I was almost shocked yesterday when I went to Walmart to buy some of those new halogen-incandescent light bulbs, to put in my outdoor porch light fixture. (CFL bulbs dont work outdoors in cold weather).
A pack of halogen incan... bulbs was around $6. A TWO pack of 60W (equivalant) 8.5W actual, was $4.60. (Great Value brand)
A year ago, ONE LED bulb cost $15 to $20 or more.....
Needless to say, I bought the LEDs.
Now I can afford to begin replacing all the CFL bulbs in my home with LED bulbs.
I bought some two-packs of Philips 60W for $4.99 many months back. But, have only installed them in a few locations (e.g., garage door opener) as most of the lights, here, are dimmable floods (the dimmable LED's still aren't quite as nice as the incandescents).
We're waiting to see how *reliable* they'll prove to be. A ~$2 bulb that doesn't last long is still an expensive bulb! OTOH, the CFL's were essentially "free" so even poor quality would make them affordable (if you ignore the impact on the environment)
At $2 even if it lasts just a couple years, it will have paid for itself in electricity savings. I had those concerns when they cost $25, but now, not so much.
Don't wait until the sun burns out to try them Get two to put in the two lamps you use the most and make your own decision. So far, they seem to be very reliable. Affordable now too.
A colleague "gifted" us a carton of 100 equivalent watt spots (the sort with the giant heat sink). They've remained packed away in the case out in the garage simply because all of our fixtures are on dimmers.
We've tried a set of four 65 equivalent watt floods in the family room. They don't dim anywhere near as nicely as the incandescents (though 1000 times better than the dimmable CFL's!). We'll see how they hold up. Color temperature is a big issue, here (think "art")
[With 130V incandescent floods, we can turn the dimmers to their lowest settings and effectively have "whole house night lights"... too dim to realize they are *on* -- unless you wake up in the middle of the night and try to wander around (e.g., house guests) in which case they are *perfect*]
Dimmable LEDs are still in the works for full range effect. Most DIM LEDs reduce to 10% while a few will reach 5%. They are improving but just as with everything else, it'll take time.
LED bulbs are reaching the capacity of the higher wattage such as 100+. The lower wattage LEDs are dropping drastically due to the production of higher wattage bulbs and higher K values. Those who like the daylight type bulbs will want the 4000k to 6000k range.
When CFL's started gaining popularity, my electric coop sent everyone a free box of assorted CFLs. This time around they're only sending 2 free LEDs and a low flow shower head, so I'll be able to try them.
The only thing I've noticed about CFLs is they are slow to start in the winter but I've gotten used to turning a light on and having a pause before there's any light.
That's precisely why I've been yanking all the CFL's out and replacing them with LEDs. You'd be surprised at how quickly you re-adjust to the damn light coming on to full brightness when you flick the switch.
Almost all of the CFL 23W bulbs I got from HomeDepot (N:vision) take a full minute to reach max brightness and start out at what I'd called 50% or more dimmed. Not acceptable if only for safety reasons.
And no more stinking mercury going into the aquifers from CFLs not being properly recycled. I suspect scientists will see huge mercury spikes in sediment layers that clearly mark man's flirtation with CFLs. They may only have trace amounts of Hg in them, but they've made billions of them.
As an additional bonus, a broken LED doesn't warrant a hazmat spill response (hyperbole alert!).
I don't think we were ever *given* any, outright. But, we've been able to buy them for $0 at local stores (rebates).
We tend not to have problems with low temperatures... :>
But, the CFL's take longer to start as they age. And, they don't come on at full intensity, initially (as they age).
I've got a carton of LED floodlights (spotlights?) that I'd like to try installing in the garage (in recessed cans). But, the ceiling is so high that I think I would have to space them too close together to get uniform light coverage. Or, replace them with greater output bulbs (which means the ones I have are useless, in either case!)
The garage lights go on and off a dozen times or more, EVERY day (in and out of the car -- even if the car never leaves the garage, access to the freezer out in the garage, access to my files, spare parts, cables, etc.). So, tubular flourescents (currently in place) tend to fail quickly. CFL's would suffer from slow starting and intolerance of the temperature extremes. Incandescents are costly (energy) to light such a large space *well* (many people seem content to have dark garages; I want to be able to *work* in mine!).
So, LED seems the logical choice.
They won't achieve the range of brightness that the "commercial" (130V) incandescents have. If I turn the overhead lights down to minimum, they are barely lit! A 4W nightlight probably casts more usable light!
[I should measure to see what sort of power they actually draw!]We are sensitive to color temperature as it changes the perceived color of things. When you're producing artwork, you want to know what color you've got on the page... not what it *seems* to be ("in this light").
E.g., natural light from north facing windows is prefered.
Are the present lights hard wired or plug into a ceiling mounted receptacle? If plug in. it would be easy to get the adapters to try a couple. If they are anything like my outdoor floods you will get plenty of light from them
When I was a kid and school desks still had a groove for pencils (to say nothing of the hole for inkwells) I had a little bottle of mercury collected from old mercury switches. I'd amuse myself by pouring a little into the groove and pushing the blobs back and forth. As far as I can tell the worst effect was the outcome of the 'keeps busy at worthwhile activities' entry on the report card.
Back in the '70s the company I worked for did contract assembly for Sylvania, both grow lights and 4' energy saving tubes. The EPA definitely doesn't need to know how the broken bulbs and non-starters were handled... Of course, every factory and office in the world was disposing of all those 40w T12's safely. Then suddenly every CFL became a lethal device ready to kill your children and pets.
It was a good sized box with a wide assortment sent to every customer via the USPS. I was already using CFL's so I asked a friend if he could use some. He could, so I readdressed the box and took it to the post office to mail it. The woman behind the counter sighed and said "I bet I can guess what that is."
This time the co-op sent out letters with a return postcard asking if you wanted the LEDs and there will only be two so the post office won't get hit with a tsunami of large, very lightweight boxes.
The co-op is a survival from the REA days and does things a little differently. Like actually giving members a dividend check. It's not a huge dividend but it's the thought that counts.
Sure! And we used to have fluoroscopes in the shoe stores, used DDT around the house to kill unwanted critters, dump the used oil from our car engines in the storm sewers, etc.
One of the local universities has periodic auctions of surplus equipment. Often some good deals to be had.
But, the catch is you have to take what you bought! So, that nice pallet of computers might have a 5 pound jar of mercury hidden in a box amongst it all.
Great way to deal with YOUR hazardous waste: make it someone *else's*!
*AND*, make them fight for the right to PAY you for it! :>
I've tried just holding them up near the ceiling to get an idea as to how much usable light they throw. The beams are too narrow (in cans) and the floor too far away. I'd have to dot the ceiling with lots of cans to cover the length and width.
The (current) tubular fluorescents throw light in essentially all directions. So, more "general" coverage (light reflecting off walls, ceiling, etc.)
I'd thought of "tubular LED" replacements but that just strikes me as so much a kludge...
Be cafeful to screw the shower head into the shower and not a lamp. Same with the bulbs. don't screw one into the shower. .
They used to be much slower. The new ones seem pretty fast to me, 5 seconds?
That was the short-term outcome. You'd probably speak 7 languages by now were it not for that.
When I was 6 or 7 my father, a dentist, brought me home a bottle of mercury, about 3 large thimbles-full. I still have it, 60+ years later, but I haven't found too many things to do with it. I was going to use it to refuribish mercury switches for car alarms, but so far, I've just been transferring good mercury switches from one car to the next.
I played with some when I was little but don't remember details. But I now it's the reason I haven't won a Nobel prize.
I can still see my feet glowing. Where there is no nightlight, I take off my slippers and use my footlights to guide the way.
The last one is really bad.
LOL. Did you hear that they've solved the traffic problem for New York City. They made all the streets one-way west. Now it's New Jersey's problem.
My brother had a small glass container with mercury... circa 1962. I helped him polish silver coins with it. He kept those blue books with 'slots' for every nickel, dime, quarter minted. It shined the hell outta those coins too! As far as I recall, that's all we ever did with it.
I've also noticed the CFL come on slowly in winter. One time I needed light, and it was cold. I had a fluorescent battery lantern (which did not light) and a LED lantern which worked fine. So, maybe the LED will provide better cold weather light.
Hope this guy gets spammed, and leaves us alone:
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