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Where's The LED's?

B

Bob Adkins

Jan 1, 1970
0
White LED's are cool (and kewel too!) and extremely cheap lighting. The
prices have dropped precipitously, and should pay back very quickly.

Why are they seldom mentioned as a means to save energy?

Will they become mainstream before the energy saving specialists (that would
be us) embrace them?

I know their light takes some getting used to, but the up side is
tremendous. For 1 thing, they save nearly double in cooling season. That's
important in the Southern US where cooling is used 8-9 months out of the
year.

I suppose LED's are best for point lighting rather than general area
lighting in home settings at this stage in their development. However, they
should be fine for shop, cabin, and security lighting.

Thoughts?

Bob
 
T

Tom Quackenbush

Jan 1, 1970
0
White LED's are cool (and kewel too!) and extremely cheap lighting. The
prices have dropped precipitously, and should pay back very quickly.

Why are they seldom mentioned as a means to save energy?

Save energy compared with what? Last time I checked, white LEDs were
about as efficient as incandescents, much less than fluorescents. Has
their efficiency improved recently?

R,
Tom Q.
 
B

Bob Adkins

Jan 1, 1970
0
Save energy compared with what? Last time I checked, white LEDs were
about as efficient as incandescents, much less than fluorescents. Has
their efficiency improved recently?

I dunno. Hey, waitaminute...who's asking the questions here? :)

Here's what I know, which isn't much. That's why I asked.

My LED flashlight with 3 AAAA cells will last about 2 weeks continuous. My
fluorescent flashlight with 4 AAA cells will last about 2 hours. <shrug>

Fluorescent tubes last 6-12 months. LED's last 11 years. <shrug, shrug>

Bob
 
M

mark Ransley

Jan 1, 1970
0
and the lumen comparison of the 2, the flourescent is the winner
 
T

Tom Quackenbush

Jan 1, 1970
0
I dunno. Hey, waitaminute...who's asking the questions here? :)

Here's what I know, which isn't much. That's why I asked.

My LED flashlight with 3 AAAA cells will last about 2 weeks continuous. My
fluorescent flashlight with 4 AAA cells will last about 2 hours. <shrug>

Fluorescent tubes last 6-12 months. LED's last 11 years. <shrug, shrug>

LED's are great, don't get me wrong. I just didn't think that they
were all that efficient at producing white light (but they may have
improved since I last checked - a year or two ago). I'm assuming that
your fluorescent light puts out a lot more light than your LED
flashlight. If you don't need much light, LEDs might be the right
answer.

Also, cheap is relative. I'd hate to have to pay for enough LEDs to
replace a couple of 4 ft T8 fluorescent fixtures.

R,
Tom Q.
 
B

Bob Adkins

Jan 1, 1970
0
Also, cheap is relative. I'd hate to have to pay for enough LEDs to
replace a couple of 4 ft T8 fluorescent fixtures.

We're obviously not talking about the same LED's. My tiny little flashlight
will knock your eyeballs out. White LED's have dropped to around $1 apiece
in bulk.

I heard a 80W equivalent LED bulb uses 180ma @120v. But that's only a rumor.
If only half true, imagine the possibilities.

While most multi-LED bulbs are still very expensive, the price is dropping
fast.

I thought perhaps this group would be intrigued by them before the general
public. Guess not.

Bob
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
LED's are no more efficient than incandescents. However, their tiny
consumption (and corresponding tiny lumen output) make them ideal for task
lighting and instrumentation where incandescents are overkill. It's a matter
of scale and appropriateness. CF's are the most efficient, and the most
appropriate, for area lighting.
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
The replacement cost for an LED is much higher, but life is much longer,
meaning fewer or no replacements needed.
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
Here's what I know, which isn't much. That's why I asked.

My LED flashlight with 3 AAAA cells will last about 2 weeks continuous. My
fluorescent flashlight with 4 AAA cells will last about 2 hours. <shrug>

Check the lumen output on your LED's compared to your fluorescent. That
explains the usage differences. per lumen, cf's are more efficient than
LED's.
Fluorescent tubes last 6-12 months. LED's last 11 years. <shrug, shrug>

Very true. Nothing to do with power consumption however.
 
T

Tom Quackenbush

Jan 1, 1970
0
We're obviously not talking about the same LED's. My tiny little flashlight
will knock your eyeballs out. White LED's have dropped to around $1 apiece
in bulk.

OK, I picked a couple of examples at random (not really random, the
Luxeon name I remembered from when it was announced as the brightest
white LED a little while back, the Phillips fluorescent was the first
hit in a Google search).

Luxeon 5W LED - 120 lumens
Phillips 30w T8 fluorescent - 2750 lumens

So it would take 23 LEDs and 115 watts to generate the same lumens as
the T8 lamp generates with 30 watts. Maybe you can find some more
efficient LEDs, but now you have something to compare them to.
I heard a 80W equivalent LED bulb uses 180ma @120v. But that's only a rumor.
If only half true, imagine the possibilities.

While most multi-LED bulbs are still very expensive, the price is dropping
fast.

I thought perhaps this group would be intrigued by them before the general
public. Guess not.

Aw, c'mon Bob, don't be that way. <g> Hey, if I could snap my
fingers and make the LEDs more efficient, I would.

R,
Tom Q.
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
analogZONE Says . . .

LED-based lighting is gaining popularity because of its long life, power
efficiency, and highly flexible form factor. Where it's practical, compact
fluorescent lights are still the most energy-efficient at 50-75 lumens/Watt,
but at 24 lumens/W, the Luxeon devices are much better than the 12-15
lumens/W offered by standard incandescent bulbs.



Cost? $50 or $.41 / lumen



CF cost? $6 or $.008 / lumen
 
B

Bob Adkins

Jan 1, 1970
0
Aw, c'mon Bob, don't be that way. <g> Hey, if I could snap my
fingers and make the LEDs more efficient, I would.

Look Tom, we know you're holding out. Snap those fingers!

LED light is different. I don't know if you can really compare lumens. ( I
know how sacrilegious that sounds)

It's a high color temperature light. I bet it's near or over 9300K. I don't
think fluorescents are nearly that hot. Let's look at a little 300 lumen
incandescent, fluorescent, and LED. Colors with the incandescent would
probably look dull. Better with the fluorescent. Very rich and vibrant with
the LED.


My guess is based on using all 3 types of light, not from lab data. (That's
not my job)

Bob
 
M

mark Ransley

Jan 1, 1970
0
All light can be and is rated in lumens, I checked out a few sites but
cant find lumen ratings. Ledtronics has a good selection. But the
cost !! Everyone will buy them when the price is worthwhile. Your
led flashlight is focused your flourescent tube 360` full lighting.
Unscrew a mag lite or regular flashlight lens to expose the bulb and
compare
 
V

Vaughn

Jan 1, 1970
0
GLC1173 said:
At the very least, their <I>replacement</i> cost is drastically lower. This
has led the trucking industry to replace virtually all taillights etc. with
modules made of high-brightness LEDs; you can find them inexpensively at any
truck stop.

True, but you were responding to a post about white LEDs. Unless
something has changed recently, red and yellow LEDs are far cheaper and more
efficient than white LEDs which makes them increasingly practical for things
like tail lights. If you look closely, you will see that many traffic
signals now use LEDs.

Vaughn
 
And you usually don't need much light - which makes the low battery
drain of a flashlight with 1-16 LEDs a great idea! For anything from
reading during a power failure to carrying stuff up or down stairs to
setting up your generator, a headband LED flashlight is the way to go.

Actually, my LED headlamp is a little much for reading; I like a PALight on
low beam for that.

Now if the PALight guys would just make a headband to fit the damn thing...
 
D

david

Jan 1, 1970
0
whay not use the same technology that those lazer pointers us for light only
use white insted of red to me it seems like that would me a very powerful
flashlight or light bulb with very little energy use
 
W

William P.N. Smith

Jan 1, 1970
0
david said:
whay not use the same technology that those lazer pointers us for light only
use white insted of red

Well, to start with, lasers are monochromatic, and white isn't, and
laserpointers have nothing to do with efficiency...
 
F

Fred B. McGalliard

Jan 1, 1970
0
Steve Spence said:
LED's are no more efficient than incandescents.

My info (recalled rather poorly, but I will input it anyway) shows that the
LEDs range from about as efficient as very efficient incandescent bulbs, to
about half as efficient as typical fluorescent bulbs. They are mechanically
very rugged, and can have several thousand hours of operational life. For
things like night lights, the incandescent bulb is much lower in efficiency.
I think this was dealt with in an article in Electronic Design magazine,
perhaps about a year ago.
 
T

Tony

Jan 1, 1970
0
Daylight tubes run around 6500K (from memory).
We were using them for starting seedlings in the spring.
 
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