The Light at the End of the Tunnel

The Light at the End of the Tunnel was Originally Posted on June 30, 2011 by lavarock

I’m a big fan of technology and sometimes get onboard early, sometimes, not so much so.

I bought a few LED light bulbs a while back because they were on sale. Actually I think Ace Hardware found that they were not selling and dcided to scrap them. They are plastic tubes that have standard screw-in bases for a lamp. These bulbs can be screwed into 120-240 volt circuits. These bulbs use LED (light emitting diodes) technology and the claim is that they will last 60,000+ hours (10 years).

One drawback to the packaging is that tell you the bulb is 1.5 watts but not what the light output is. Knowledgeable people look for the light output in lumens. A lumen is the perceived light detected by a human eye. So if you had two light bulbs, one drawing 30 watts and producing 100 lumens and the second drawing 30 watts and producing 200 lumens, the second one is brighter for the same electrical cost. How much power a device draws is not necessarily a good gauge of how bright a light it produces.

As incandescent lights are being phased out, LED’s are beginning to gain useage. The initial cost of some of these may be a big deterrent though. A floodlight for the back yard consisting of bright light, may last for 10 years or more and cost a few dollars a year to operate, yet may cost $60 to buy! That cost is expected to come down (as CFL’s did) as they catch on and more companies produce them.

I just looked up a Home Depot price on an equivalent to a 75 watt outdoor flood light using LED’s. It really only draws 18 watts so about 1/4 the electric cost for the bulb over its lifetime is touted as $360. Its spec says it is 850 lumens. It costs about $50.

The five things I would look for in buying such a bulb are: price, color temperature [how white or soft is the light], lumens [light output], expected lifetime and what kind of guarantee do they offer for replacement. If this is too much to compare, know that the price and light output are most important, ie a price per lumen.

For indoor use, some LED’s are dimmable, which may be of use to you.

Generally, regular incandescent bulbs are being phased out because they are quite inefficient. They generate so much heat that you can cook with them (see EasyBake Oven of decades ago).

Halogens are bright, but get hot and can be somewhat dangerous. Tipped hologen lamps have caused fires and I have a small coffee roaster that used a halogen light to roast coffee beans.

CFLs are more energy efficient, cooler and fairly reasonable price, but contain mercury and need special disposal procedures.

LED bulbs will give CFLs a run for their money. LEDs by themselves are pretty cool to the touch but the base may get warm because it has to convert 110 volts down to LED supply needs. They last a long time and don’t have the problems of disposal of CFLs with their mercury.

Still, the initial cost of the product right now is a surprise. You might want to try a small LED bulb to see how you like it, especially in a place where you cannot easily get to the socket to replace the bulb. If you have a raised ceiling or high located light, try a LED in there.

The LED bulbs I mentioned at the beginning are really not bright enough to read by (I paid about $2 each on discount). However, I use them for night lights around the house and can easily traverse the hall and bathroom without having to turn on any lights in the middle of the night. because they draw so little I leave them on 24 hours a day. That saves the cost of replacing switches too. here I have lots of problems with switches because I live so close to the ocean.

You may wish to do some research on your own and give LEDs a try.