OT: The Problem With LED's

[J. Clarke]

I can buy screw in bulbs at Home Depot that let me set the color temperature wherever I want it through a fairly broad range. Or for more bucks just any bloody color I want.

[DerbyDad03]

What the f are you talking about? I already said that I didn't buy anything on Amazon. You have no clue what I'm talking about.

[DerbyDad03]

Who said anything about incandescents? I said fixtures with *sockets*. Once again: clueless.

[pyotr filipivich]

Are you buying bulbs that can be installed in fixtures?

Because what he's talking about is the tendency to hardwire the light source into the fixture, and you have your choice of this fixture and a light you don't want, or the light you want in a fixture you don't want. Going off on a tangent: smart phones and other devices, which no longer have a replaceable or even removable battery. Well, yes, it is true that you can indeed can remove the battery from a Kindle. All you need is a heat gun, some proper non-conductive pry sticks, double sided tape and much patience lest you bend the battery, or rip the wires from the connection.

[pyotr filipivich]

Clare Snyder on Thu, 30 Jan 2020 21:47:35 -0500 typed in rec.woodworking the following:

Dang. B-) Such is life.

[krw]

+1

I've put all 6500K lights in my shop and bathroom. Daylight lights appear brighter than warmer temperatures. Other lamps have varying color temperatures because the intention isn't bright light, rather ambiance.

[krw]

Probably like the LED headlights on my wife's car. She's always getting "flashed" by oncoming cars when her brights aren't on. Pisses her off. The whole idea is pretty dumb - both drivers blinded.

[krw]

No, you missed the point. The situation isn't worse than it was in "your day". There _was_ only one color of incandescent bulbs (two if you count halogens). There is a choice now, even if you don't like the choice.

[Clare Snyder]

I was just sayin' it's not a new problem Mr Thinskin. 20 years ago you were stuck with what was available too.

[Clare Snyder]

You said that in a message AFTER the one I replied to. ANd I DO know what your talking about. Do you have to flush your toilet 15 times too???

[Clare Snyder]

Like I said - -

[Brewster]

With LEDs, the critical factor once you find a reasonable color temperature is to get a high CRI (color rendition index). Getting a high CRI is still the bane of LED mfgs. Cheap LEDs are always low CRI (< 80). Good LEDs are 95+ and much more expensive. Unlike incandescent bulbs, LEDs don't color shift (grow warmer) as they dim (unless you pay up for the latest generation).

Either way, any fixture with permanent LEDs is most likely to have a low CRI.

As to your point, the only options are to wait for the market to realize what people really want without paying high dollar or build/modify your own (current mode power supply, high CRI LEDs from an electronics supplier, and a knack for hacking up new items 8^)

Ceiling fans are fairly easy to adapt in a traditional Edison base light where you can easily install high CRI bulbs. A table lamp requires you go to the shop and build your own!

I feel your pain!

-BR

[krw]

Why would you want a lamp to get "warmer" as it's dimmed? Ideally the color should remain the same. That's a problem with incandescents, not LEDs, IMO.

If it matters. Mostly, I don't care. I want to see. Sure, bathrooms and maybe bedroom (for the vain) nay need as true if a color as possible. For my shop, I just want lights as efficient (read, bright) as I can get them. An area used for painting may need true color.

Already done. People don't want to pay so the supply is expensive for those who do.

I'd love to see you fit an Edison based bulb in my ceiling fans (light fixture

[DerbyDad03]

The specs for my new fan 17W, 80 CRI, 1600 lumens.

You got that last item exactly right: "hacking up new items". Somebody else in this fine group thinks that whipping out the soldering iron and voiding the warranty on a ~$300 fan is the "solution" to my complaint.

As far as paying high dollar, one option to make these fan fixtures much more flexible would cost next to nothing. The following fixture - the

*complete* fixture - costs $13 and includes the ability to choose 5 different color temps.

The cost of the fan already includes everything that fixture has except for the switch, a little extra circuitry and color selectable LED's. That sure wouldn't add much to the overall cost of the fan, maybe a dollar or two. I'd pay that in a heartbeat.

Some ceiling fans might be, others may not. Sure, they can probably all be adapted "electrically" but can it be done without changing the look of the fan?

Fitting an Edison base and bulb into the fan I bought without changing the look might not be possible, space wise. That takes me back to my original gripe - I like the look of the fan, it's the light output that I'm not happy with.

Appreciate it. ;-)

[DerbyDad03]

I agree with just about all of your comments here, except for this one.

Color switching technology is inexpensive and would add a lot of flexibility to many fixtures, including (especially?) ceiling fans and bathroom fixtures.

If Commercial Electric can include 5 color options in a $13 fixture, surely (don't call me Shirley) it could be included in any device that uses an LED light kit. The additional cost would be minimal since the light kit is already included in the cost. Just need to add the color switching technology.

How much of that $13 is taken up by the switching technology? A buck? Maybe two?

[krw]

The color temperature has little to do with the CRI. A high CRI needs a "flat" color spectrum, rather than a few monochromatic bands.

[DerbyDad03]

True, but that $13 fixture (supposedly) has a CRI of 90 *and* is switchable.

The point was this: If they can put a high CRI and 5 color temp options into a $13 fixture, then surely a ~$300 fan - which already has the rest of the LED fixture included - could add those 2 features for a buck or two more.

That's all I'm saying.

[Markem]

But then it would be a $600 fan and light;)

Is it possible to put a color gel between the led source and the lens? You might be able to get the ambiance you want.

[DerbyDad03]

Show me the math you used.

That's not how LED color temperature works.

[Clare Snyder]

Any "switchable color temp" LED WILL be high CRI because it is an RGB device. Non switchable units are often using a single band-selection phosphor, just like common flourescents - a "filter" if you like.