Hate LED craze

hack_2

If you want soft mood lighting in relaxing areas of your home - and want to save energy - what are the options?

I like and have many table lamps with mixture of bayonet and screw fittings. But the so-called "soft tone" LED bulbs are anything but. To my mind, they've yet to come up with a LED bulb that is suitable for anywhere but the kitchen, hall or garage.

The best I've found are the compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) but they seem to be going out of fashion and harder to source. I do not mind their slow start-up (hardly important in the lounge) while the light is certainly softer going by the old ones I still have running.

Anyone have different suggestions?

Smiley_Dan

Dimmable LEDs? Thicker lightshades?

jamesd

Light output decreases as CFL and LEDs grow older so that may explain part of the difference.

You can find warmer white LEDs than the 2700k types that seem common. 2700k is about the same as an old tungsten filament bulb and usually called warm white. A candle flame would be around 1900K or sunset or sunrise around 2000-3000K. You can also try lower light output models.

You could also consider LED strips near to the ceiling that reflect off the upper wall and ceiling. The very diffuse light from these may give the effect that you're after.

Another possible approach is to use sets of lights and vary how many are turned on. I've considered schemes like a set of nine lights switched in groups of 1, 3 and 5 lights to let me use even non-dimmable LEDs to give seven brightness levels and mixed colour temperatures.

hack_2

jamesd wrote: »

You can find warmer white LEDs than the 2700k types that seem common. 2700k is about the same as an old tungsten filament bulb and usually called warm white. A candle flame would be around 1900K or sunset or sunrise around 2000-3000K. You can also try lower light output models.

That's interesting. Where can one source the warmer white LEDs?

I like the table lamps I have, so don't want to go down the dimming route. I have put the lowest watt LED bulbs I can find (5w "warm") in them but still blinding white and glaring to the eyes.

lstar337

hack wrote: »

That's interesting. Where can one source the warmer white LEDs

Virtually everywhere you can buy LED bulbs.

hack_2

lstar337 wrote: »

Virtually everywhere you can buy LED bulbs.

Not my experience. As jamesd said: "You can find warmer white LEDs than the 2700k types that seem common".

It's the uncommon ones I'm interested in!

Smiley_Dan

Yeah, most marketed as "warm white" are still pretty cold imo, I think the OP has a point, although the thread title is a bit shrill.

matelodave

Try here http://www.ledhut.co.uk/ lots to choose from. Warm white to bright white from dim to bright

hack_2

matelodave wrote: »

Try here [am barred from copying link!] lots to choose from. Warm white to bright white from dim to bright

A good web site with very helpful Chat Line. However, the advisor there said their "warm" white was minimum 3000k. Still to bright/white.

I want that old-fashioned glow. LED bulbs so far not up to it. But I don't see why when a LED screen, TV, can produce millions of shades/colours.

redux

hack wrote: »

But I don't see why when a LED screen, TV, can produce millions of shades/colours.

The TV screen is white LEDs as a backlight, with coloured liquid crystals in front.

Or there may be some screens with direct driven LEDs, but I'm not sure that they've upscaled to TV size yet, probably just mobile phone sizes.

Either way, the large range of colours is derived from just red green and blue dots, and combinations of different light levels of each.

hack_2

redux wrote: »

Or there may be some screens with direct driven LEDs, but I'm not sure that they've upscaled to TV size yet, probably just mobile phone sizes.

And why not downscale to golf ball bulb size?