BBC Article on LED Lighting

[Dos_Box]

Whilst not strictly IT related, this is a very interesting item from them: BBC News - The LED lighting revolution

We have been looking at LED bulbs for the home and anything that provides more light for less power than current 'power saving' bulbs can't be a bad thing. I remember as a kid having to wait for the TV and radiogram (ask Bossman!) to warm up before you could use them. That's what current energy saving bulbs are like!

[elsiegee40]

I've been looking at them too... the problem is the cost! An LED equivalent for the bulb in my bedside light was £10 in homebase! Standard energy saving bulbs were very expensive when we first converted back in the days of yore... they're much cheaper now. Hopefully the LED ones will come down in price in the not too distant future.

[sted]

ive replaced one of teh light fittings in my living room with an led light from ikea KLOR LED pendant lamp - IKEA and while its bright its very directional (unlike a normal or even energy bulb) its about as high as it will go and if there was no furnture in the room you would see a definate circle of light and outside of that it gets dark quickly. Other than that its lovely and bright and a decent colour

[DavidIrwin]

Hey,

I have purchased quite a few of these now to replace GU10 Halogen lamps in my kitchen and bathroom as well as for family members. They cost me £10 each, and replace a 40w halogen with like for like light output (colour and brightness). Took me a long time to find something which did not look different (mostly down to the colour of the light).

 

I realise these are not listed on Amazon any more, but I have seen them more recently in Wickes. Be Carefuls as the MyAmbiance lamps diffuse the light much wider and so do not provide as much "brightness" to the room. They are however dimmable

 

Dave

[Dos_Box]

Hey,

I have purchased quite a few of these now to replace GU10 Halogen lamps in my kitchen and bathroom as well as for family members. They cost me £10 each, and replace a 40w halogen with like for like light output (colour and brightness). Took me a long time to find something which did not look different (mostly down to the colour of the light).

 

I realise these are not listed on Amazon any more, but I have seen them more recently in Wickes. Be Carefuls as the MyAmbiance lamps diffuse the light much wider and so do not provide as much "brightness" to the room. They are however dimmable

 

Dave

 

They are dimmable then? That was one concern we had for the living room.

[SYNACK]

Apparently they have just managed to make hid LEDs that can match the output of halogen with similar heat output. Despite their efficiency heat output is still the main issue with large heatsinks needed for current gen led replacements, at least the ones we can get here.

[DavidIrwin]

They are dimmable then? That was one concern we had for the living room.

 

Yes some of them are. Be careful as some are not.

 

The Phillips MyVision are not, buit the MyAmbience ones are. They look almost identical on the boxes annoyingly!

 

Dave

 

Edit: I would say best to get one and see if you like the colour and "shape" of the output - I have found that they vary wildly. My best suggestion is look for the ones which have a single high output LED rather than the ones with a grid or cluster of LEDs.

Edited January 8, 2013 by DavidIrwin

[pcstru]

I've been looking at them too... the problem is the cost! An LED equivalent for the bulb in my bedside light was £10 in homebase! Standard energy saving bulbs were very expensive when we first converted back in the days of yore... they're much cheaper now. Hopefully the LED ones will come down in price in the not too distant future.

 

LED's have come down significantly in the last couple of years. Ikea is probably the cheapest place for LED bulbs at £6 (or you can pick up a whole lamp for a tenner (I use one of these as a bedside light and it's ok). They should last 6-7 times as long as a CFL (compact fluorescent light - the energy saving ones), use slightly less leccy per lumen and are ROHS compliant, unlike CFL's which contain mercury. They don't get as hot as halogen bulbs but they do have large heatsinks because the junction (actual source of the light) is small and needs to be kept cool if lifetime is going to be maintained. (lifetime is actually the half life - i.e. your LED bulb iwll last more than 50,000 hours but by that time will be half as bright as the rated output.

 

The real problem with LED's is the amount of light per unit. Bright bulbs are generally arrays of emitters and you need to pack in many emitters to make what would be considered a weak source of light (compared unit wise with a halogen). They are good for spot's but an expensive upfront proposition to wash walls with light in any decent sized room.

 

Ahem - err, my 2p's worth on LED's (what, and you want change?).

[DavidIrwin]

Ahem - err, my 2p's worth on LED's (what, and you want change?).

 

Change is good. Change is good... Change is.... erm, that doesn't sound right!

[mavhc]

On amazon they're about 2-3x the price of CFLs, and should last longer, I bought a couple of Lighting EVER Lighting EVER B22 6 Watt A55 LED Bulbs, Replace 50 Watt Incandescent Bulb, Indoor Lighting, Energy Efficient Lights, Warm White: Amazon.co.uk: Lighting

 

Worked fine so far. I'll replace my CFLs as they die.

[RobFuller]

I've been recommending to friends bulbs using CREE LEDs on eBay and we've had go success plus the price point is much much cheaper and better quility than you'll often find on the high street. eBay Search Link however there mainly directional light bulbs.

I've also recently purchased these 'corn' type bulbs using the 5050 SMD LEDs and they have a great light output for the price eBay Link

 

If you want colour eBay Link

[Jamman960]

Homebase currently have some 4w(35w halogen equiv) GU10's at £9.99 for 2 bulbs, they're on the whiter side but aren't too bad. I brought a load to replace the 1w LED GU10's the previous owners had installed in the kitchen, they just weren't bright enough although they are fine in the bathroom. They seem to be doing 20% off when you spend £50 fairly frequently at the moment.

 

The Auraglow 6w Dimmables are pretty good too although you need to make sure the dimmer is capable of supporting the lower wattage, I've ended up leaving 1 50w halogen in the circuit otherwise the bulbs stayed lit very slightly despite being fully off on the dimmer