CFLs or LEDs?

[RGN]

I've been slowly switching out the CFL's for LED. Just found some decent Sylvania Candelabra base 40w equivalent at Menardsfor the ceiling fan lights.

The Commercial Electric (home depot brand) 40-watt edison base two-pack for $15 are good for non-dimable locations. They throw a lot of light for supposedly a 40-watt replacement at a decent cost.

I'll have to check and see if that costco has that deal local to me.

 

[rh71]

I don't really see CFLs as saving me money in a practical sense because of the up front cost but I got them for both the living room and the home office because those lights are constantly on every night and it just makes me feel better. I'm using 2 dimmable CFLs in hi-hats in the office and they're great other than the fact that they take almost a minute to warm up to full brightness. I think dimmable is kind of pointless considering how dim they are already, but I needed this kind since the light switch is the dimming version, otherwise the CFLs make a constant noise.

 

[T9D]

I despise CFL's. The colors always suck and are way to different from each brand or price range. They suck bad in the cold and take forever to heat up and get brighter. They burn out way way before they say they should.

I only use LED now. Super happy with them. The Philips are pretty much the best I think. Still expensive though. But they are very heavy duty. I could see them actually lasting 20 years.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APTS03K/...I2AQYBBFMS1W6K

 

[Number1]

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.

Wow, just wow. Candle or oil lamps give the best light?????

What are you smoking?

 

[PieIsAwesome]

I just bought a bunch 60w equivalent bulbs to test out.

Original CFLs: Crap
GE Reveal Halogen: Slight green hue, otherwise nice clean light
GE Reveal Incandescent: Haven't tried yet
GE Reveal CFL: Actually I thought these were pretty good. Everything looks clear and colorful, though there is a tad of a warm, pinkish hue on whites. Its very subtle. Also cheap, 4 for $10. Better than the halogens, will see how they compare to the incandescent.
Cree 93 CRI LED: Best one. Beautiful. But it was $20 for one.

 

[destrekor]

Wow, just wow. Candle or oil lamps give the best light?????

What are you smoking?

Technically, I think they are measured in the same capacity as the incandescent lightbulb, in that, by definition, they are also incandescent. I believe they share the same properties.

Which is to say, while their color temperature is too low for color critical viewing, they should have a CRI of 100 for that temperature.
Ideally, objects lit by candlelight will appear almost 100% the same (all colors identifiable to the same degree, same tonality and color shifts (to red/yellow)) as if lit by sunrise or sunset light, especially a clear sunrise.

 

[Number1]

Technically, I think they are measured in the same capacity as the incandescent lightbulb, in that, by definition, they are also incandescent. I believe they share the same properties.

Which is to say, while their color temperature is too low for color critical viewing, they should have a CRI of 100 for that temperature.
Ideally, objects lit by candlelight will appear almost 100% the same (all colors identifiable to the same degree, same tonality and color shifts (to red/yellow)) as if lit by sunrise or sunset light, especially a clear sunrise.

You're just as retarded as he is. What's so superior about reading a book by candlelight? The constant flickering? The risk of fire? Having to relight it if there is a little bit of wind?

Or if your reading by oil lamp I guess you must develop a taste for the smell of oil burning. And don't forget the hassle of having to refuel the lamp every so often, the fact that you have to handle a dangerous oil filled appliance in your home and the associated risk of fire and burns.

 

[Engineer]

cfl's for me, led's still cost too much

This, especially if you can get CFL's on sale or subsidized (or both).

 

[Imp]

cfl's for me, led's still cost too much

LEDs are supposed to last longer in that they last their actual advertised run-times because they're not as sensitive to on/off cycles as CFLs -- so I heard.

I went on an LED bulb binge last year. Got a bunch of Ikea and Philips bulbs. My room's main light is a 60W Philips. The "backlight" for my computer is an Ikea 40W. Side, desk lamp is an Ikea 25W, and I have a table lamp with a newer 40W.

I have no idea how they perform with dimmers. What I've read is that they "need" dimmers designed for LEDs/CFLs because they don't function like incandescent bulbs, but people have managed to get them to work. Some bulbs are advertised as dimmable, others non-dimmable, etc.

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.

Here's a ~60W equivalent (800 lumen) LED:
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/105w-led-household-a19/822307

Going off on a tangent... Holy crap, there's finally a 100W equivalent LED! Highest I saw was 75W for $40.
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/22w-led-a-line-household/816315
it's been "on sale" for months, IIRC.

 

[Jeff7]

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.

Dimming is typically done by dicing the sinusoidal voltage available on the line, done with a fairly simple triac-based circuit.
This page does a nice job of explaining it.
In short, the triac dimmer messes with the sinusoidal line voltage, only allowing a portion of the power to get to the lightbulb. The second image at Digikey link shows this. That's great for a simple filament of wire. It's not so good if that wacky waveform is fed into a power supply that would be perfectly happy to filter it down to a stable DC voltage output. Something special is done on the input to allow the voltage regulator to "see" the changes to the incoming waveform.
Then the output turns the LEDs on and off very quickly (PWM). A good one will do this thousands of times a second. This rapid on-off cycling makes the LEDs appear to dim.

LED

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

That's a negative where you have long winters.

Unless your primary source of heat is cheaper than your electrical rates.

Incandescent light bulbs are primarily electrical heating elements. Only a small amount of the input power ends up as visible light.

 

[Thegonagle]

In the recent past, LEDs weren't more energy efficient (in lumens per watt) than CFLs except for lower wattage units, and their CRIs and color temperatures still needed work.

Now that LEDs are beginning to rival and surpass CFLs in color, output, and efficiency, they're becoming attractive for general use. Now that prices are falling into the $10-20 range for nice ones, people are starting to buy more and more of them--people including me.

 

[lxskllr]

Just cleaned up one of my Dietz Little Wizards. I forgot about it until this thread. They were in the garage, and got a bit rusty. One of them looks pretty bad. I'll have to go over it carefully when I get more time to devote to it, but the other is in pretty good shape. A little rust, but it lights like a champ. Can't wait until it's dark, and I can properly use it.

Web shot of the world renowned Little Wizard...

 

[Gillbot]

Just cleaned up one of my Dietz Little Wizards. I forgot about it until this thread. They were in the garage, and got a bit rusty. One of them looks pretty bad. I'll have to go over it carefully when I get more time to devote to it, but the other is in pretty good shape. A little rust, but it lights like a champ. Can't wait until it's dark, and I can properly use it.

Web shot of the world renowned Little Wizard...

I have a few of these, a couple branded from old railroad companies!

 

[HeXen]

^I got one that looks similar to that......takes 4 D batteries

You're just as retarded as he is. What's so superior about reading a book by candlelight? The constant flickering? The risk of fire? Having to relight it if there is a little bit of wind?

Or if your reading by oil lamp I guess you must develop a taste for the smell of oil burning. And don't forget the hassle of having to refuel the lamp every so often, the fact that you have to handle a dangerous oil filled appliance in your home and the associated risk of fire and burns.

And to think our species has survived for hundreds of years with all the dangers of being able to see using fire.
It's only dangerous if you're stupid and personally I think everyone should go back to lamps just to burn down all the stupid people.

 

[lxskllr]

I have a few of these, a couple branded from old railroad companies!

That's cool having railroad lanterns. I'd like to have an original red lens. Globes can bought for a regular lantern, but I want one that was intended to be red from the start.

 

[Gillbot]

That's cool having railroad lanterns. I'd like to have an original red lens. Globes can bought for a regular lantern, but I want one that was intended to be red from the start.

I have boxes of "parts" too, including original colored globes. A family member used to work on the OLD railroads and left it all to me.

 

[lxskllr]

I have boxes of "parts" too, including original colored globes. A family member used to work on the OLD railroads and left it all to me.

Lucky :^)

 

[Number1]

^I got one that looks similar to that......takes 4 D batteries



And to think our species has survived for hundreds of years with all the dangers of being able to see using fire.
It's only dangerous if you're stupid and personally I think everyone should go back to lamps just to burn down all the stupid people.

Fuck me, how stupid are people in here? Yes, by all mean, go back to using oil lanterns, give the lantern to your 7 years old so she can read a book in bed.

But let me ask you, why in the world has the civilized world moved away from using oil lamps and candles to see in the dark?

You fucking assholes are precious.

 

[destrekor]

You're just as retarded as he is. What's so superior about reading a book by candlelight? The constant flickering? The risk of fire? Having to relight it if there is a little bit of wind?

Or if your reading by oil lamp I guess you must develop a taste for the smell of oil burning. And don't forget the hassle of having to refuel the lamp every so often, the fact that you have to handle a dangerous oil filled appliance in your home and the associated risk of fire and burns.

Fuck me, how stupid are people in here? Yes, by all mean, go back to using oil lanterns, give the lantern to your 7 years old so she can read a book in bed.

But let me ask you, why in the world has the civilized world moved away from using oil lamps and candles to see in the dark?

You fucking assholes are precious.

Holy shit, why so butt hurt? Did a candle kill your parents or something batman?


I don't own any candles or oil lamps. Nothing was said about the efficiency, ease of use, and/or maintenance factors of lighting - the only thing discussed was quality of light, at least regarding my post specifically. Quality of light has nothing to do with any other factor except the actual light output.

Ignoring flicker and smoke and anything else, they have high-quality light. There are better sources available, namely the incandescent, for the same actual quality of light, with none of the drawbacks of candle light, though it does add the wasted electricity. Other high CRI lighting is also available.

 

[HeXen]

Fuck me, how stupid are people in here? Yes, by all mean, go back to using oil lanterns, give the lantern to your 7 years old so she can read a book in bed.

But let me ask you, why in the world has the civilized world moved away from using oil lamps and candles to see in the dark?

You fucking assholes are precious.

I think the problem is you're just being a jerk about it and have no common knowledge to realize that even 7 year olds can properly use a lantern...how the fuck do you think families did it in the past? Like I said we wouldn't even exist anymore if everyone was as stupid as you childishly like to call them.
Obviously you never used a lantern before, it's not fucking hard unless your too fat to function around one.

 

[Number1]

Here I am arguing with people who don't understand that modern lighting is FAR superior to oil and candle lighting..

Unbelievable.

 

[Jeff7]

Here I am arguing with people who don't understand that modern lighting is FAR superior to oil and candle lighting..

Unbelievable.

Green is a superior color over all others, therefore anyone who likes yellow is a dick.



A flame serves as a reasonable blackbody emitter, like the primary light source that our eyes evolved to work under. It's going to be on the warm end of the color spectrum scale, but it's still going to give good color reproduction.

And, like favorite colors, some people simply like the look of candlelight, just as some prefer 5000K color temperature lights, while others want 2700K.

 

[Number1]

Green is a superior color over all others, therefore anyone who likes yellow is a dick.



A flame serves as a reasonable blackbody emitter, like the primary light source that our eyes evolved to work under. It's going to be on the warm end of the color spectrum scale, but it's still going to give good color reproduction.

And, like favorite colors, some people simply like the look of candlelight, just as some prefer 5000K color temperature lights, while others want 2700K.

How can anybody say with a straight face that a candle is a better lighting source than a CFL, incandescent or LED bulb?

The only people who use oil or candle lighting are stuck in third world countries and they can only dream of having modern illumination means.

Maybe some of the idiots who think oil or candle lighting are a superior way of seeing in the dark should move to Somalia or North Korea.

 

[PlanetJosh]

CFLs are too hot for the summertime if that bothers you. In the winter it's ok with me, the heat from CFLs helps battle the cold a bit. So I use CFLs in the cold months and swap in the LEDs in the warmer months. Actually I should just use the LEDs all year round to save on the bill.

I realize some LEDs put out some heat too. But there's one brand that makes a 11 watt LED bulb that's not hot at all, it's considered cool, meaning only lightly warm to the touch. And it has the brightness of a 60 watt incandescent bulb. It's made by Light Efficient Design model #1694. The drawback is it's big and may not fit in some lamps. I realize new LEDs are out that are much smaller with high light intensity but AFAIK they are all kind of hot.

 

[destrekor]

Here I am arguing with people who don't understand that modern lighting is FAR superior to oil and candle lighting..

Unbelievable.

You have an IQ less than 80, don't you?

Your reading comprehension leaves much to be desired.