Philips LED Light Bulb Uses Less Than 7W

[jp182]

[citation][nom]hairycat101[/nom]My experience is the same as yours. I put a bunch of those junky things in my basement (cuz I don't care what the lighting looks like there) thinking I would save money over the long haul and they just don't last at all. The box says they last for a lot longer then regular bulbs, but that is total crap. CFL's have horrible life spans, they cost 800% more and they have a "heating up" period before they really cast as much light as they say should.[/citation]

I know quite a few people, including myself, that use them and they've lasted for over a year now for outdoor and indoor situations in the Northeast. When its below freezing, it may take them a minute to heat up but that's fine by me. What brand of bulbs did you guys buy because you could have gotten a refund?

Oh and what does this have to do with LED's?

 

[Grims]

[citation][nom]JohnMD1022[/nom]I bought one 3-pak of CFLs... Lifespan: #1 lasted 2 weeks. #2 lasted 2 months. #3 lasted 4 months.A package of 4 incandescent bulbs costs under $1. A recent test we did showed an average life of approx 6 months.End of experiment.[/citation]

Then you should try and figure out what is screwed up with your electrical system before something more expensive then a 1 dollar bulb gets fried. I have had my whole house on the same bulbs for 4 years.

 

[hotshotmedic]

after switching to cfl's i can't remember the last time i changed a bulb, i guess to put them in. nice.

 

[joebob2000]

Strangely, all CFL bulbs are not created equal. From my personal testing:

No name CFLs from Wally world or Sammys: Lifespan 6 months. Light, dull and ugly. More power is needed to get acceptable illumination.

Sylvania or GE high-CRI blub: Lifespan 6 years or more. Light, bright and true. Less power needed because colors aren't dull.

Try your hand with a decent CF bulb (that you might have to pay, GASP, two dollars each for!) and you might have the same luck as me. If you can't think ahead and realize that you get what you pay for, then *please* stick with incandescents; you are probably the same guys that toss CFLs and old car batteries in the trash.

 

[T-Bone]

I can't stand CFLs. I tried them a few years ago and the color was horrible and the amount of light was abysmal. They were of the "expensive" flavor and have since never bought them again. I use 100W incandescent bulbs most of my house and have never found an equivalent. CFLs do take some time to get to full lighting ability regardless of the temp. I am hoping for an LED solution but seems tht it's not there yet. Also, I hear that CFLs are not good to use with dimmers so that also makes them not useful to me.

 

[jacobdrj]

CFL's have serious issues. Besides the enviromental, there is noticeable flicker with CFLs. They are very delicate, and due to their increased sufrace area, they are prone to get dirty, and are hard to clean. Also, they take a while to 'warm up' which is unacceptable for short term lighting situations. Like all FL, if you use it for a short time (a minute or less) you are effectively wasting energy by turning them on, over say, an incandecent bulb. CFL also, while cooler than incandecent, still emit significant heat, which in some situations is unacceptable. While the bulb may function for 5 years, CFLs loose their quality of light, and their flickering worsens over its life.

LEDs could solve at least some of these problems. From what I can tell from other LED sources, white LEDs flicker too. And due to their electronics on their base (AC/DC adapter, some microcircutry) they can get warm too, but perhaps less than CFLs. The color saturation is not so good on their higher lumen lights, but I don't mind the cooler shade for more lumens. LEDs also have issues with their directional light emission. They need diffusors. Finally, it all comes down to price, and right now, we don't know what it will be. If it is under 20 dolalrs, I will get one for my desk lamp (I have been in the market for a while). I just don't like CFLs, as the flickering is a significant issue. Hopefully, these LEDs won't produce noticeable flickering.

 

[TwoDigital]

The LED bulbs hold some promise. I detest the CFLs mainly because they change the color temperature of the room (I'm work part-time in photography.) They work okay for general use and I'm all for saving electricity now that the price has doubled on me the last few years.

We have a few CFL bulbs in some bedrooms and they've lasted 2 years already. We've been in our house for just over 5 years and almost all of our bulbs are old-timey incandescent and I bet over half of them I haven't had to change yet... I'm very happy with the value they provide. CFL is fine in places where I don't put pictures on the walls.

Looking forward to the brighter LEDs to start replacing those CFLs...

 

[dqswim]

Bring on the LED's and help get the mercury out of our houses. I just hope the price drops quickly. I really do not want any more CFL bulbs but I want the energy savings.

The government recommends that if you break a CFL bulb you should open the windows and then evacuate all people out of the room for 15 minutes.

http/www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#flourescent

Disposal of CFL's is the same as for other hazardous waste.

I really don't want to worry about these things if my toddler knocks a lamp over in the house. There are better things to worry about like the voltage on my overclocked cpu.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

If you've got a toddler at home, you shouldn't overclock your pc! You won't have the time to use it anyway, so might as well save a bit of energy running stock speed when it's idling away watching you change diapers...

 

[joebob2000]

[citation][nom]TwoDigital[/nom]The LED bulbs hold some promise. I detest the CFLs mainly because they change the color temperature of the room (I'm work part-time in photography.)[/citation]

CRI is much more important to photography (and ambiance in general) than color temperature is. Existing LED lamps have not been shown to be an improvement over CFLs in this regard (the same issue exists with color temperature, since the bulb will cover less of the spectrum) So, what makes you think that the new bulbs are any better? Current marketing material doesn't touch on this at all.

 

[hillarymakesmecry]

Electrical devices require 110 volts. Going over 120 could be dangerous depending on what it is. My local company regulates voltage at 117 volts to make sure voltage never falls below 110 when someone turns on another appliance. When a heavy draw appliance is turned on it can pull the voltage down a bit and would otherwise short out other devices in your house.

If any of you are curious about your area's voltage buy a meter and check it. Check your consumption too and save power! I've got a kill-a-watt meter.

A comprable 40 watt CFL only uses 9 watts and last 10-12 thousand hours so this isn't nearly as efficient as I'd hoped LEDs would. No mercury or lead sounds good, if you drop and break a CFL you've got to run away and open ventilation!

 

[norbs]

[citation][nom]joebob2000[/nom]Strangely, all CFL bulbs are not created equal. From my personal testing:No name CFLs from Wally world or Sammys: Lifespan 6 months. Light, dull and ugly. More power is needed to get acceptable illumination.Sylvania or GE high-CRI blub: Lifespan 6 years or more. Light, bright and true. Less power needed because colors aren't dull.Try your hand with a decent CF bulb (that you might have to pay, GASP, two dollars each for!) and you might have the same luck as me. If you can't think ahead and realize that you get what you pay for, then *please* stick with incandescents; you are probably the same guys that toss CFLs and old car batteries in the trash.[/citation]

Thank you! I was reading all those complaints about cfl, and all im thinking is Walmart special... I switched to CFL's and have had no problems but of course I did not just buy the lowest priced one and expect a miracle.

 

[gsacks]

Sounds like this is a step forward for LED lighting, but is still at the very early adopter stage. I recently found LED bulbs at Costco. Unfortunately, they had the same "not for use with dimmers" warning that CFL bulbs have. I am pretty sure there are LEDs out there that work with dimmers, but they are probably more expensive than the Costco variety. Personally, I use a combination of CFL, incandescent, halogen, traditional florescent, and LED bulbs in my house. The LEDs are kitchen counter spotlights, CFL most everywhere else, except halogens (GU10) in my office, and incandescent in my bathrooms, where the lights are only on for short time frames and my dining room where they provide the best 'mood' lighting. I don't get why people look at a technology and knock it because it does not work for %100 of their uses. For proper, efficient lighting, use the combination of bulbs that works best in each room. And don't buy cheap bulbs, CFL or otherwise.

My personal experience with CFL is that the dimmer compatible variety still don't work very well. Their low end is still too bright, and they have a high failure rate, probably due to poor dimmer switches/wiring. The no name varieties at Lowes and very poor quality. Costo are slightly better, and Home Depot better still. The name brands, GE and Philips, are still the most reliable.

 

[jacobdrj]

Well you are not supposed to use a dimmer, because of the AC/DC converter in each and every CFL: The transformer is converting the electricity as best it can to the minimum nessacary current to excite the gas molicules inside the tube. By 'dimming' it, you are only making the transformer run less efficiantly, causing it to 'undervolt' and 'burn out', with minimal brightness decreas, but flickering increase.

 

[68vistacruiser]

Some CFL's are made to work with dimmers. I initially bought the cheapest 60 watt eq. CFL's, and they died pretty quick. But I noticed the 100 watt eq. CFL's I was using for my outside lights were not burning out. As a matter of fact, it's been several years now without changing any one of the originals. So I bought the 100 watt eq. CFL's for my basement, and I've been very happy with them. CFL's are also very good for trouble lights, as they don't heat up enough to burn your skin. They tend to take a drop pretty well, too.

 

[vaskodogama]

in some years:::
incandescent: BAAAAAADDDDD!!!
CFL: GOOOOOODDD!!!!
LED: GRREEEAAAATTT!!!
end of talking nonsense

 

[emcinerney]

Anyone know if these are compatible with dimmer switches? Some LED bulbs are, but many are not and it's often not clearly labled.

 

[kato128]

Can't say I've ever had issues with the CFLs. I got mine for free at some green energy promotion at a shopping centre a few years back and they're still alive and kicking. They take a bit to warm up sometimes (especially when its -7C) but generally they're pretty good.
Would be nice to have the immediacy of LEDs tho

 

[bin1127]

7 watt to repace 40 isn't bad. Though this is probably just the beginning since most incan lights are 60W. If they want to really help the enviro though please do something to replace halogen. a 30W alternative to halogen would be a huge difference.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

[citation][nom]bin1127[/nom]If they want to really help the enviro though please do something to replace halogen. a 30W alternative to halogen would be a huge difference.[/citation]
Those do more or less exist. In 2001 I was becomming a firefighter (obligatory military service), and they had 500W halogens ofcourse, but they also had some lamps they called goliath lamps. They look more or less the same, but they've got a plastic cover and work like CFL's. Slightly less bright, but still very good compared to the kinds of lamps you have at home. They used those mainly so they didn't have to run the generators too hard. I'm sure these lamps have become better over time. I don't know their rating though - I didn't care about being there in the first place to be honest.