The shops seem to be full of LED lamps, all of a sudden.
They don't seem to be very bright though. There still doesn't seem to be anything that's a drop-in substitute for an old 100W or 120W incandescent bulb.
How long before they catch up?
Daniele
Hang in there. I think they are pushing towards 50W equivalent already.
Well, they first of all have to sell the generation you are describing - not there in brightness, less than excellent colour, odd light patterns, uncertain life, etc. Leave that as the best available for as long as they can.
Then they introduce the next generation which improves one or two of these - but leaves the rest of the deficiencies (or, if they are really lucky, introduces new deficiencies we have even thought of). And sell them for as long as they can.
And so on...
So a few generations to go...
Yes there does seem to be more on the shelves and a wider range of types than only a few months ago.
This is true and at least they have a lumen rating on the packaging. What I am going to have to do is make a note of what a real 60W tungsten perl or 40W clear candle puts out before they disappear. I have a "feel" for they amount of light they produce but 120lm doesn't mean a lot.
I just took delivery of one of these:
With GLS format lamps the slight problem seems to be they only use half the bulb envelope as a light emitter - great for cap up apps, but not as good for cap down on side mount.
50 years, possibly never.
I was just about to post a question on a similar theme, so I may as well hijack yours ;-)
I just took delivery of one of these:
I've just installed 4 led down-lighters in a small bathroom...very happy so= far. My first advice? Go for low voltage ones - watt per watt 12v led gives more= light (more efficient) and a more pleasant white than the high voltage bul= bs - I wouldn't buy the "warm white" because these are less efficient than = "cool white" (3w cool white is brighter than 4w warm white) - if in need of= a warmer hue then I'd just use the "cool white" and a shade/filter over it= . There is a negative point...the colors are a bit uneven - this is more evid= ent where less leds are involved - the bulbs in the the bathrooms have 3 le= ds (1 watt each giving a total of 3 watt per bulb) - the central area of th= e spotlight has a bluish/washed tint while the rest looks "normal" (difficu= lt to explain really, I've never noticed this problem with other types of b= ulbs)...the multi-led high voltage bulb I used in the past (cylinder shape = with lots of leds on it) gave an ugly bluish light but uniform color. Still= , I prefer the new low voltage bulbs - very pleasant mostly-white light, ve= ry well suited for bathrooms and kitchens (no way back to hot halogens/inca= ndescent or slow fluorescent bulbs).
The only issue that some need to improve on is the effective colour temperature, but that is not always a true reflection on the colour you get.
In other aspects the are way ahead more efficient longer lasting
The colour issue is highly subjective and is manufacturer dependent but a major issue for most people. I tend to buy very specific high power LEDs for specialised applications so do not get to see too much cheap and nasty chinese crap. Some of the suppliers are offering 90W devices, delivering about 15Watts of optical power. These are exceptionally bright-but cost about 200 quid each right now :=p . ...OK maybe the costs need to improve a little too. There are now specific safety standards for LEDs, parallels to laser safety classifications, due to the intensity that they are capable of delivering
How long before people can really understand the specifications, and more importantly how long before there are decent standards that the sales and marketing division cannot take the piss over. Well that is getting there too.
David
I've replaced a few halogen spotlights with LEDs and am pleased with the results. However, the 2 lamps I put into our cooker hood had to be taken out again - after a short warming-up period they started to flash off and on. The retailer tells me that the 12v transformer in the hood needs around 10w resistance to work properly and that the only solution is to replace the transformer with a LED driver. Not possible without dismantling the hood - SWMBO won't hear of that and it would be a big job now all the tiles, etc are in place. So I'll stick with the halogens.
John M
Sometimes a solution is new bulbs, but with one old style one in the mix to provide the minimum load. You still get a reduction in power, and better colour rendition as a free side effect.
light (more efficient) and a more pleasant white than the high voltage bulbs
Would you care to explain that a bit more? Aren't the actual LEDs identical, it is just the production of a suitable voltage for them that differs between LV and mains lamps. Do you mean that this conversion loss lowers efficiency?
Chris
Oh, you cynic! Bit like selling us flatter, squarer TVs just before widescreen came out, or pushing standard kettles for a few years after jug kettles were feasible. Luckily, I was a bit slow at school and found that by the time the teacher had made a mistake and then the other pupils had noted the corrections I'd missed the error and so 'caught up' - this has been useful for most of my life, enabling me to miss all sorts of crap and let others make the mistakes :-)
Well seems to me that we are in the area where they are just making bigger and bigger ones from the small ones. I wonder why nobody can make a large size led, there has to be a reason, maybe heat dissipation or something.
Brian
"D.M. Procida" wrote in message news:1ksdrgd.17ccr5h1mmwfN% snipped-for-privacy@apple-juice.co.uk...
I have recently bought some 9w (3 x3watt) LEDs as a replacement for 50w GU10 Halogens. Putting one in a fitting of four bulbs for comparison it was easily as bright as the other 3. I went for 'warm white'.
mark
ore light (more efficient) and a more pleasant white than the high voltage = bulbs
I think swimmydeepo's statement comes about from the lower voltage LEDs abi= lity to share the LED driver. Having one driver for lots of low voltage LED= s is probably more efficient than having one driver per LED.
Running an LED at a lower current is more efficient if you can arrange that= . The graph of light output versus current is a curve which is steeper at l= ower currents. Running several LEDs at low current is more efficient than r= unning a single LED at high current.
dan.
Yes, they're expensive and they're months behind what's possible.
If you want the leading edge, easily, buy direct from China via eBay. You w= on't see anything BC bayonet cap, but ES, SES & GU10 are now cheap and good= . GU10s in particular are a very good replacement. I'm using some with 60 = domed LEDs for general downlighter use and 60 square surface-mounts for sho= p spotlighting. Having this many LEDs means that there's no driver required= , or making heat. The 108 LEDs 'corncobs' are a good replacement for GLS b= ulbs too. Good colours and plenty bright. Prices are =A33 - =A35 and upwar= ds
re light (more efficient) and a more pleasant white than the high voltage b= ulbs=20
The colour temperature is unrelated to the driver voltage.
cool white" (3w cool white is brighter than 4w warm white) - if in need of = a warmer hue then I'd just use the "cool white" and a shade/filter over it.
Sticking a shade or filter over a cool colour is going to reduces its effic= iency too!=20
ident where less leds are involved.
Get better quality LEDs in binned versions. For example, Cree sell EasyWhit= e LEDs which are binned to specific colour temperatures, where the bins are= also different sizes (i.e., the closer you want your LED to be to a partic= ular colour temperature, the more you pay). I have EasyWhite MCEs in my kit= chen (3500K) and there is no noticeable difference in colour or light outpu= t between them.
dan.
Why should they? Stacking up small dice is just easier. Even the large square arrays with an overall yellow resin cover are 9 or 16 dice underneath.
If you get to 60+ LEDs, you can also run them directly at mains voltage, in series strings. This avoids the cost and waste heat of a driver.
won't see anything BC bayonet cap, but ES, SES & GU10 are now cheap and good.. GU10s in particular are a very good replacement. I'm using some with 60 domed LEDs for general downlighter use and 60 square surface-mounts for shop spotlighting. Having this many LEDs means that there's no driver required, or making heat. The 108 LEDs 'corncobs' are a good replacement for GLS bulbs too. Good colours and plenty bright. Prices are £3 - £5 and upwards
Do you have any specific recommendations for suppliers/models?
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