Off Topic Forum (Archived)

I've been keeping an eye on the prices of LED light bulbs for a while, and noticed prices have plunged the last several weeks at Lowe's, Walmart, etc. Am getting ready to buy a few for locations we use lights a lot. One kitchen light and two in the livingroom are on all evening and every evening.

Another spot is the halogen track lighting in my wife's studio. The fixtures came with eight 40 watt gu10 bulbs. The amount of heat they put out is crazy, and for sure this Summer she won't need that. The gu10 LED bulbs are still expensive locally, but I may go with Ebay for those.

Anyone else using or researching LEDs?

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Friends talking around a fire is the history of mankind.

I can only offer my subjective view that it is all about lumens and that for all the "good" they are supposed to offer, quality units are ludicrously expensive. All seem to come out of China while the tech spreads a wide chasm of quality (or crap if you will). I was going to wade in with units for automobiles and the fray of quality and such low amperage requirements has chased me away.

From the AC perspective my warehouse is filled with 4' and 8' old style florescent lamps which cause some head aches due to supposed subtle fluttering of cycles they go through in a second. Kind of like 8mm film vs 16mm both have flickers with 16 being so called ideal. I wander.

Bottom line, bang for the buck is what you seek and IMHO, if you do get a bad unit or two over several internet sources, you maybe "stuck" with the out of pocket failed units. I would not buy out of China which is my only alternative for my issues of replacement. Like CFBs what is pushed has too few lumens for my old tired eyes. Those hot burning halogens give off profound lumens and by comparison I doubt ANY LED can generate the light a 100, 300, or 500 watt halogen generates.

Invest with eyes wide open and keep a candle handy when uncle Ed or Tesla outdoor meter shuts down suddenly.

Let us know what you decide and how it works out on this thread preferably. Good luck!

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Regards,
Robert Kirk

kirkbrit@yahoo.com
E-mail PLEASE for quote/questions/orders

Business phone 563 323 1017

http://kirks-auto.com/
Moss distributor/UK importer
Beat or match most retail/delivered quote

You might not want to put one in your garage door opener....

My neighbor installed a new opener and was having trouble getting the remote to work properly. Sometimes it would open, sometimes not. Sometimes it would work from my house across the street, other time only from inside the garage. We eventually determined that the problems appeared to occur only when the light on the unit was on...if we waited for the light to go off, it worked as it should. They had installed a new LED bulb. Replacing it with a "normal" bulb solved the problem!

The RF emissions from the LED bulb interfered with the frequency the remote used....likely because the bulb is so close to the unit. They still have numerous LED bulbs in their house, but they don't affect the garage door opener...

I bought a lot of 10 of something like these:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/G13-4FT-20W-4000K-6500K-CLEAR-48-T8-LED-Tube-Light-Fluorescent-Replacement-Bulb-/291175899436?pt=US_Light_Bulbs&var=&hash=item43cb6fa12c

I use them in my garage. I use two of these where I used to use 4 fluorescent tubes and get the same if not better light, about half the wattage as well.

I've use this website to order European-spec bulbs and have never had a problem with an order. I haven't purchased any LED bulbs through them but they do sell them. No idea about quality or how they compare to others in cost. May be worth checking into.

http://www.bulbs.com/LED_Bulbs/results.aspx?in_dim_search=1





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Got two from HD fixtures to replace florescent units. Much brighter and should be cheaper as LED. Very white light

Ron
These look like lamp fixtures with lamps??? What I have seen are are as Emil links....lamps (bulbs) with multi LEDs onm a strip that require one to pull or bypass the ballast and run on straight 120v with a preinstalled step down in each lamp (bulb). Are these entire fixtures? Do these replace just bulbs or entire units? How long have you owned them?

Thanks for your response.

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Regards,
Robert Kirk

kirkbrit@yahoo.com
E-mail PLEASE for quote/questions/orders

Business phone 563 323 1017

http://kirks-auto.com/
Moss distributor/UK importer
Beat or match most retail/delivered quote

Those HD LEDs are pricier than right out of China. Feit I know are made in China and despite the "brand name" I suspect any and all are made in China. That's a lot of $$ if there is no warranty/guarantee IMHO. Can you offer any clarification to my concerns?

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Regards,
Robert Kirk

kirkbrit@yahoo.com
E-mail PLEASE for quote/questions/orders

Business phone 563 323 1017

http://kirks-auto.com/
Moss distributor/UK importer
Beat or match most retail/delivered quote

Rod, I just bought quite a few LED bulbs from Home Depot, around $5 each, 60W equivalent
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Light-Bulbs-LED-Light-Bulbs/N-5yc1vZbm79/Ntk-Extended/Ntt-led?Ntx=mode+matchpartialmax&NCNI-5

all worked, nice color, no heat, and use 84% less energy than their incandescent equals. Plus they have a 10 year warranty.

I also purchased a few GE LED bulbs, that work with the Wink hub. I can turn on/off and dim those bulbs with my iPhone. It's more fun that satisfying any real need. I mess with my kids when I'm at work !!
http://www.wink.com/products/wink-hub/

You can control numerous types of appliances with the Hub. thermostats, blinds, appliances, lights. Home Depot is practically giving away the Wink hub.

In the past, typically the problem with these types of systems was the difficulty of use and setting up. My mother could install this system it's so eaasy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-01-28 01:55 PM by walshja.

Mine were supposed to be commercial electrical units and about $20 each. warranty is 5 years from date of sale. Never had a problem returning stuff to HD for a full refund. SO I gave them a try.

We have replaced alot of lights in the house with LED. They have lots more lite than florescents, last longer. I woudnt hesitate to replace every bulb in the house with LEDs

There is no start up time as with florescents, instant bright.

The 4' shop lights are something I've been considering also. Three of my fixtures have flaky ballasts anyway. Will be nice to be able to reuse the fixtures. Just waiting for the price to drop on the LED 4 footers.

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Friends talking around a fire is the history of mankind.

Robert, the 4 foot 'tubes' plug into the fixtures already in place. You just have to disconnect the ballast and wire them up direct. Nice improvement, no hum as you sometimes get with fluorescent tubes. If you get the white light or daylight ones, they are the best, brighter and clearer. Considering I had to replace 4 ballasts in the lights I have (and they are electronic ballasts, which are pricier), putting these in should be a cost savings in the long run. I've had mine for about a year and have had zero problems with them. I bought a lot of 10 for US$130 at the time. I'd like to buy some more, but they don't have the lots of 10 any more, although I did see some that were 2 for somewhere in the mid $30 range. I'll be jumping on them the next time they are available.

We are doing a friend's new garage with LEDs. You might have to re-wire the fixture and bypass the ballasts. It's not hard to do.

As Rod says, the prices are coming down to an affordable level. I replace the fluorescents at the shop more often than I like and I don't really care for fluorescent light.

I recently bought one of these for the garage, it's very bright. I'll never use the halogen work lights again, no more insanely hot work lights for me. LED is the future of lighting, good riddance to fluorescent lights.

Anyone have a good economical recommendation for 8' LED bulbs? I currently have the single pin bulbs that push into the fixtures. I guess I wouild need to buy new fixtures as the old ballasts are probably not right for LEDs, right?

Thanks,
Marc

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Beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing.