Posted on 02/16/2014 10:23:31 AM PST by EinNYC
Well, one of the 3 CFL bulbs in my kitchen ceiling fan light fixture has now burned out. The 2 still-functioning bulbs are candelabra-base dimmable CFL bulbs with the teardrop at the end. They lasted about a year or two. I am wondering if this burned out bulb is an opportunity for me to finally take the plunge into LED bulbs as a replacement.
What experiences have FReepers had with candelabra-base omnidirectional LED bulbs with a 40W incandescent equivalence, in the 2700-3000K range (so it looks natural and not like the kitchen is under an interrogation light)?
I heartily thank all contributors to my knowledge base in advance!
From what I’ve seen the first generation of LED lights burned hot.
The ones I’ve purchased recently are much better.
What type of LED are you talking about that is hotter than an incandescent? I’ve never seen an LED that even got warm to the touch, much less anywhere as hot as an incandescent.
A hot light runs counter to efficiency because aeverything that goes to heat is waste. LEDs have heat problems only at the surface of the emitters, but you’d be hard pressed to feel it without putting you finger directly on one.
I find CFLs to be under bright and they don’t last nearly as long as advertised. Haven’t tried LED.
We remodeled our kitchen a year ago and the laws required us to put in “high efficacy” lighting. We chose LEDs which caused a HUGE increase in the kitchen budget. The LEDs are in recessed fixtures, not globe lights like you are considering. We also installed “Diode LED” under-cabinet lighting to light the counter tops. The recessed fixtures cannot have removable bulbs (too many people were cheating and tearing out the LED and putting in regular incandescent bulbs), so the LED element is permanently attached.
1. Likes.
* Low electricity consumption (grasping at straws). But our kitchen lights are not on enough to notice any difference in the electricity bill (it’s dominated by the electric oven, electric dryer, and refrigerator).
* No mercury in the bulbs. If the God damned government is going to force me to install things I don’t want, then at least there’s a mercury-free alternative.
2. Dislikes.
* Turn-on lag. There is maybe a 300 - 400 msec before the lights come on.
* Light quality sucks. Even though we got “warm” LEDs, they still have a light quality like those high-intensity headlights we all hate.
* Strobe effect on the under cabinet light strips when pouring food out of boxes, especially cereal.
* Poor dimming. I went through several dimmers before finding one that works on the under cabinet LED strips. The last dimmer seems to have “solved” the problem by not letting you turn the light down very far.
* Unstable dimming. With a couple of dimmers on the under cabinet lights, the lights would periodically “flash” to higher intensity. This is a common problem with dimming LEDs.
I haven’t tried a dimmer yet on the recessed LED cans. That’s up next. Maybe the Cree bulbs in the recessed lights will work better with dimmers than the under cabinet LEDs.
Luckily we’ve got traditional incandescent bulbs in our pendant lights and chandelier light in the DR — instant on, excellent dimming, no flicker, warm light. Plus I’ve got enough Edison base traditional incandescent bulbs stashed away to last the rest of my lifetime.
Bottom line: Do I like LEDs? No, not yet, as much as I wanted to like them. Eff the Government for this travesty. These things are really not ready for commercial sale.
Based on 2 hours a day, 4 days a week, computed on a 26 week year. Or something like that in the fine print.
My bathroom has no windows and the light switch is in an awkward position to try to find.
I bought a small lamp and put a 10w CFL in it. It is on 24-7. It provides enough light for general bathroom use.
The CFL burned out just a few weeks ago, so I replace it with another. It ran 24/7 for about 4 years.
I replaced most of my lights with CFL years ago. I have only had 2 burn out. One was in a dining area light fixture; that bulb only lasted a few weeks. Its replacement still works. The other was the bathroom lamp light mentioned above.
I figure the lesser utility bills for the last 8 years have more than paid for the CFLs. I haven’t tried the LEDs yet, as they are still kind of expensive.
Mine are made by Utilitech, sold at Lowes. I had to do some adjustments on them and they run hotter than incandescents probably due to all the ceramic. They are well built and heavy. If they hold up to their advertised life I will get at least 12 years from them.
1) ISTR LEDs run at about 5VDC (do they even work on AC?) and very low (VERY low) wattage. Hence the savings.
2) One HAS to step 110/120VAC down to ~5volts (and DC?) so there has to be SOMEthing in the bulb base to achieve that. What is it? Transformer? Transistors for AC-to-DC? Selenium rectifiers (does anyone even use those any more)?
Is the circuitry (?) garanteed as long as the LED? I ask because my neighborhood is known for outages and surges; not clean power.
I was just pointing out the absurdity. When congress shoved them down our throats they told us they would last forever.
In the last year I’ve started slowly replacing incandescent a and CFLs around the house with the 40 and 60W equivalents that Lowes is selling for less than 10$ (the 40W’ers I’ve been catching on sale some times <7$). I have some over the kitchen sink with a dimmer switch that we have left on 24x7 for months now as task lights day and evening and night lights when we go to bed.
So far I really like them.The light has a slight tinge of blue that I only notice when I look at them directly and they seem brighter than rated equivalents when I put them next to incandescents. The 40w equivalents are much brighter than 40w incandescents and indistinguishable from 60w. And similarly the 60w equivalents are brighter too. Unlike the CFLs that seem to cook their bases within a year or so of use in the overhead fixtures, the LEDs look good as new- I never notice any heat from them even after leaving them on all day.
Been using the CFL (dimmible type) in my kitchen. They burn out almost as fast as incandesent.
I’l be switching to (warm light) LED’s as soon as i use up the CFL’s
I also wonder if LEDs will work in Hunter ceiling fan light kits. Hunter told me, several years ago, that CFL lights would not work with their ceiling fans with remotes. However, I found that so long as I used DIMMABLE CFL bulbs, they worked perfectly with the remotes.
What is the difference between DIMMABLE CFL bulbs and regular CFL bulbs, that the dimmies worked just fine? Does the same situation exist with LEDs? Do I need dimmable LEDs or is it a totally different technology, so it doesn't matter?
Sorry, I just grab the cheapest ones at Home Depot - so I have no feedback on what brands to use. And, all of mine are conventional, not decorative types.
I have two LED lights in my ceiling. They get so hot, I cannot touch them very long. If you look at these bulbs they have a heat sink and fins to dissipate the heat.
They were $30 each and one of them has burned out already.
My best guess is that they measure electrical use AFTER the transformer to sell us on how energy efficient they are.
CFLs are not dsimmable! W Their RF/transforner ckts are not meant for use on dimmers! That's a real good way to start a fire, AFIK.
I own/rent property and have put in dimmers everywhere to prevent CFL/mercury hazard from CFLs. hen my tenants move in, they get halogen bulbs for every installed light fixture. My rules ban the use of CFLs. If the halogens burn out, they supply incandescents or halogen replacements. Once every year, they get a free halogen for any fixture that they had to provide an incandesct.
Halogen bulbs have the old incandescent screw bases and bulb shape, with another, smaller bulb inside that profile. these halogens have filaments and are dimmable. They give the same light on 40% lower power as the same incandescents.
Remember, in the winter, the heat generated from any bulb warms the house and reduces the fuel bill. Filament lights only need extra energy for cooling in the summer, not the winter.
GET THE HALOGEN BULBS.
LED’s are expensive, but the candelabra bulbs run below $10 I think.
LED’s run hot because they are powered via DC while being supplied AC — that means there is an AC-DC converter built into the base.
LED’s have a 1/3, 2/3 life span. At 1/3 they’re 20% dimmer, at 2/3 they are over 35% dimmer.
LED’s come in 10w, 5w, 3w, 1w and then lower. The higher the Wattage the brighter the LED and the Hotter it’s likely to get.
Cree seems to be the premier manufacturer of LED’s for home lighting (meaning quality).
I stocked up on incandescents last year.
My CFL’s don’t last if they are mounted to a ceiling that is also a floor. The vibrations kill them I expect. My kids bang around a lot. In the upstairs they do much better. I prefer the LED’s but something inside won’t let me pay 25 bucks for a light bulb.
I detest CFLs and have had nothing but bad experiences with them. When prices came down for 60w and 40w equivalent bulbs, I tried them.
I love them. The 60w equivalents from Ikea are my favorite 60w, but the Great Value ones from Walmart are very good too. I use a combination of 40w and 60w bulbs around the house. The GV daylight bulbs are almost too bright. The Cree ones from Home Depot aren’t as good as the other two, but they’ll do in a pinch.
I’ve had great success on getting outdoor LED floods from Amazon. I love them. They are still pretty expensive though at about $25 each for 100w equivalent. They’re awesomely bright. Using 80%+ less electricity for lighting without dealing with hazmat teams or crappy bulbs that don’t come on until they’re ready? Yes, please!
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