.
:think: Don't you take math in school? Use it.
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
I do not have numbers, but I can give a comparison with what I have in LED bulbs.

I will be working on switching mom's house over to led's as I can. Simply put without having numbers to back it up, Led's are brighter while using less power. When I say brighter I mean they can produce more lumens with less power.

Here is my comparison, I was using a CFL type flashlight at work for years, thought it was great, thought it was awesome and Damn this thing is bright. Had to recharge it nightly and sometimes more, in fact the kit it came with even came with an extra battery that way if you used it up in less than a day you just swap batteries...... Now I was able to get an LED upgrade kit for it..... I thought it was bright before... Nope now its the power of the sun squared, and a single charge on the exact same battery lasts a good solid week without needing a recharge.

Will this difference make a huge impact on your utility bill? I do not know. But I do know that the price of the led bulbs will offset themselves even without the power savings, due to the fact that led's last longer than cfl's.
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,520
7,069
Colorado
Does anyone have actual numbers on power bill savings? My roommate and I are considering switching our house over to LEDs but we're a little hesitant to make any kind of investment in a rental house if the return is going to take more than a few years. Has anyone seen noticeable monthly savings? We'd be switching over about 10 fixtures from incandescent to LED.
When we were still renting, we had put LED bulbs in all of our fixtures. We kept all of the old bulbs and just took our led bulbs with us.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
I do not have numbers, but I can give a comparison with what I have in LED bulbs.

I will be working on switching mom's house over to led's as I can. Simply put without having numbers to back it up, Led's are brighter while using less power. When I say brighter I mean they can produce more lumens with less power.

Here is my comparison, I was using a CFL type flashlight at work for years, thought it was great, thought it was awesome and Damn this thing is bright. Had to recharge it nightly and sometimes more, in fact the kit it came with even came with an extra battery that way if you used it up in less than a day you just swap batteries...... Now I was able to get an LED upgrade kit for it..... I thought it was bright before... Nope now its the power of the sun squared, and a single charge on the exact same battery lasts a good solid week without needing a recharge.

Will this difference make a huge impact on your utility bill? I do not know. But I do know that the price of the led bulbs will offset themselves even without the power savings, due to the fact that led's last longer than cfl's.
Actually the best screw-in LEDs bulbs match but do not yet exceed CFLs in lumens/watt and aren't found in higher sizes than 850 lumen/14watt/60watt incad equals unless you go with a larger flood style bulbs (LEDs need adequate heatsinking)

You can easily get CFL bulbs in 1600 lumen/23watt/100w or 2600/42watt/150watt equal). LED bulbs are more directional as they have reflectors or TIR optics - CFL produce a more diffuse light but the same total lumens. CFLs are not well suited for flashlights.

Your electric bill will be the same with either unless you prefer to dim your lights in which case LED would function well and use less power since CFLs don't dim well. Either uses far less than incads and thus produces less waste heat in your home.
 

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,800
8,383
Nowhere Man!
Actually the best screw-in LEDs bulbs match but do not yet exceed CFLs in lumens/watt and aren't found in higher sizes than 850 lumen/14watt/60watt incad equals unless you go with a larger flood style bulbs (LEDs need adequate heatsinking)

You can easily get CFL bulbs in 1600 lumen/23watt/100w or 2600/42watt/150watt equal). LED bulbs are more directional as they have reflectors or TIR optics - CFL produce a more diffuse light but the same total lumens. CFLs are not well suited for flashlights.

Your electric bill will be the same with either unless you prefer to dim your lights in which case LED would function well and use less power since CFLs don't dim well. Either uses far less than incads and thus produces less waste heat in your home.
It is possible to know to much. Your head could explode. You should buy a hammock and relax a bit....
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,241
20,022
Sleazattle
As an American I only purchase items that have low initial cost with higher long term costs. Thinking ahead is for commie limp wristed europeans and orientals.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
It is possible to know to much. Your head could explode. You should buy a hammock and relax a bit....
Actually I've been eying LEP but its unproven and warmup and restrike is slow. Luxim stole the IP from Ceravision. Super T8 or LED would be probably be more practical for a retrofit.

 
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4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,884
448
Saw this on Jimmy Kimmel last night, so I'll pass it on:

"How many people does it take to screw in a $50 light bulb?

































It takes no people -- for $50, the light bulb screws you."