New light bulbs

[LKTraz]

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Years ago I decided to switch to CFLs (compact flourescent light) in my house in order to "go green".  No.....not the green that environmentalist wackos mean.  I mean more green in my pocket and less to the electric company.


This had nothing to do with the communist/socialist/progressive bullshit about forcing manufacturers to stop making many incandescent bulbs.  Plain and simple it was about saving money.


I did see a pretty sizeable drop in my electric bill.  You could get the same equivalent light that a 60w incandescent bulb would give for a cost of only 14w.  The problem though is that they don't work well in a colder environment (outdoors, basement, refrigerator/freezer) and they don't allow for some configurations of desk and table lamps due to their taller stance.


Enter the LED bulb.  At first they were way too expensive to be practical.  Now they have come down in price to be pretty close to CFL bulbs.  The advantages?  Temperature doesn't matter, they don't get very warm at all and what I like is the same amount of light has gone from 60w (standard) to 14w (CFL) to 8.5w (LED).
That might not seem like much but extend that out.


Say you run an average of 4 lights for 5 hours total each day.  That is 20 watt/hours.  With standard lights you use 60w per bulb x 4 = 240 watts.  240 x 5 = 1200.  That's 1.2 kW hrs the electric company will bill for.
Go to CFL and it comes out to 240 watts or .24 kW hrs.
LED figures to 170 watts or .17 kW hrs.


Pretty much with the LED bulbs you could let EVERY light in the house on all night and only use about the same amount of juice that just 4 standard bulbs for 5 hours would eat up.


As well the LED bulbs do come in a dimmable configuration (CFL doesn't) and three way configuration (again CFL doesn't).  PLUS.......LED bulbs do not contain mercury so if you break one (and that isn't likely since their shell is plastic not glass) you don't need a haz-mat crew to clean it up!


You bet your ass I'm changing over to LED.  They also come in 25, 40, 60, 75, 90 and 100 watt equivalents as well as par 38 and 56 equivalent spot and flood lights.
Hell with as cheap as they operate I can actually USE the counter lights in my kitchen again.  I have 6 recessed fixtures above the wrap around counter and running standard bulbs was a real energy pig.  6 x 60 was 360 watts draw when they were on.  LED will only be 51 watts.   That's less than running just ONE standard lamp.


Fuck the electric company.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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We're working on going solar soon. Just have to remember to make that call after 8PM to the guy who will sell it to us. By the time 8 comes around we just forget

I have LED lights in the kitchen, bathroom, basement and this office. Those fluorescent things are shit. I avoid florescent bulbs if I can because they do affect the colors of things and in photographs, forget it. If you want a zit to show that you don't know you have, just let someone take your picture under fluorescent lights!

[twisteroo]

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I'm real slow to change over to anything, but will keep LEDs in mind when I need bulbs.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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I'm real slow to change over to anything, but will keep LEDs in mind when I need bulbs.

Keep in mind these will last nearly forever. That's why I changed over. So tired of changing bulbs all the time.

When you buy them, there are things to check though. Make sure the amount of "lumens" is high enough to light your room. Make sure if you want them on a dimmer, that you get ones with the right lumens AND dimmer compatible.

[twisteroo]

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Got it, thanks for the tips.

How many lumens is good room lighting lumens? I know, gotta try them out and see. I only know what lumens look like coming from a flashlight. Something like 250 lumens is damn bright.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Check the box on the watts for the lighting in each room you want to switch. Get the same. Easy peasy. That's how we did it. Learned the hard way when we did the bathroom and bought 100 watt led bulbs and the light was horrid. Noticed the lumens were low, like 700something. Found the same watts at like 1100 or something like that and now it's nice and bright.

[Biker Dude]

1

Got it, thanks for the tips.

How many lumens is good room lighting lumens?  I know, gotta try them out and see. I only know what lumens look like coming from a flashlight. Something like 250 lumens is damn bright.

I think most boxes have a comparison on the side.  But here is a general one:

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Thanks for that chart, Biker. very handy. Not all of them have this on the box.

Twist, don't compare your flashlight with this. Two different animals.

[LKTraz]

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Yeah....flashlights are a focused beam as opposed to "all around" diffused lighting from household lamps.
That is why spotlights are rated by candlepower rather than lumens.

Generally if you go by 800 lumens equaling a 60 watt incandescent bulb you can get a good gauge.

The chart Biker posted is an excellent guide. I've found that due to the coloration of light given by LEDs that they APPEAR to be just a tad brighter than their incandescent equivalent. It's just due to their tint being slightly to the blue side of the color spectrum that gives this appearance. Blue and green are closer to the resonant frequency of the light spectrum which the human eye responds best to.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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I give them the "haircolor test". Under florescent lights, dyed hair does not show the color it says "on the box". Sunlight and incandescent lights are best, but I found the LED's are very good at not distorting color.

It's an artist/hairdresser thing