LED is cool, what is crap is their price. All crap sold around is giving less lumens than a 20W incandescent lamp cause nobody can afford to pay the money for bigger. So it is useless.
100 watt incandescent bulbs banned: What now?
by WTWizard 20 Replies latest jw friends
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Glander
Hopefully the price of a decent LED will drop as do most new devices that have a volume market. I have no problem with them. The flourescent Dairy Queen CFLs are OK to a point, but no dimmer or light level (like 3 way lamps) flexibility. The whole idea of having to take a dead CFL to a special recycling facility is never going to be observed, realistically. Thus, mercury contamination from them is inevitable.
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blondie
The ban was defunded in December 2011 by Congress, so enforcement is not likely or possible.
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WTWizard
Yes, the ban was defunded--however, it didn't stop factories from shutting down their operations of incandescent light bulbs. Besides, it was only delayed. I am predicting that they will simply stop making incandescent light bulbs rather than risk getting them banned and having it enforced.
As for LED lights being inferior and costly, they are rapidly improving. As recently as 2009, you couldn't find anything that was reasonable. They cost more than 100 toilet papers for one bulb that put out the usable light of a 40 watt incandescent light bulb. However, they are advancing. Recently (2012), EarthLED has been selling several brands of LED lights that put out the usable light of a 100 watt incandescent. Bear in mind that, these are most effective in downward configurations--bulbs that replace lamp bulbs (and especially 3 way bulbs) are still stuck at the 40-60 watt level. Prices have dropped into the 20 toilet papers a bulb range, and I recently saw LEDs advertised at 5 toilet papers a bulb at 1000 Bulbs (with a 30-bulb limit).
For those who need much brighter light (say, 2900 lumens), you still have to wait. Those replace a 150 watt bulb--especially in a lamp with a shade instead of a downward pointing bulb. You also need to wait for the 3-way bulbs with reasonable output. It wouldn't surprise me, however, if they come up with a bulb that puts out close to 3,000 lumens at 5000 K within the next 2 years. And, I would expect the price to start at 50 toilet papers a bulb barring hyperinflation, and drop from there (again, barring hyperinflation). Flood lights that replace incandescent bulbs with decent output are already available, in all color temperatures, in LED.
Of course, there is the sun. That is the biggest incandescent light bulb in the solar system, and have fun trying to ban that. Its color temperature is 6500 K, it is full spectrum, and it lasts another 4.5 billion years before it too blows. Its only problem is that it only works during the day, and can be blocked by clouds or your roof and walls.
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Jim_TX
My job enables me to see some of the LEDs and lighting control ICs that are being manufactured to help the LED lighting industry. There are some really impressive things going on, and it is only a matter of time before you will start seeing them at your local Lowe's or other retail outlet.
One of the issues that the higher power LEDs have is that they also create heat. In order to be able to dissipate that heat, the designers will usually use aluminum heatsinks. In my opinion, this is a negative. Aluminum is not as good as copper at dissipating heat. Not only that, it takes twice as much aluminum to dissipate the same amount of heat as copper. With my personal designs, I use copper heatsinks, and am able to control the heat much better - even with my 500 to 2000 Lumen lighttubes.
Another thing that is hampering LEDs from being accepted as normal lighting is that the incandescent bulbs are round and put out light in 360 degrees. Even the CFLs had to be scrunched down to fit into the incandescent bulb size.
It is my opinion that for LEDs to be accepted as lighting in the home that we need to redefine our lighting systems, going beyond the round edison-base bulbs of yesteryear. LEDs allow for more aesthetic designs and styles to be used in lighting. I envision 'lightwalls' like I have at home, and like we've all seen in futuristic sci-fi movies, where the whole wall lights up - or glows. We are beginning to see some of these artistic LED forms in the automotive industry with LED headlights and taillights.
This same approach now needs to be applied to home lighting systems. We need to think outside the box as it were. Even cooling LEDs can be easier, if combined with plumbing with water running through the heatsinks, cooling the LEDs and at the same time heating water which can then be used. This would allow for much higher powered LED lighting systems to be deployed.
Just my ramblings on this...
Regards,
Jim TX
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wha happened?
How about some pics Jim?
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sammielee24
Good move Jim. We use just a little solar in our battery charges and radios and flashlights for example, but that's it. Good post. From USA today, the country has begun phasing out the bulbs as of Jan 1st this year.. sammies
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The nation's light bulbs begin facing new efficiency and labeling standards starting Jan. 1, but don't expect old-fashioned incandescents to suddenly disappear from store shelves.
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By Michael R. Brown
An inspector looks over LED bulbs made at Lighting Sciences Group in Satellite Beach, Fla.
By Michael R. Brown
An inspector looks over LED bulbs made at Lighting Sciences Group in Satellite Beach, Fla.
The congressionally mandated efficiency standards gradually phase out Thomas Edison's 131-year-old creation in favor of other light bulbs that use at least 25% less energy. The first to go, beginning Sunday, is the traditional 100-watt, followed in January 2013 with the 75-watt version and in January 2014 with the 40-watt and 60-watt bulbs.
Yet even Edison's 100-watt bulb will still be available for a while. The bipartisan law mandating the phaseout, which President George W. Bush signed in 2007, says the bulbs can't be manufactured or imported after Jan. 1 but lets stores sell them until stock runs out.
In California, which implemented the efficiency standards a year earlier than the rest of the nation, it took several months for the 100-watt bulbs to exit stores. "We expect the same at the national level," says Noah Horowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.
"We'll still have 100-watt incandescents on our shelf through June," Bill Hamilton of Home Depot predicts, based on the amount of remaining stock.
Major manufacturers and retailers say they'll hew to the efficiency standards even though Congress passed a one-year spending bill earlier this month that bars theDepartment of Energy from spending to enforce them through the end of September 2012.
A major reason, says Jacklyn Pardini of Lowe's, is that "people are looking for more energy-efficient options."
Lighting Science Group, which makes LEDs, says it doubled its revenue from LED sales in the last year and expects "exponential growth next year" regardless of what Congress does, says Jim Haworth, the company's CEO.
Still, the incandescent phaseout worries a third of Americans, who say they prefer traditional bulbs, according to an October survey of 303 adults conducted for lighting company Osram Sylvania. One in eight, or 13%, say they'll stockpile Edison's 100-watt bulbs.
Congress' bill did not address the other part of the lighting standards: labeling. TheFederal Trade Commission, effective Sunday, requires that all newly made or imported bulbs carry labels on the front and back of packages that list brightness (or lumens), estimated yearly cost and life span as well as its color (or light appearance).
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shamus100
WT Wizard,
Guess it's time to slice your wrists. Life has just become too difficult for you.
I'm so terribly sorry. :(
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Jim_TX
How about some pics Jim?
I have posted photos of my LED lighting and my solar system on my Facebook account. I should post some new photos, though, showing some of the more recent stuff I've been doing.
The thing to keep in mind - I'm not an engineer - I don't have a degree. I'm just a tinkerer. I enjoy playing with solar and LEDs. They're (in my opinion) a perfect combination.
Regards,
Jim TX
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worldtraveller
I see some folks complaining about just how horrible CFL bulbs are, but not one soul has complained about 4' and 8' flourescent tubes. They have more mercury in them and use more energy than CFLs, but still outperform incandescent. Where were all of you when in the 60's flourescent tubes began to replace those huge old lamps in stores, parking garages, and car lots, just to name a few?
It is funny that you do have the right to pay more in electricity, but why WOULD you? It's a freakin' light bulb, and there are far more pressing issues in the world.
FYI, my electric bill is about $45 per month, every month. Almost no incandescent inside, but 2 heated aquariums,3 computers, 4 tvs and a freezer in the garage.
It is after all, YOUR money, well, 'till you give it to Con ED.
