Posted on 02/01/2016 11:14:05 AM PST by BenLurkin
By the end of the year, GE will cease production and sales of compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), the manufacturer announced this morning. Moving forward, the company's focus will fall entirely on halogen incandescents and on high-efficiency LEDs.
"CFL's kind of been the light bulb that everybody loves to hate," explained John Strainic, chief operating officer of GE Lighting, citing the history of complaints about CFL dimmer compatibility, brightness delay, and quality of light. Strainic says that the industry has come a long way, but admits that the perception of inferior performance lingers. "Ultimately, LED offers a better solution at a comparable price."
The move reflects the shifting landscape of the lighting aisle, where the phase-out of classic 40W and 60W incandescents has made room for more efficient options like LEDs and halogen incandescents. With the prices of those other options coming down considerably in the last few years, the relevance of CFLs has been in decline.
"You end up with a shelf that has (halogen) incandescents on one side and your energy-saving, longer-life LEDs on the other, and the CFLs in the middle get squeezed," Strainic said. "It's already happening."
Strainic also points out that Energy Star's efficiency standards are set to rise to 80 lumens per watt in 2017. When that happens, most compact fluorescents will no longer qualify for utility rebates. The wide majority of those rebate dollars will shift to LEDs, Strainic says
(Excerpt) Read more at cnet.com ...
There are now 98 CRI LEDs out there.
That is so cool. I love that taking care of your property, family and saving money. Awesome. Nothing better.
The class action lawyers are circling
I should have just bought a new, compatible fixture but, no, I had to rig up a reflection system to make my desk light work. But I love the bright, white light.
Two LED strips replaced four tubes in the kitchen.
Bingo!
RE: “OR, they have finally realized that they are on the hook for TRILLIONS of dollars in long-term environmental liability from the Mercury poisoning and landfill contaminations that are sure to come?”
Just checked, can’t find a single LED for sale with a CRI above low 90s at best, most are still under 90... Incandescent has a CRI of 100. So its still not comparable... a 10% difference is noticeable.
LED’s to me are like being in an operating room, white is too overpowering.
This reminds me I need to visit my storage facility for another box of 75 watt incandescents...
End the Obama Bulb era! Long live LEDs!!
Thank you. The Costco 2 pack deal looks like what I’m looking for, deal runs for a few weeks.
I put CFLs in the brooder and all my chicks froze to death.
I have ... well, let's call it "a number of" LED flashlights. (really, I don't have a problem, honest, I can stop anytime, I just choose not too) They work great, even the cheap ones (as in $1 to $2) have taken a beating and keep on working. Hardly ever need batteries - while my big high power lights (Fenix and Coleman) do cycle through my rechargeable batteries the little LEDs...gee I can't remember the last time I changed batteries. I think I have once in one light so far...
I have had an LED bulb in my back porch light for a year or two now. No issues, instant on hot or cold. I actually have some LED replacement lamps for my car's interior lights (map lights and dome light) on order and should get them this week. I am "this" close to pulling the trigger on a set of LED headlights for my car. However, still looking at the heat dissipation issues relative to the drive circuits for them. Oh, and the little thing that most of the aftermarket LED headlight kits are not DOT certified so there is some question of legality... I still may do it if I keep working long hours and driving to/from work in the dark.
We have a few CFLs around the house, never been a fan of them. Lower energy use sure, but some of them have died an early death, it is near impossible to find a color temp I like... I won't be sorry to see them fade away.
There are now LED’s on the market with a lower “color temperature” going back to 2011.
I bought some for my basement and my woodworking shop and I love them. If you get the Costco coupon book right now they have a $5 off per light coupon. I plan on purchasing four more to finish off my basement.
Sam’s club has 2 pack indoor floods for $5.95. Just bought a bunch today. A few more to go and I’ll have the whole interior replaced.
Just replaced my headlights with LEDs, they are fantastic!
Yep! You and me both are doing the same thing.
Slightly off topic, but slightly ON topic too:
The lighting trend for cannabis growing is heading quickly towards LEDs, and they can recreate the specific wavelengths required for both the vegetative (growing) stage (blue) and also the flowering stage (red).
The result is a replacement bulb having many blue LEDs and many red LEDs, which puts out a light that appears to the viewer as a mix of the 2 colors, purple.
I have previously bought LED alternative bulbs in past years and returned them after finding the light output was horrible (not tubes). Lately, I've bought some LED lights at Costco and am amazed at how they've improved at light output. I installed some LED lighting outside my tool sheds, and LED flood lights on my deck and they're bright. They are getting better at making them to replace round bulbs. I don't know about the tube form factor.
“I’m replacing all my lights with LEDs as I run out of replacement incandescents, and like the notion of “never have to replace it again”
Unfortunately, most of us probably will have to replace LEDs again. On one hand, the manufacturers claim LEDs will last tens of thousands of hours, equivalent to 22 years; however, their warranties have been reduced and do not reflect those rosy claims.
The LED lights have two flaws. They use phosphors just like the CFLs and will fade in intensity over time. Worse, the mechanical designs for heat dispersion and the components used (mainly capacitors) have been cheapened to reduce manufacturing costs, leading to premature failure. I have had several of them fail, always the power supply. Search YouTube for “LED teardown” and you can learn enough to decide which brands and models to buy.
I have already converted half of my house to LEDs, but I have no illusions about their longevity.
I don’t know what parameters exactly you need but here’s the wiki entry on the topic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_CRI_LED_lighting
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