Light bulbs.....

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peetee
Posts: 4292
Joined: 4 May 2010, 10:20pm
Location: Upon a lumpy, scarred granite massif.

Light bulbs.....

Post by peetee »

....Just exactly how are you supposed to find what you want these days?
The choice is utterly bewildering!
And as for comparable light output from traditional bulbs to new generation LED, well, it would be hilarious if it wasn't so infuriating, time consuming and expensive.
I need various bulb types for various locations around the house. The most pressing being in the garage where I want a couple of 100w (in old money) that give instant light. I purchaced a 13w LED standard size that was supposed to be comparable to 125w but it is just awful. And it doesn't seem to matter if I plump for 'cool' or 'warm' white. The light bulb itself is bright but the light just seems not to penetrate the room with any clarity. It's a bit difficult to describe but it's like looking through a gauze filter or through a camera that is slightly out of focus.
Are they all like this or is £6 just not enough to buy a decent bulb?
Help!
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
dodger
Posts: 696
Joined: 28 Jan 2007, 9:33pm
Location: East Cornwall

Re: Light bulbs.....

Post by dodger »

I think the problem is that they don't transmit the full spectrum of wavelengths, so it never feels quite right.
I use 5 watt LEDs in a number of spotlights (the GU10 size) and although they aren't bad for light, they aren't as good as the old 50 watt halogens, which itself isn't as good as normal daylight. They are, however only a tenth the cost to operate.
BUT, the claimed life of 10,000+ hours of life for LED bulbs is a sad (and expensive)joke. So far, I guess the attrition rate is 20%.
axel_knutt
Posts: 2881
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 12:20pm

Re: Light bulbs.....

Post by axel_knutt »

I bought some 13W LEDs this summer. The problem with them is that the light is too directional, there's a bright spot on the carpet beneath them but the ceiling is in shadow. They produce 1521lm, which is 15% more than my 100W tungstens.

I was going to replace tungstens with CFL/LED as and when they failed, but I've only had one fail in 16 years.
“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: Light bulbs.....

Post by mercalia »

well i bought some 6 watts bulbs from poundlander a few weeks ago at £1 each and very good they are, they have the traditional "pearl" diffuser glass shell over them, very even output
Last edited by mercalia on 14 Oct 2017, 11:35am, edited 1 time in total.
kwackers
Posts: 15643
Joined: 4 Jun 2008, 9:29pm
Location: Warrington

Re: Light bulbs.....

Post by kwackers »

As a rough tally I have 100 led bulbs in my house. Failure rate so far is 2, both failed within minutes of being turned on so not sure where 20% comes from - unless folk are buying rock bottom price Chinese bulbs.

They can be overly directional, but tbh that doesn't affect me. GU10 spotlights - are, well, spotlights. Swapping them out for LED versions wasn't particularly noticeable other than in the bathroom I opted for daylight (6k) bulbs so the light was noticeably better.

In my workshop I replaced 8 flourescents with 10 600mm square panels. I arranged them to switch in banks to improve power consumption, these are also daylight and again the light is brilliant (plus I don't keep banging the tubes with long bits of wood).

Other rooms it depends on what you want. For living rooms etc I use coloured bulbs. Put them into daylight mode for reading, or doing some work, or a nice 'sunset' warm glow for the evening.

LED's are brilliant, you can embed electronics easily with them and they give you massive control over the types and forms of lighting. No more are you constrained by daft bulb fittings. Nearly all of mine are controllable through a smart home controller and an Amazon Echo.

There are some very inventive light fittings starting to appear now the fitting constraint has gone.
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