Replace Halogen Bulbs With LEDs?

Hi,

Our electrician recommended we replace the 85 50W halogen spotlights in our ceilings with LEDs. We live in Costa Rica where electricity is expensive and frequent lightening strikes and power surges blow out bulbs. If possible we will use 12V LEDs. We will also be adding a whole house surge protector. Our apartment has recessed CFLs in the ceilings. Would that be a better option? We have no experience with LED lighting. We would appreciate your opinions.

Thanks, Gary

Reply to
Gary
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I've switched all the MR16 and GU10 bulbs in my house and the vast majority at the office over to LEDs. I used cheap Chinese units and have had a higher than expected failure rate (but no worse than when I first switched over to CFL bulbs - The early ones were a DISASTER!!!!!. The savings in electricity using the LEDs over Halogens was more than duplicated by the reduction in air conditioning costs because they run SO MUCH COOLER!!!

I have now also replaced virtually all of the CFL PAR floods in the house with Philips LED replacements - and most of the standard E27 base standard bulbs as well. Spent a bit more on the Philips dimmable units instead of importing cheaper Chinese stuff off e-bay. (mabee I've learned a thing or two??) I'll replace the "special" bulbs like the globes in the bathroom fixtures, and the chandelier, as decently priced, acceptable replacements become available.

Reply to
clare

I'd ask to visit some of his earlier customers, and see what they think. Maybe you know someone who did this (work, church, up and down the street) and can ask. From here, it sounds good.

I'm in NY, USA. I've got some CFL bulbs. The LED bulbs I have are from China, and not very bright. I use one for a night light in the bathroom. Tried one over the kitchen sink, but 2 watts isn't enough to wash dishes.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Can't imagine 85 lights.

Can't imagine blowing halogen lights.

Any kind of electronic control is going to be subject to blowing.

Suppressor good idea but not foolproof.

I have a headache.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

12 and 15 watt LEDs are as bright as 50 - 80 watt bulbs.
Reply to
clare

Gary:

You should be aware that your halogen bulbs are using nearly as much electricity as regular incandescent bulbs, and most of the energy they consume is being wasted as heat.

Fundamentally, the primary difference between a halogen bulb and a regular incandescent bulb is that halogen bulbs have bromine or iodine gas in the bulb rather than an inert gas like argon. The halogens (bromine and iodine) react with the tungsten atoms that come boiling off the hot filiment and redeposit the tungsten atoms back onto the filiment, so that halogen bulbs don't darken with age the way regular incandescent bulbs do. Also, halogen bulbs operate at a much higher temperature so they use a quartz bulb rather than regular silica glass.

Still, you will realize a substantial electrical savings if you switch to either compact fluorescent bulbs or LED bulbs. I would consider compact fluorescent bulbs instead simply because their price is lower and the price of LED bulbs is still coming down. LED bulbs are supposed to last very much longer than CFL bulbs, so maybe LED is the way to go to save more over the long term because you won't be replacing bulbs nearly as quickly.

Reply to
nestork

Hi, Right off the bat, two things came to mind. LEDs run very cool. Halogen runs very hot. Air conditioning may run less. Also LEDs use very little power. I am gradually replacing our lighting devices with LEDs. Price is getting better too.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

LEDs will definitely save you electricity and if you use AC as suggested later in this thread, the savings will mount: that's efficiency. The bigger question is efficacy: how much does electricity cost and how much will the replacement bulbs cost...do a cost benefit analysis and see if you get a reasonable payback period

Reply to
Malcom "Mal" Reynolds

Research suggests a major reason for CFL bulb failure is when electronics are positioned above the light and in a confined areas where heat does not ventilate. Same problem was noted in some electronics magazines for LEDs. Whereas the LED is more efficient, it still produces significant heat. T herefore requires fixtures that permit airflow past the bulb.

Try but a few the first time to learn if excess heat is a problem.

Reply to
westom

Recessed lighting was originally used in stores to light the merchandise wi thout having to shine into the eyes of the customers and cause glare. The l ight bulbs that were used in these fixtures were spot (not flood) light bul bs which usually have only a ten degree of light distribution. People liked the aspect of non glaring ceiling lights so much that recessed lighting ca me to be widely used in residents as well.

  1. Does your electrician know where to get a hold of spot (not flood) type LED light bulbs for under .00 each? If he does please let me know becaus e I would like to get some too.
  2. What is the light distribution of these LED light bulbs that your electr ician is recommending? Is it ten degrees?
  3. Will you mind if you completely defeat the original design and purpose o f your recessed lighting?
Reply to
recyclebinned

If the ones I replaced in the office last 6 months they pay for themselves in the summer @ $6 each.. (from what I remember) Takes significantly longer in the winter as the halogens decrease the heating fuel requirement significantly.

Reply to
clare

Electric heat, versus furnace. Not sure what your heat source is, but most places, electric heat costs more.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

cs are positioned above the light and in a confined areas where heat does n ot ventilate. Same problem was noted in some electronics magazines for LED s. Whereas the LED is more efficient, it still produces significant heat. Therefore requires fixtures that permit airflow past the bulb.

You don't need airflow past the bulb. You just need a design that can dissipate the heat from the LED itself. They have LED recessed ceiling fixtures that even come with a gasket to seal them off completely and pass ASTM 283 standard. In fact, th at is one huge benefit, that you can have a recessed light with no air leakage into an attic, etc.

Reply to
trader4

Per nestork:

I just had my second CFL bulb fail. I can't cite how many hours it had on it, and maybe it was a defective product....but it's obvious to me that the cost per hour for those 2 bulbs was hugely higher than any incandescent.

Reply to
(PeteCresswell)

Yup - but if you are figuring pay-back on an investment in "low power" bulbs you need to take it into consideration. You are getting the heat from halogens - whether you need it or not. In the summer it costs to remove the heat. In the winter you save a bit on heat.

With LEDs there is no heat load to remove, and no heat gain to reduce heating requirements. Doesn't matter which costs more, because you are not installing gas lights.

Reply to
clare

If you replace a standard 100 watt incandescent bulb with its halogen equivalent the wattage will drop to 72 watts; so the heat provided by the halogen will be down by 28% since there's a 1:1 correspondence between bulb wattage and heat output.

Tomsic

Reply to
=

About half. The light is much "whiter", as well, which helps.

Higher temperature => higher efficiency. More of the radiant energy is in the visible range.

CFLs suck. LEDs may be ready for prime time soon.

Reply to
krw

If I were using a heat pump one watt of electricity would produce more useable heat than the halogen and I wouldn't be adding to my cooling load in the summer, so unless you live in an area that has more heating degree days than cooling days by a significant ration, using halogens is just not really a good move

Reply to
Malcom "Mal" Reynolds

Try Costco. I've purchased both spot and flood profile LED R-30 (and BR-30) bulbs there, for quite reasonable prices.

Reply to
Scott Lurndal

Nobody is stupid enough to recommend you use halogen lighting as your heat source - - - - - although it IS used to heat paint booths, and some other specialized applications.

Reply to
clare

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