LED Lighting

[vfx]

The flashlight thread often wandered so here is a new thread for plug-in LEDs (12 Volt OK)

Check out the fins on this ride:Would You Buy This Funny-Looking Bulb? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

[TEG]

[SByer]

From experience, the stages of buying your first serious* LED bulb:

Thinking about it:
"Hmm. Really funky looking. Wonder if it works."

Getting serious:
"Boy, that's expensive. It better be more reliable than those **** CFLs. How the heck do I figure out if it's bright enough?"
(Because, from buying CFLs, you know that the "watt equivalent" claimed is complete hooey.)

Buying the thing:
"Ouch. I hope I didn't make a huge mistake."

Waiting:
"Will it ever get here?"
(Yes, that's right, the best bulbs can take weeks for delivery!)

Opening the box:
"Wow, looks better in person. Kinda like a sculpture or something. Do I hafta install it? It better darned well work."

Installing it:
"Oh. Wow. Happy... it's a happy light."
(Seriously. That's the phrase that came to my mind. Blows CFLs away.)

First couple of weeks:
"Hey, ya gotta see this...", dragging friends over, and at other times with frequent staring up at the light as you flip the switch, hoping it'll still turn on (because, with decently bright CFLs, well... I'll just say there's a graveyard in the garage.)

After a couple of weeks, when leaving the room:
"Oh, right, that room has that bulb in it, I almost forgot..."

Now:
It's the best bulb in the house. The price still makes me cringe, but the light is so good I'm still tempted to just figure out what I want and replace every R38 in the house. And I think about how many that is, and I cringe. And somewhere my subconscious goes "it's so much better, you know it's inevitable". In a Mr. Smith voice, of course.

Maybe if the CARB rebate program still has money in it when I get my car...


(*) If it's got 40 crap LEDs in it, it's not serious.

[dpeilow]

Thanks for that. I've been contemplating spending 25 pounds on a decent GU10.

BTW, as this would be 240v, have I just taken the thread off-topic?

[dpeilow]

OK, I just took delivery of an LED GU10:

Deltech GU10 LED 5W High Power Warm White LED Light Bulb





I put it in a fitting at work to try it out. First impressions are that this is a nice light - certainly better than the CFL version I have at home. Now, do I go ahead and buy a bulk pack?

Deltech UK Ltd

[graham]

Possibly off topic: A cool short video on the history, and how to make LEDs:

MAKE: Blog: MAKE Presents: The LED - A movie about the origins of the LED and how to make your own from carborundum!

[just-an-allusion]

OK, I just took delivery of an LED GU10:

Deltech GU10 LED 5W High Power Warm White LED Light Bulb





I put it in a fitting at work to try it out. First impressions are that this is a nice light - certainly better than the CFL version I have at home. Now, do I go ahead and buy a bulk pack?

Deltech UK Ltd

Yes, opt for the bulk pack, get them and get them swapped into all of your home fixtures and then get on with your life content in the knowledge that you're now living in a clearer, brighter, cooler, energy efficient environment while making your little spot on this world that much more worth while to live in not only for yourself, but also for the environment as a whole...give yourself a pat on the back (if you've no one around to do it for you).

[vfx]

LEDS are taking over.

We just saw the first wave.

They will save 1.8 trillion

Kim and Schubert claim that the LED is to lighting technology, what the transistor was to the vacuum tube.

Many local papers agree.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,6371066.story

http://www.washingtonenergy.com/arti...efficient-leds


Nostalgic Dissention
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008...eenly-shining/

[shark2k]

Still for top brands:-

New all-LED headlamps are standard on Audi R8 V10 - AutoblogGreen

Since you guys seem to know quite a bit about this stuff, I was wondering if this comment from the Auto Blog Green article is true:

And while it may not make sense to you regarding the heat issue, it is the case...LED Achilles heel is heat buildup. Heat buildup is relative to size not absolute amount.

One commenter disagreed with this and I tend to agree with that person. They said that since LEDs are more efficient they would produce less heat. The reason I agree with this is because of incandescent lights being less efficient and the side effect of that is that they produce a lot of heat therefore getting pretty hot. So, I was just wondering if what that poster said was true. I am referencing comments 5-7 of the Auto Blog Green article posted by malcolm.

-Shark2k

[doug]

Yes, it may be a bit counter intuitive, but heat dissipation for high power LEDs is a major issue.