LED Bulb cost

I just bought a 5 pack of 9 led flashlights for $5. I looked at a 60W equivalent light bulb and it was $15. Why is there such a difference in price between LED flashlights and light bulbs?

Reply to
jon van duinen
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The LEDs are cheap and the LEDs are expensive.

Bulbs must also dissipate heat.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

Your answer is given by the reason that you didn't list the power output of the flashlights.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

equivalent light bulb and it was $15. Why is there such a difference in price between LED flashlights and light bulbs?

What is the lumen output of 9 flashlights versus an equivalent 60W light bulb.

Reply to
bud--

I'm not buying any more led devices without a lumens quote. I've got a 21 led lantern you cannot even read by. OTOH I have a couple of led flashlights with single 3 watt Cree led's with over 150 lumen output. Flashlights are good enough outside but 60 watt bulbs put out ~850 lumens.

Reply to
Frank

equivalent light bulb and it was $15. Why is there such a difference in price between LED flashlights and light bulbs?

And you can buy one LED flashlight for a lot more too. The ones you bought use older inexpensive less efficient LEDs.

Reply to
George

Bulbs need dropping resistor, diode, and whatever other parts.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Good idea. I've also bought some 110 volt "corn cob" bulbs that were too dim to be useful.

I got a couple "5 watt" LED lights off Ebay that draw 2 watts of electric.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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I'm not buying any more led devices without a lumens quote. I've got a 21 led lantern you cannot even read by. OTOH I have a couple of led flashlights with single 3 watt Cree led's with over 150 lumen output. Flashlights are good enough outside but 60 watt bulbs put out ~850 lumens.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Got to watch out for three things. Lumens, lux, color temp. Lumens is total light output, no matter how spread out it is. A flashlight in a one foot spot, is going to be high lux in that spot. A 100 lumens spot is much brighter than a 60 watt led lamp, within the spot area. I never buy LEDs unless color temp is specified.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

Yes, but all you will see will be lumens on specs. For example,"Old Brooklyn Lantern" advertised on TV says zilch about output even at their website.

Reply to
Frank

All the old spots gave candle power.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

Here's a MagLite flashlight that puts out 320 lumens:

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Reply to
devnull

With expensive lithium batteries.

Still, if you really need it, the battery cost is not an issue.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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Here's a MagLite flashlight that puts out 320 lumens:

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Attribution corrected. If you have a quote? You didn't write that!

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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From: "Frank"

Here's a MagLite flashlight that puts out 320 lumens:

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I always get these thing screwed up..

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Greg

Reply to
gregz

equivalent light bulb and it was $15. Why is there such a difference in price between LED flashlights and light bulbs? Simpler current control for one - larger sales volume for another - and no regulation like UL to meet.

Reply to
clare

equivalent light bulb and it was $15. Why is there such a difference in price between LED flashlights and light bulbs?

Actually pretty close if the flashlights are 1 watt.

Reply to
clare

Exactly right. Lumens are the right way to do light output comparisons.

Tomsic

Reply to
.-.

It's not just the brightness difference of the bulbs, but also the associated electronics. A flashlight is just LEDs and a few resistors. A 120v bulb has electronics that have to convert 120 volts AC to a regulated low voltage DC. This adds to the price. However, I do agree that the LED light bulbs for the home are still overpriced. They will come down in a year or two, the same way the CFL bulbs did. Anything new on the market is always overpriced. Look at the first HDTV prices compared to what they are today. And I recall when making a cellphone call cost over a dollar per minute in the early days.

Reply to
ryanbillford

Many LED flashlights, (torches to Brits) have some fairly sophisticated electronics between the LED and the battery. It's usually a small IC chip in even the least expensive ones to regulate voltage or boost it in LED flashlights that have a single 1.5 volt battery. The LED replacement modules for standard flashlight bulbs have the electronics inside the case which is basically the same size as an incandescent lamp housing. My little cheap key chain LED lights have an LED and a single 3 volt lithium battery, my more expensive LED key chain lights have an electronic circuit between the battery and LED. The LED flashlights that may only use a resister to regulate voltage are those with three 1.5volt batteries. ^_^

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TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

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