LED light bulbs getting better

Lube

I have heard LED bulbs are only good for highlighting and not for main lighting but it seems the break through may be here

The article claims they last 30 years if sued 4 hours a day and better than the normal compact fluorescents, eh snag is the price £30 and only up to 60w but 100w available end of next year


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1222614/The-light-bulb-lasts-25-year-Its-environmentally-friendly-bright-old-ones--cost-30.html

On sale below

http://www.ryness.co.uk/productslist.aspx?CategoryID=43

Lube

Lemnis Pharox Dimmable BC 6W LED Bulb - A Shape 2700K

Advantages of the Pharox LED lamp:
- Dimmable with standard dimmer switch
- High energy saving
- Uses only 6 Watt
- Can replace up to a 60W incandescent bulb
- 25 year lifetime (50000 Hours)
- Warm white light
- Does not get hot, safe for children



Warm white 2700K Similar to light from an incandescent bulb, distinctly yellow.
Soft white 3500K Whiter than an incandescent bulb, but still somewhat yellow.
Cool white 4100K A more neutral white often used in offices.
Daylight 6400K A distinctly bluish white, close to the colour of natural light.

gearjunkie

I bought some GU10 4.5W LED bulbs to replace the halogen lights in our kitchen they were supposed to be the equivilant to a 50W halogen but they wern't even close.
I was really disapointed as LED's seem like such a good idea. I've got an LED torch thats bright enough so why can't they manage to make light bulbs that bright? (maybe i should tape my torch to the ceiling!)

Maybe these dimmable ones are better. Would be good to hear from someone who's used them.

elstimpo

gearjunkie wrote: »

I bought some GU10 4.5W LED bulbs to replace the halogen lights in our kitchen they were supposed to be the equivilant to a 50W halogen but they wern't even close.
I was really disapointed as LED's seem like such a good idea. I've got an LED torch thats bright enough so why can't they manage to make light bulbs that bright? (maybe i should tape my torch to the ceiling!)

Maybe these dimmable ones are better. Would be good to hear from someone who's used them.

You cannot dim LED bulbs. The LED needs to max power possible to actually illuminate. I have been researching LED's for over 10 years and most of the products on the market are total rubbish. In fact i have tested the new products B&Q have stocked today. Packaging is wonderful, the benefits of LED are highlighted well. The product is terrible. £8 for an LED which once it is in your light fitting hardly provides any decent light at all.

I have wanted to sell LED bulbs for a long long time, but the fact is, there has never really been a product that i would deem good enough to sell. I have however now found products that are good enough. The very best ones will be £20-£30 per bulb at the moment, and they really are top class with huge benefits for the users and environment. They are expensive and not many people will buy them at that price, so i am flying out to Asia in 3 weeks to view some medium priced bulbs to see if they are up to the grade. If they are then they will be £10-£20 each.

Please be very careful when buying LED products. They make all sorts of claims that they last 25 years. Well, they can, the best ones can anyway, but the cheaper ones won't. No question about it. Also many of the claims about lifespan of an LED are based on the lifespan of the chip in the LED, which can still be operational despite the bulb not working. A lot of the current LED's on the market under £20 per bulb do not actually have the benefits over standard energy saving bulbs that they claim. Very little will be saved on energy bills in the short term and as i have said they won't last the time they have suggested they will. Obviously LED's contain no mercury, which means landfill sites do not get the huge volume of broken, hazardous bulbs. This is actually one of the main reasons for buying LED.

My website will be launching in the next 1-2 months and will contain not only LED bulbs that have passed my own quality tests, but also various other quality LED products.

As i say, it's taken me 10 years to find products i want to sell to consumers.

If anyone has any question regarding LED's then please let me know. Otherwise i will hopefully have a website that i will open up to discussion on here (if i am allowed to) as i have products that can save you money, save waste, save energy, look good and produce a light better than you have seen before. All the things every single LED promises to do but doesn't.

Thanks

prowla

LEDs have pretty much taken over on bicycles now, out-perform hand-held torches, and appear in cars too.
It's only a matter of time before they're mainstream for household lighting.
Though you can't dim an LED, it would be possible to provide a dimming feature by having a cluster of LEDs and switching individual ones on/off to alter the collective amount of light being emitted.

stevehead

prowla wrote: »

Though you can't dim an LED, it would be possible to provide a dimming feature by having a cluster of LEDs and switching individual ones on/off to alter the collective amount of light being emitted.

This isn't true. I've got yards of LED coving lighting in my living room that dims just fine. I use a 12v PWM dimmer designed for mobile homes. This will also extend their life as it will reduce the emitter temperature.

I also have quite a few LED Digital watches from the early 1970's which are still burning bright. Anyone got any 35 year old light bulbs that still work?

savemoney

You can dim led bulbs according to that link


Lemnis Pharox Dimmable BC 6W LED Bulb - A Shape 2700K The Dimmable Pharox LED bulb will replace an 60Watt incandescent but uses 90% less energy. £29.95 More details...

stevehead

elstimpo wrote: »

In fact i have tested the new products B&Q have stocked today. Packaging is wonderful, the benefits of LED are highlighted well. The product is terrible. £8 for an LED which once it is in your light fitting hardly provides any decent light at all.

I would go so far as to suggest that B&Q are doing untold damage to the widespread acceptance of LED lighting. If I bought one of their 8 quid LED's I'd feel mighty disappointed, wouldn't buy another one and tell all my friends that LED's are rubbish!

Nichia's are my fav Halogen replacements - gorgeous.

prowla

...as I said, you can get dimmable LED bulbs.

(sidles out of room, whistling noncalantly...)

NeverInDebt

Just as long as you dont advertise your web site here elstimpo

elstimpo

With regards to that 'dimmable' bulb, they infer it is replacement for 60W GLS ( incandescent ) and say it has a lumenens efficacy of around 336-360 lumens.

A60W GLS is around 700 Lumens which is what is needed to light an area effectively.

By all means buy a 'dimmable' LED but it simply will not work and the Lumens show this.

I will change my statement 'All 'dimmable' LED's are a complete waste of time.