CFLs or LEDs?

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
You can't dim LED or fluorescent bulbs. They need a constant voltage.

Incandescent is what you want. Or 'halogen.' Which probably doesn't have halogen in it.

You can dim LED.

The Cree LED bulbs are dimmable. I've got one in a table lamp with a built-in dimmer.

Some CFLs can be dimmed, but you have to hunt for special models. It essentially requires a more complicated built-in ballast, which makes for a very large base on CFLs (at least, the ones I've seen).
 

phucheneh

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2012
7,306
5
0
Considering the awfulness of non-dimmable CFL's, I don't think you could pay me to try dimmable ones. After the tenth one buns out I'm gonna start breakin' shit.

I'm curious about LED's, though. I was gonna say that LED dimming was feasible, but would require an array of lights and not 'dim' so much as just have multiple brightness levels.

I still use incandescent bulbs. Suck it, environment.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Considering the awfulness of non-dimmable CFL's, I don't think you could pay me to try dimmable ones. After the tenth one buns out I'm gonna start breakin' shit.

I'm curious about LED's, though. I was gonna say that LED dimming was feasible, but would require an array of lights and not 'dim' so much as just have multiple brightness levels.

I still use incandescent bulbs. Suck it, environment.

I'm not sure of the G9 base, but for standard sockets, all LED bulbs are comprised of many many LEDs. So, that's probably exactly what happens, the internal controller begins turning off individual LEDs as electrical input reduces. I'm sure the answer is out there, but I'm not particularly motivated to find it right now.
I did find this:
http://www.environmentallights.com/files/documents/How_to_Choose_the_Best_Dimmer_for_a_bulb.pdf

Ignore the link title - it's a 4 page PDF that is essentially entirely focused on the concept of LEDs and dimming.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Considering the awfulness of non-dimmable CFL's, I don't think you could pay me to try dimmable ones. After the tenth one buns out I'm gonna start breakin' shit.

I'm curious about LED's, though. I was gonna say that LED dimming was feasible, but would require an array of lights and not 'dim' so much as just have multiple brightness levels.

Dimmable CFLs are bad. Dimmable LEDs are nearly as good as incandescents, and certainly as good as they need to be.

I still use incandescent bulbs. Suck it, environment.

Your childish attitude is costing you money. You're the man now, dog!
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Awww mugs got butthurt for mother Gaia.

It really is his loss though. I've tried to completely move away from incandescent bulbs, more for the power savings and cost more than anything. CFLs I once used, but discovered they just aren't as good for the typical household usage scenario, especially for those cost-conscious homeowners who turn off lights when done and tend to turn lights on/off a lot throughout the day.
It helps to be a little more green, but for many, saving on the power bill is a big win alone.

What also helps about LED, those Cree bulbs so far seem fantastic (Cree LEDs ARE fantastic; they being in a consumer product, and affordable, is new) and are super cheap for the technology. We'll see just how good the warranty department is, but these things have a 10yr warranty.
Most importantly, it's all that (dimmable, long-lasting, strong warranty), they are around only $10-$15 depending on specific bulb.

Something that I personally just discovered, right this moment: they also offer higher-CRI bulbs. That's been the largest failing of all types of light that are, well, not standard incandescent. One of the worst offenders in CRI is Sodium Vapor (the green/orange-ish streetlights) you know, the ones that make the area look really weird, muted? That's the low CRI effect, and demonstrates what the spectral limits of different types of light allows our eyes to see in the visual spectrum. True outside daylight is 100 on the range, and most good incandescent bulbs are pretty much right there. Most CFLs barely make 80. If it's not energy star rated, it's probably much less (Energy Star requires, other than a specific electrical usage, any Energy Star certified bulb of any lighting type to also have a CRI of 80, another thing I just learned ). A CRI of 80 is generally "good enough" for the regular household use, but, not good enough for color critical viewing. It's not really helpful in the kitchen, that's for sure. And gallery or photo studio lighting should be high CRI for accuracy (especially in areas working on the digital imagery production - like where you edit your digital photos).
I've just learned that Cree also offers a "TW" series bulb that has a 93 CRI. I'm actually planning on buying these now that I know, lol. Sadly, they aren't available in the Daylight temperature, only the soft-white in 40w and 60w. They also have 75w soft white, but not a TW variant. I think the basic models, the ones I currently own, are mid 80s if I recall what I read awhile ago. They do look better than the CFLs I have owned in the past (the color/appearance of colors throughout the room, the actual color temperature of the light, etc).
I've had a couple Philips warm-white LEDs before, and they worked great (put in kitchen fixtures to replace some CFLs), but they were more expensive than these Cree bulbs by far. I've switched to them completely - that warranty is very attractive. You'd be hard pressed to spend less in any bulb variant when you factor in energy cost as well. Incandescent was cheap, but the difference is in the electric bill, and then some.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,981
8,220
126
CFLs suck. I use them in a couple places where I leave lights on for very long periods of time, but otherwise I use incandescents. Haven't tried LEDS. They're a little too spendy, and I'd have to see if the colors are acceptable. The best light comes from a candle or oil lamp. Best convenient light is a 25w-40w incandescent.
 

Jimzz

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2012
4,399
190
106
I use mostly CFLs due to cost. But there are some areas I use LED due to their instant on in cooler temps. Like closets for one.

Costco LEDs have come down in price and if one goes bad I just take it back to swap.
 

HeXen

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2009
7,828
37
91
I much prefer incandescents. I'd rather save money now on a pack of bulbs than save it over a 10 year span in energy.
 

Mixolydian

Lifer
Nov 7, 2011
14,566
91
86
gilramirez.net
I much prefer incandescents. I'd rather save money now on a pack of bulbs than save it over a 10 year span in energy.

Penny wise and pound foolish.

I use both CFL and LED. Can't say I've had problems with any of them. CFL's are dirt cheap now, but LED's are still pretty expensive. I plan to gradually convert to LED as the existing CFL's burn out. Though that might be a while - I've only had one CFL burn out in the 5 years that I've had them.

Color temp wise, I've been able to find both CFL's and LED's that are on par with Incandescent.
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
We use mostly CFLs. We went from having the cheapest electricity in North America to the most expensive over the last decade. Totally due to gross government mismanagement. It's gotten to the point where the energy savings do indeed make a difference.

The CFLs I have are on par with incandescent colour temp wise. They seem to last a long time despite the higher cost. Haven't jumped on the LED bandwagon yet. No way am I paying $20+ for a single lightbulb. Seems to be what the decent ones cost.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
We use mostly CFLs. We went from having the cheapest electricity in North America to the most expensive over the last decade. Totally due to gross government mismanagement. It's gotten to the point where the energy savings do indeed make a difference.

The CFLs I have are on par with incandescent colour temp wise. They seem to last a long time despite the higher cost. Haven't jumped on the LED bandwagon yet. No way am I paying $20+ for a single lightbulb. Seems to be what the decent ones cost.

Canada, hmm... do you have Home Depot?

Cree has LED bulbs as low as $10 (40w soft white equivalent). I've been using them for a few months now, love them. I'd advise you do some research, as they are new to the consumer LED scene, but from what I've read they are excellent bulbs that truly just need the test of time on the consumer market. Heck, a 10 yr warranty on a $10 light bulb tells me that Cree is putting their faith in their bulbs on display.
 
Dec 10, 2005
25,056
8,336
136
I use CFLs in all the lights I can. Haven't had any problems with them burning out early. Only one fixture in my apartment had an incandescent bulb: my bathroom. And that's only because it flickers a lot when a cfl is installed.
 

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
11
0
LED

No warm up period
Less heat output compared to CFLs and incandescent
 

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
11
0
cfl's for me, led's still cost too much

Yeah they still do. I recently paid $7+ each for six of those chandelier type ones. They were going outside on the front porch and door and were going to be running 12+ hours so I thought it would save on electricity costs.
 

WackyDan

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
4,794
68
91
I use CFLs pretty much in most areas of the house. The post lamp that stays on 10 hours or so a night has a 100w equivalent. My garage is lit with the same. Our bathrooms though are using the old school bulbs as in humid environments when the CFL is "upside down" in fixtures they tend to fail rapidly in my experience - now that was more than a few years back the last we ran them in the bath, but fuck it..

LEDs are too expensive, even for the cheap ones, and I generally don't get irritated by the light the CFLs put out as you can indeed buy CFL's in the temperature range of light that you desire. I'm thinking that for the next ten+ years I'll continue to use my stash of CFL's before switching to LED for good... Seriously, I have about 20 60w equiv CFL's new in the box - power company sent them for free.
 

edro

Lifer
Apr 5, 2002
24,326
68
91
My local Costco has 60W equivalent LED lamps for $5 after instant $10 rebate from energy company.

I bought 2 of them to test out. So far, they are great. They dim well, have full brightness at turn-on, work just as well outdoors in the cold, have a nice uniform distribution.

I say go LED if you can afford the cost.
 

Doppel

Lifer
Feb 5, 2011
13,306
3
0
CFL's warmup is a pain, but I've moved to them in everything except my dimmable fixtures. I don't pay a huge premium for a crap bulb when incandescent dim work well.

Looking forward to going to LED but still far too expensive so haven't bothered getting one yet.
My local Costco has 60W equivalent LED lamps for $5 after instant $10 rebate from energy company.

I bought 2 of them to test out. So far, they are great. They dim well, have full brightness at turn-on, work just as well outdoors in the cold, have a nice uniform distribution.

I say go LED if you can afford the cost.
$5 for a 60W equiv LED is a great price.
 
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