120VAC LED

Jim_TX

As some of yall know, I have been experimenting with hi-power LEDs lately.

I currently have my solar panel that charges up my battery in the daytime, and then at night - I use the battery to light 3 5-watt LEDs. There is enough light in the living room to see - and do a little bit of reading by. Pretty durn bright!

Well... last week, I 'discovered' a new LED - one that is configured to run directly on 120 VAC. (Most run on about 4.5 volts DC, and require external drive circuitry.) I ordered a couple of these LEDs... and just tonight - wired one of them up. What I did was use an old CFL lightbulb base, and a heatsink from a computer IC. I soldered the leads from the socket to the LED.

I then screwed the LED 'bulb' into one of my ceiling fan light sockets. When I turned on the light... OMG!!! It's bright! - and white light! (It is rated at about 150 lumens.)

The neat thing is that it only draws about 5 watts of power at 120VAC. That isn't much 'juice' from the wall. I am thinking about making 2 more and completing the 'set' in the fan.

These LEDs aren't cheap... but they aren't too expensive, either. They cost about $23.00 in small quantities - but will last for about 50,000 hours - which is many years of use. (As a comparison, a CFL lasts about 5000 hours, and costs about $5.00.)

Well... I've created another way to further reduce my power bill. *wide grin*

Regards,

Jim TX

SnakesInTheTower

you know Jim, my eyes glaze over at these highly technical posts of yours, and yet, I am fascinated beyond belief...like watching a wreck, I dont understand what happened, but I cannot avert my eyes.

kidding aside, I would love to know how to get a brighter LED in my lighting. I recently bought 6 LED based solar landscaping lights for my front porch landscaping. I now keep my porch light off and enjoy the soft glow of the lights. Free lighting, I love it.... But sometimes I wish the lights were a bit brighter. I would love to put my house on solar, but I rent the house so I cant. So I conserve energy where I can....new compact flourescents as the old incandescents burn out....my electric/gas bill last month was only $68. Not bad in a state where are bills skyrocketed 500% in some cases.

I'd love to converse with you about your projects, but I am afraid you are light years ahead of me in knowledge.

Snakes ()

PS...I think I will go and make myself a root beer float now..... that I can understand

sspo

That's good Jim,

What you're doing would never be approved by the GB.

You're using your brain and that's not allowed in the JW world.

Hortensia

I didn't understand anything you said except for "solder" and "electric bill."

animal

Nice Jim... I remember us talking about these a while back. Good job!

Animal

Jim_TX

Oops... I just re-read my post. I was so excited that I babbled a lot of acronyms that I failed to define. Sorry.

DC = Direct Current
CFL = Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb
LED = Light Emitting Diode
VAC = Volts Alternating Current
IC = Integrated Circuit
OMG = Oh My Gosh!

Now. As for the LED walkway lighting... these LEDs are great - for throwing out lots of light - in about a 2-foot radius. They are usually low current devices - which can run off of a couple of AAA cells, which get charged by a small solar cell. They're cool - but if you are wanting to 'up' the light, you may have to do a bit of upgrading... not sure how to put it.

I recently read a report on lighting. It said that in 2001, most folks (90%) were still using incandescents for lighting. Of our electric bills, 10% goes to lighting. So... if one replaces the incandescents with CFLs - you can reduce your 10% lighting to about 2.3 to 3.3% of that 10% on the electric bill. That may not sound like much, but when you have a whopping $150.00 electric bill, it adds up quick. (My bill dropped only about $3.00 - $5.00, but it is usually less than $75.00 each month.) I helped my mother-in-law replace most of her incandescents with CFLs. She now has more light - and a lower electric bill. She has noticed this, too.

LEDs just reduce the electric bill even more. My 5-watt 120VAC LED appears to be putting out the equivalent to a... hmmm... well, it appears like a 60-watt incandescent bulb. Pretty bright. Plus, it's a 'white' light - about 6500 Kelvin in color temperature, which is real white. (Sorta like that 'stronger than dirt' commercial, where everything goes ultra-white)

RE: The governing body remarks -
Ya know... even back when I was a JW - I had problems getting anyone to understand me. Their eyes would sorta gloss over... and they would lose focus. I sorta have that effect on a lot of people.

Animal - great to 'see' ya again. Yeah... my solar LEDs, with the battery and solar panel - are working out real well! We use it every night - even if it is overcast (which the entire month of July was), I get a decent charge on the battery, and we are able to have light in the evenings - for free. I did a PC (printed circuit) layout for part of the circuit that allows me to use an IR (infrared) remote to turn it on and off. It's very cool!

I'm thinking of marketing the LED/battery/panel idea... there's several markets where it could fit in well...

1) home solar lighting - emergency backup
2) boat lighting
3) camper R/V lighting
4) barn lighting - where no AC is available

...plus a few I may have forgotten.

Regards,

Jim TX

VM44

I found this today which seems to go with this thread.

Make burning laser pointer from flashlight and dvd player

http://www.videosift.com/video/Make-burning-laser-pointer-from-flashlight-and-dvd-player

R.Crusoe

Starship to Enterprise : That's good Jim, but not as we know it - which is a pity!

avengers

Hey Jim:

Where can I get thes 120 V LEDs?

Andy of the I need more light for less class.

120VAC LED

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