Google Invested $3 Million in Cree LED Lightbulbs

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Anomalyx

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I'm just glad to hear that LED lighting is still gaining momentum. I hate the light CFLs give off. Personally I'm a fan of sunlight (computer nerd who likes sunlight... isn't that the strangest thing you've ever heard?), but for artificial lighting I like LED light because it's cheap to power and doesn't hurt my eyes/head like fluorescent lighting does, whether it be compact or not. My only complaint is the ridiculous dimness and blueness of any LED light bulbs I've been able to find so far. I'll be more than happy to buy some bright white ones when the technology gets more robust.
 

rbarone69

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I love the comments from the people who have NEVER seen these lamps... The quality of light is amazing and most importantly what people FAIL to realize is that the cost savings of not having to change out CF or F tubes over 15 years pays for the cost of the LED lamp. Not even considering the power savings, just the time and replacement cost (yes Google does pay their maintenance staff to replace bulbs).

Cost isn't a problem with LED bulbs, it's the upfront cost. It's a soft sell to people who dont look into the long term use of the product. I can say that the quality of light is supurb with CREE products and the TCO over 15 years is much lower than other bulbs that only cost a few dollars! So product is better, has a lower TCO, no special disposal, dimmable, yada yada.
 

ratn9ne

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To everyone that says "who cares about LED bulbs because CFL's are brighter and cheaper"..... how many CFL's have you had to replace? As a rental manager i have installed hundreds of CFL's. They suck. They over-heat and burn out like crazy. If they get damp they break, if the are cold they take forever to get to full power. I am now putting $30 Phillips LED bulbs in hard-to-replace fixtures because CFLs have pissed me off so much. Yes, LEDs are too expensive NOW, but they are great and will be competitive within a few years.
 

robochump

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Many complain about the initial cost of LEDs and forget how long they last. The life of an LED bulb is many times that of a conventional incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. So a person sticking to the old bulbs may come close to spending the amount of money over the duration of 1 LED bulb. LED will be the standard lighting tech in the years to come once the short comings of LED lighting is solved.
 

Onus

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In six years, I think I've had to replace only three of my 29-30 CFLs (although I can tell that a few are getting near EOL). Light quality has been satisfactory-good throughout their lives, and none of them "failed" prematurely, such as by overheating or getting damp.
Yes, I've seen some of the new LEDs, if only at expos near where I work. They look very promising. For home use, however, I disagree that TCO on them is yet as low as for CFLs.
 
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Will these work in an X10 environment? One CFL on any outlet in my home makes X10 unusable because of all the line noise produced.
 
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for the "color" prob on the LEDs:

they ARE white, not blue.
just because people are used to the yellowish look of CFLs, doesnt change the neutral white the LEDs put out.
it appears to be blueish, but its just clean white...
 

rbarone69

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[citation][nom]audi5000[/nom]for the "color" prob on the LEDs:they ARE white, not blue.just because people are used to the yellowish look of CFLs, doesnt change the neutral white the LEDs put out.it appears to be blueish, but its just clean white...[/citation]

Yes but soft light is what people want.

CREE makes 3 color chips that allow you to adjust color temp.


[citation][nom]kwd68[/nom]Will these work in an X10 environment? One CFL on any outlet in my home makes X10 unusable because of all the line noise produced.[/citation]

They should work just fine, only DC voltage to power. They are after all just diodes.
 
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To correct a few things.

a) CFLs do have burnout issues. With two houses having over 80 bulbs between them, I find nearly half of the "5 year guaranteed lifetime" GE bulbs to burn out in less than one year. Most other brands do better, but still have issues, and one Chinese brand I tried was even worse.

b) Mercury in CFLs is a bugbear invented by eco-fascists. The amounts are far, far too small to be a concern.

c) Computing TCO on light bulbs is more complex than computing the difference in watts used vs. bulb price. If you're in a warm climate, for instance, you'll save more than that, whereas in a very cold climate you'll save less (think about it a bit, and you should understand why).

d) LED bulbs are not nearly as green as you think they are. Why do you think a bulb costs $40? Because it requires (minus a little profit) $40 worth of energy and other resources to produce it.
 
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LED light bulbs are expensive but they last about 17 years, so the investment makes sense in that regard. CREE is getting them to the point were they can compete with CFLs and incandescents; the cash infusion from Google will only help.

Incandescents are gone, though. The US will be joining the European ban in 2012. I think the real issue with CFL is their mercury content. They'll be gone too, someday soon. www.ledlightforhomes.com
 
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