On 1/20/2014 5:30 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 1/19/2014 11:43 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 19 Jan 2014 20:44:31 -0600, Califbill
wrote:
I installed two, 60 watt LED bulbs in my loft studio ceiling. They are
shaped like regular old light bulbs and illuminate in the same,
non-directional pattern. I like them. Plenty of light, doesn't have
any
funny color and I have them controlled by a regular dimmer designed for
incandescents. No problems dimming them although it doesn't like
controlling only one. Not enough load.
The LEDs may be OK. But the mini fluorescent. More expensive, do
not last
any longer and are toxic waste. Ow many land fills will become
superfund
sites with the bulbs?
My problem with LEDS and CFLs is they do not change color when you dim
them. The warmer colors you get from a dimmed incandescent is the
whole point.
I know they could do this with a color changing LED but at what cost?
If I am happy with a $1.50 lamp that will last almost forever running
at 75% power, why would I want a $50+ LED that uses almost as much
power "dimmed" as it does full bright and may actually fail sooner.
I never noticed that the LED bulbs are not "warmer" color-wise when
dimmed. I guess that's not very important to me. The room just gets
darker.
The whole idea behind these types of bulbs is energy conservation, not
romantic lighting. Replacing one 60 or 75 watt incandescent bulb with a
LED bulb of equivalent lighting may not be huge, but replacing tens or
hundreds of millions across the country sure is.
Lighting makes up about 13 percent of average residential electricity
consumption. Replacing the old bulbs as they burn out with LED
equivalents makes sense to me. We've slowly been doing that over the
past year or so and also replacing any of those stupid CFL type lights
we have with LED types. The built-in ballast used in CFLs seem to pop
as often or even more so than the incandescent filaments did.
The LED bulbs I bought are made by Cree. They don't cost $50. They are
$12.95. 800 lumen, dimmable, 25,000 hour life expectancy, 10 year
warranty and consume 9.5 watts.
I just realized that the gov't. ban on incands. was created to guide the
thrifty among us to stop making phony excuses for an inferior product.
I'm saving about $50 a month on my electric bill without changing any
thing except light bulbs. And that's not counting replacement cost. My
replacement cost last year was $10. (one bulb)
You need to relinquish your "Luddite" status. There are those here more
deserving.