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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 14, 2011 22:23:08 GMT -5
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Post by JGRobinson on Oct 15, 2011 4:42:00 GMT -5
Nice, and so true! How Ironic is it that at the same time we are kicking up the Lead abatement requirements for construction, renovation and repair, were also flooding the market with mercury laces light-bulbs! LED's last longer, use less Watts and are safe to eat, or dispose of! They are also very expensive because our government put its stamp on the CFL's before these were mainstream.
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Post by virgilgal on Oct 15, 2011 5:08:11 GMT -5
I can.'t tell you how many of these dead bulbs I have hung on to for want of a place to dispose of them! And eventually they break and end up in the garbage because I refuse to hold onto bags of broken glass! I have also noticed that the bulbs that used to last for several years now are made in China and sold for .99 and last for 6 months now! Very good points!
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 15, 2011 5:50:15 GMT -5
Lowes & Home Depot have recycling programs.
I have noticed the shorter lifespan. I have a fixture in our bathroom which takes 6 bulbs. I noticed last year that I was replacing only the Curly-Q ones, the older style were still going.
One thing makes me hesitant to spend big bucks on LEDs. I've replaced my Christmas decorations with LED lamps and have had a lot of early failures. Disassembling them for failure analysis, I've seen a lot of leads corroded completely through. My guess: cheap metal & little or no plating.
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Post by dgriffin on Oct 15, 2011 8:59:17 GMT -5
My experience with the LED bulbs was negative. First, I don't like the color temp, too blue. Also, they were expensive and although touted to last forever, they burned out really quick.
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Post by JGRobinson on Oct 15, 2011 15:38:44 GMT -5
The second and third generations are out there now and the color is much better. The originals had some issues, OLED LEDs will steal the market and soon. Can you imagine trying to stock incandescent, CFL's and LED's in the 9 diff standard types of connector bases in your store, if your home depot maybe, its crazy?
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 15, 2011 16:21:00 GMT -5
A recent Consumer Reports gave good marks to the Philips AmbientLED for instant light, warm color & being dim-able. It's rated life is 23 years (probably longer than mine). However its cost is $40 which would make it a no go for me.
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Post by dgriffin on Oct 15, 2011 20:01:40 GMT -5
I guess I'm just a resentful consumer who doesn't want to buy another LED.  Something tells me that although the bulb may be rated for 23 years, the warranty is probably for the standard electronics period of 90 days. If I spent 40 bucks on such a bulb and it died in 6 months, I'd be upset. Hadn't thought about the dim-able aspect. |
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Post by chris on Oct 16, 2011 14:57:02 GMT -5
Dave you took the words right out of my mouth. But then if it wasn't guaranteed for the 23yrs I would not spend the $40.00 for the light bulb. The way stuff is made today especially.
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Post by JGRobinson on Oct 22, 2011 5:29:23 GMT -5
CLF's were 3 times the price they are today just 7 years ago. Big, ugly and noisy, they didn't fit in my 100 year old Chrystal chandelier and had almost twice the Mercury that they use today. They couldn't dim and died much faster than they were promised to last, I didn't like them but since have changed all but the smaller base bulbs in the house over to them and they do OK, no doubt about it, they have cut my NRG consumption but I still don't like them at all.
The first Filament Light-bulb lasted only a few seconds but Edison still kept going at it until the current one that can last 3 to 5 years or more. The Fluorescent Bulb never replaced it in the home until the CLF came out. It still cant replace all bulbs, there are over 40 standard Connection Basing and Sizes and hundreds of others that are too small for CLF's ballasts to coexist with the fluorescing tubes.
The raw and working materials for CLFs are both expensive and toxic as well as the light being poor and seizure provoking for folks with Photo Seizure Optic Issues. The frequencies that these thing operate at are harmonically unstable and interfere with lots of things human and not. Each and every CLF emits RF, IR, UV and High Voltage that are screwing with our brains and other electronics in the household, they fail to meet FCC guidelines, IDK how they get away with it! Why would we ever think that putting High Freq/ Voltage Ballasts within 5' of Humans is a good Idea, its not! Dim-able CLF's are even higher freq's just to maintain the arc without a noticeable flicker, thats not good either.
LED's we once reserved for indicator lights on stereos and TV's, Red, Green, Yellow and Blue. Very efficient, low voltage, low DC current, cheap to produce, substantially made out of sand, they were nontoxic but not very flexible or bright. The new ones are like comparing a Model T to a Jaguar. Form and function were the same goals but one has surpassed the expectations of even the original creators 100 fold! They are very sturdy, can be produced in 1000 different packages, colors, ANSI Lumen levels and basing's to fit every lamp connector ever manufactured for the home except Fluorescent. Last but not least, they are nontoxic, recyclable, bright, super efficient and produce little or no heat.
Just like Flat panel displays, the prices will drop as the market grows and the manufacturing becomes less manual and more efficient. OLED TVs have come down 40% in the last 3 years while producing a vastly superior image than their predecessors, rivaling the LCD's and even competing with the Plasmas. They are 1/2 the weight of LCDs, 1/4 of Plasmas; recycle 100% with little waste or toxicity and use less than 1/10 of the power of your old 17" Black and White TV.
Im waiting and watching, cant wait till they come down to the point where I can replace one for one as the CLF's die and they will die!
Just a little side note, the Electronics manufacturers are trying to dump plasmas as we speak, that makes me sad, I'm a Plasma Guy through and through, I don't care about NRG efficiency when it comes to recreating an image, a fair Plasma is vastly superior to the best OLED or LCD.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 22, 2011 6:21:50 GMT -5
I was an early adapter of CFLs (one has past its 15th birthday but it is really big & ugly). I won't make the switch to LEDs except for special applications until the price drops.
It makes for a chicken & egg situation. Price won't drop until production volume increases and sales volume is restricted by high prices.
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Something tells me that although the bulb may be rated for 23 years, the warranty is probably for the standard electronics period of 90 days. If I spent 40 bucks on such a bulb and it died in 6 months, I'd be upset.