LED home lighting; not quite ready or ready for prime-time?

[travelover]

200 watts now 22 watts. And the light doesn't get dimmer as the tungsten boils off and darkens the glass.

These are the first LED candelabras I've seen that look nice.

 

[Bobw235]

We've been slowly converting to LED as CFLs burn out. Last year I tried converting my recessed 35 par halogens in the kitchen with an LED equivalent, but my wife didn't like the quality of the light, so I'll have to look for something else. I particularly like the LEDs because they burn cooler and that means less cooling needed from the central a/c.

 

[Zathras]

We've been slowly converting to LED as CFLs burn out. Last year I tried converting my recessed 35 par halogens in the kitchen with an LED equivalent, but my wife didn't like the quality of the light, so I'll have to look for something else. I particularly like the LEDs because they burn cooler and that means less cooling needed from the central a/c.

LEDs may still work well for you. There is a large variety of light quality.
In general, I find the ones that have a light "temperature" around 3000 to be a very nice "daylight" quality.
Others can be anywhere from a very stark blue light to a much deeper, but dimmer red light.

 

[Bobw235]

LEDs may still work well for you. There is a large variety of light quality.
In general, I find the ones that have a light "temperature" around 3000 to be a very nice "daylight" quality.
Others can be anywhere from a very stark blue light to a much deeper, but dimmer red light.

I'd love to replace them. The halogens in the kitchen throw off a lot of heat. I'll take a look for something in the temperature range you mentioned. Anything I can do to lower my electric bill is a good thing. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[UpAnchor]

I would very much like to switch over to LEDs throughout but I'm very picky about color temperature. I like the warm color of tungsten incandescents for table and floor lamps and halogen for track lights. But man do I have trouble finding LEDs that come close enough to emulating those colors to make me go all in (and it's not that I haven't tried a bunch.) When I do, I'll want all the tracklights to be consistent and same with table lamps so the quest goes on until I feel I have it right.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

I just replaced the incandescent bulbs (mini candelabra base flames) with LED, was very happy to see these are available. Last POS filaments now gone.

Looks good too!

200 watts now 22 watts. And the light doesn't get dimmer as the tungsten boils off and darkens the glass.

Those look great! I have a PITA-to-reach fixture in my stairwell that takes this style of bulb. Two of the 3 bulbs are burnt out, and I've been waiting for the lone-holdout to die off before tackling the chore of replacing them. I'll definitely look into going with LED replacements!

 

[Just_Steve]

I would very much like to switch over to LEDs throughout but I'm very picky about color temperature. I like the warm color of tungsten incandescents for table and floor lamps and halogen for track lights. But man do I have trouble finding LEDs that come close enough to emulating those colors to make me go all in (and it's not that I haven't tried a bunch.) When I do, I'll want all the tracklights to be consistent and same with table lamps so the quest goes on until I feel I have it right.

I have found 2700k to be a warm color and once you get to 3000k they are to harsh for room lighting IMHO. Although for shop use I would go much higher in k range.

 

[Zathras]

I'd love to replace them. The halogens in the kitchen throw off a lot of heat. I'll take a look for something in the temperature range you mentioned. Anything I can do to lower my electric bill is a good thing. Thanks for the suggestion.

Halogens tend to be around 3200.
Some hardware stores will have a "light box" where you can turn on various lights to see the light quality.

Or, if you are willing to spend more, you can get a "smart" LED where you can vary the color temp/color. Once you find the exact right temp, you can seek out normal LEDs of that color.

 

[6miths]

Outdoors.

Yesterday we bought a set of 4 high quality solar LED garden path lights to put around our pool, as a trial. We want to replace the fixtures installed 13 years ago; two don't work even though he light bulbs are good. Each of the new lights has 3 LED bulbs. DH set them up at 3PM. The lights were still on at 5AM when the birds woke me up. The lamps with bulb and battery only cost $25 each. We're definitely getting more today.

+1

Definitely if you live somewhere cold LED beats CFL hands down for outdoor use. Also had a great experience switching to solar LED on path and pool lights from the old low voltage setup. I was very surprised how well the new solars charged in overcast and the partial shade of the many trees I have. And they have quite a nice light output. I got the 2 for $20 bollards from Costco.

Downside I see is that they are so good and inexpensive that people seem to be putting them everywhere and putting out lots of them greatly contributing to light pollution.

 

[samclem]

Samclem thanks for the link those are good prices.

For these LED replacements for 4' florescent bulbs, I found the prices and selection at that site to be a lot better than at my local HD or Lowes.

Still, for most of my shoplights I'll continue to use florescent tubes for awhile. The difference in energy use isn't very big, I only use them for a few hours per week, and I have florescent tubes in storage to use up. Meanwhile, LEDs will probably get cheaper and better over time, so I'm not in a rush to convert--except for a location where I'm short of available amperage (in an aircraft hangar I rent). But when a fixture's ballast/electronics burn out, that fixture gets LED replacement bulbs wired directly to 110 VAC. After that, I expect that I won't have to mess with them again for another decade or two and by then we'll have something even better available.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

I've swapped out about 3 dozen incandescent bulbs with LED lights around the house. Definitely see the energy bill savings.

My main concern is early failure of the LED lights. They used to cost so much up front that in some ways, there's a lot of risk in terms of the LED lights needing to last say 10 years in order to get bang for your buck. I've had two LED lights fail on me within two years of basic use but Costco was nice enough to provide a refund on them. On the flipside, prices have come down quite a bit since my first purchases and it's always nice to grab an instant rebate.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I have friends who have replaced all their family room lights with wifi controlled multi colored LEDs. The system is called Hue I think. I've seen them in the store and wondered how well they work. They've got the overhead lights, sconces, I think, a light illuminating a painting on the system. They can change the settings with iPad/iPhone. They've decided on some presets so can switch colors and which lights are on and dimmer levels with one click. I really liked the look with the different color choices.

I didn't notice they were LEDs until they showed off the system. I want to put in more LEDs, just haven't gotten around to it yet.


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[Zathras]

I have friends who have replaced all their family room lights with wifi controlled multi colored LEDs. The system is called Hue I think. I've seen them in the store and wondered how well they work. They've got the overhead lights, sconces, I think, a light illuminating a painting on the system. They can change the settings with iPad/iPhone. They've decided on some presets so can switch colors and which lights are on and dimmer levels with one click. I really liked the look with the different color choices.

I didn't notice they were LEDs until they showed off the system. I want to put in more LEDs, just haven't gotten around to it yet.


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Those Hue lights are awesome.
Other than the color and brightness variability, if you have an Amazon Echo you can control them with your voice (just on or off at them moment, but likely to get more functionality).
I also plan to set ours up to change to red in the event of a Toirnado warning for our county.
Scheduling, random on-off times, syncing with your security system, doorbell, a movie or music..

Arghhhh, I can't wait to finish our house so I can get in there and start setting this up

 

[Music Lover]

Definitely if you live somewhere cold LED beats CFL hands down for outdoor use.

I got tired of changing burned out bulbs outside at -30 and found 3-packs of LEDs at Costco for $7.50. I replaced all 6 bulbs outside last fall and none of them failed.

 

[Which Roger]

When I purchased my first LED ceiling light fixture, I almost asked the store employee whether the bulb was included. But then I figured out that it had no bulb, just a circle of tiny LEDs under the dome. It weighs a fraction of what an incandescent or fluorescent fixture weighs, doesn't generate heat, and I don't think will ever wear out. Ditto LED shop lights. No more buzzing fluorescent bulbs that don't shine reliably. And I've never liked/used CFLs, so when an incandescent bulb burns out, I replace it with an LED. 60-watt equivalent LEDs only cost about 2 bucks apiece, so it's a no brainer. The 3-bulb fixture in our home office used to warm up the room pretty well and the A/C would have to fight against that extra heat. No longer a problem with LEDs.

 

[laurence]

I replaced a hard to reach bulb over the staircase with an LED 3-4 years ago and it's still going strong - it cost me $30 back then so I didn't make the switch elsewhere, I'm going to re-examine that option with these lower prices.

 

[samclem]

When I purchased my first LED ceiling light fixture, I almost asked the store employee whether the bulb was included. But then I figured out that it had no bulb, just a circle of tiny LEDs under the dome.

If I were buying an expensive fixture, I don't know if I'd want the LEDs built in. I've got some significant doubts about the claimed very long expected lifetimes (does everyone remember the supposed life expectancy of CFLs? Ha!). I won't be mad if a screw-in $5-$10 LED bulb dies in a few years, but it would be different thing if I have to throw out a $200 fixture because of an unfixable 5 cent item on a buried circuitboard.

 

[ERD50]

If I were buying an expensive fixture, I don't know if I'd want the LEDs built in. I've got some significant doubts about the claimed very long expected lifetimes (does everyone remember the supposed life expectancy of CFLs? Ha!). I won't be mad if a screw-in $5-$10 LED bulb dies in a few years, but it would be different thing if I have to throw out a $200 fixture because of an unfixable 5 cent item on a buried circuitboard.

If the LEDs themselves are mounted in such a way that they don't get exposed to the heat of the controller circuitry, and they can dissipate their own heat OK, they should last a very, very long time.

The real problems with the real-world lifetime of LED 'bulbs'is that the controller circuitry generates heat, and the LEDS generate heat - if they are all mounted close together, the electrolytic capacitors in the circuitry can be the weak link.

The published life-times of LEDs (xx,000 hours) is a scam. It has nothing at all to do with how long you can expect the 'bulb' to last. It is a measurement of how long it is estimated for the 'bulb' to dim to 70% of its original brightness. But this is extrapolated from a short test. The capacitors in the circuit may have a much shorter life expectancy than the L70 rating, if they are exposed to elevated temperatures.

It really is misleading to the consumer, and a shame that it doesn't get corrected.

Hopefully, the LEDS and driver circuits could be replaced separately in this fixture.

-ERD50

 

[kyzymurgist]

Consider the Fruit of curve when selecting CCT or Correlated Color Temperature. Ex Lighting engineer here. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruithof_curve

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[Sunset]

I replaced a hard to reach bulb over the staircase with an LED 3-4 years ago and it's still going strong - it cost me $30 back then so I didn't make the switch elsewhere, I'm going to re-examine that option with these lower prices.

I just bought 8 more LED bulbs as they were $1.00 each at Menards (in a 2-pack for $2.00)

All my lights are LED.

Now I just have to find some person to give my CFL's away.

 

[Sunset]

The other cool thing about LED's is that they are not restricted in shape or function.

I recently bought a LED bulb with a motion detector build right on it. Yes it was a bit pricey at $10, but it turned an outdoor back light into a motion light by changing the bulb.

Could even be handy in the basement instead of feeling for the switch, just have it turn on for me.

 

[Al in Ohio]

We've been slowly converting to LED as CFLs burn out. Last year I tried converting my recessed 35 par halogens in the kitchen with an LED equivalent, but my wife didn't like the quality of the light, so I'll have to look for something else. I particularly like the LEDs because they burn cooler and that means less cooling needed from the central a/c.

Same here. About half my house fixtures (interior) are converted to LED and all but one exterior light. I find the quality of light to be superior. My Costco store has been my best source. They carry a combined Costco discount with my local utility that brought some bulbs like the interior flood lights for recessed cans down from $22 each to as low as $2 each. I bought a case since I have 12 of these around the house.


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[UpAnchor]

Al, do you have any of those floods on a dimmer? I'd like to do likewise at some point with my recessed cans but they're all on dimmers and I've found that some "dimmable" LEDs can be rather erratic.

 

[UpAnchor]

I just bought 8 more LED bulbs as they were $1.00 each at Menards (in a 2-pack for $2.00)

Yowzer... I'll have to check if they have any 100w equivalents at such reasonable prices. (Of course they'd be somewhat more as prices on those haven't dropped like they have on the lower wattages.)

 

[ERD50]

Al, do you have any of those floods on a dimmer? I'd like to do likewise at some point with my recessed cans but they're all on dimmers and I've found that some "dimmable" LEDs can be rather erratic.

I had problems with the dim-able LEDs I bought, and I had a CFL/LED rated dimmer. They sort of randomly changed brightness (flicker, but not consistent).

My 'solution' was to have one incandescent bulb in the fixture. That seemed to provide enough of a resistive load to damp out the reactance. I see they sell resistors for this purpose, but those are just creating heat w/o light (and offset some of the energy savings). But it shows that it is a real, not uncommon problem.

My research indicated some dimmers worked with some LEDs, but it seemed that no dimmer worked with all LEDs, and no LEDs worked with all dimmers. The industry needs better test methods and certification for putting the words 'dimmable' on the package, IMO.

Other than that, the LEDs have been working well for us. It will be a bigger problem where there is a single fixture on a dimmer.

-ERD50