Reminder About 40 & 60W Bulbs Going Away in Jan.

[ERD50]

I just finished replacing all of my CFL ceiling can lights with LED units and love them. ...

I should add that one place where I absolutely get a benefit from CFLs is in the can lights fixtures that are in our upstairs bathrooms. These are the ones that say you can't put insulation above them, as they can over-heat (and they have a temperature cut-off switch for safety). I hate the idea of these un-insulated holes in the ceiling, so I put the CFLs in there, which are much cooler, and went ahead and insulated on top. They aren't used enough to get a payback from the light, but probably from reduced A/C and heat.

I hate the CFL bulbs in regular lamps as they just don't seem to last as long as advertised even though I'm buying the name brand.

I also seemed to go through a lot of them. I don't know if they're getting better, or I've just been weeding out the bad ones over time, but they seem to be holding up reasonably well for me now.

The light quality is an issue for some, I see the difference, but it doesn't bother me so much. Depends on the person and the application. I have one CFL near my computer, which is in a kind of dark corner of the room, so it's on a lot, and I turn it on/off a lot. I'm on my second one, and I estimated that the first made it to its rated life. I expect/hope the LEDs will be even better.

-ERD50

 

[Mulligan]

GE introduces 'hybrid' bulb with both halogen and CFL elements, instant-on meets efficiency

"instant on" CFL that uses a tiny halogen bulb as a transition, powering off as the CFL comes up. Sure these won't cost much/bulb.....

Home Despot has 60W bulbs for about $0.32/bulb, really need to pick up another 10-20 packs or so.

I think $25 bucks worth that I will buy soon, will take me to the age where I won't care anymore.

 

[NW-Bound]

I just finished replacing all of my CFL ceiling can lights with LED units and love them. Bought them from LED Waves and they were simple to install and put out beautiful light. They are expensive at $66 each but are supposed to last about 40,000 hours which is over 4.5 years of constant use...

You've got to hold a gun to my head to make me shell out $66 for one LED light.

Perhaps I should get into a business making these lights. But I guess I need to buy one exactly like yours first to see why it would cost so much. There might be something I do not know about.

 

[ERD50]

You've got to hold a gun to my head to make me shell out $66 for one LED light. ...

The thing about LEDs, and some other 'green tech', is that the prices are dropping as fast/faster than the annual savings. So it may very well pay to wait, unless there are some other overwhelming needs/wants affecting the decision.

That's one reason behind my desire to stock up on Edison-era bulbs, in 5-10 years the options may be totally acceptable to me.

-ERD50

 

[travelover]

You've got to hold a gun to my head to make me shell out $66 for one LED light..........

Our local Costco has LED bulbs, 3 for about $20. So, the price is falling fast. LED flashlights are $1 at Dollar Tree.

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, the LED flashlights are simple (low power), but home LED lights and in fact even 12V RV lights need some electronics to regulate the current. Another complication is that high-power LEDs need a heatsink, else would not last at high temperatures. Because the LED efficacy is only about the same as CFL's, they still need to dissipate a bit of heat.

Still, for $66 a light, there's good money to be made. The Costco deal for LED at 3 for $20, I am going to check out.

 

[BTravlin]

You've got to hold a gun to my head to make me shell out $66 for one LED light.

Perhaps I should get into a business making these lights. But I guess I need to buy one exactly like yours first to see why it would cost so much. There might be something I do not know about.

These were not just the bulb but the entire can fixture with LED bulb sealed inside. And, yes, they were expensive but I doubt I'll live long enough to replace them with a 40,000 hour life.

The old can lights had a clear lens and dirt and dead bugs would accumulate in them necessitating me taking them down and cleaning them regularly. The new LED sealed units do away with that chore and generate virtually no heat in the summer so our AC bill stays lower too.

 

[NW-Bound]

That is not bad at all then, as I recall paying perhaps $30 for the empty common recessed can more than 15 years ago.

The cans I used in my room addition were nailed to the ceiling joists, then drywalled over, so I do not know how they can be easily replaced with the new type.

 

[Betty Noir]

DH and I have already stockpiled--just as art museums have.