Long-lasting lightbulbs

JDtech · 07-17-2010, 05:37 AM

Light bulbs that blow out too soon is a pet peeve of mine. What do you use? Is there something that lasts longer than standard incandescent?

jcjacob · 07-17-2010, 07:14 AM

Right now, most of the lights in my house are incandescent, but as they go, I'm replacing them with CFLs or LEDs.

The ban on the sale of incandescent doesn't begin un 2012, but in most of the stores near me, Home Depot and Lowes included, 90-95% of the bulbs on sale are CFL and LED. It's getting harder and harder to find 'traditional' light bulbs.

Ken-L · 07-17-2010, 08:56 PM

I'm still using incandescents, my wife would never allow CFL in the house!
I'm not convinced that LED is the answer either, and there have been rumors that something better will be introduced before the deadline and get approval.

I don't know where said bulb would be made, but part of the argument against CFL is that they are all made abroad.

Bodryn · 07-17-2010, 09:42 PM

Some years ago I was in charge of a public building - the standing policy was to use incandescent bulbs for security illumination at night. I decided to change the policy over to using the existing fluorescent bulbs and a year later, found we had saved $1600 in one year in electricity costs. So for several years I have been switching to CFL, which last much longer and save in electricity costs. However, I have more recently been buying various LED flashlights, and now a few LED 110v bulbs. Incandescent bulbs generate a lot of heat also, which may not be what you want if you also are using air conditioning. LED flashlights, when made right, are wonderful.

Dave R. · 07-18-2010, 06:35 AM

There has been a lot of negative about LED, but they have come a long way in a short time. My responsibilities at work have allowed me the opportunity to make decisions on energy saving ideas. We now use either T-5 fluorescents, CFL's, or LED. I recently arranged to have all of the street and parking area lighting changed to LED. The payback for this $80,000.00 investment is less than 5 years with government incentives. If I factored in labor savings for maintaining the older HID lights, the payback would be around 3 1/2 years. My message, seriously consider the newer style of lamps and get rid of the incandescence type lighting. BTW, quality LED lamps have an average of a 50,000 hour life. Not bad by comparison not to mention the energy savings. The biggest disadvantage, and one that is changing all the time is they don't like heat. So proper ventilation is a must at this time.

Jon Foster · 07-18-2010, 02:25 PM

I think all the lights in our house are CFL with the exception of the lights in the fridge and oven. In 2-3 years of use we've only have 1 CFL fail and it didn't work very well from the day we bought it.

When I worked for the school system we were required to have T-5 lighting inside every room. It saved thousands of dollars every month. Once a year we went through each room to check for dead bulbs but probably averaged 1-2 per room. Part of the lighting system in the buildings were automated sweeps. At 4:00PM and 12:00AM the computer would shut off any lights left on so bulb life was maxed out pretty good.

Jon.

Bodryn · 07-19-2010, 09:37 PM

For specifics, I have found some 110v 1 watt LED bulbs that make excellent and comfortable reading lights for a lamp, such as over an easy chair. This amazes me, when I consider that years ago, a common plug-in nightlight used 7 watt incandescent bulbs. The LED selection seems to be growing rapidly.

Jon Foster · 07-19-2010, 09:42 PM

I'm a huge fan of LED's. They have come such a long way in the last few especially.

Jon.

Bodryn · 07-30-2010, 11:04 PM

Well, not so good news on my one 1.5 watt LED bulb, purchased at WalMart. A few days ago, it stopped working.

At first I thought it was the lamp. I took it to my work bench and tested it all out. But the lamp was fine. The bulb failed, after only a few weeks of use. Maybe just a fluke, but if more of them fail that quickly, I will be disillusioned.

Meanwhile, when I get time, it looks like I could dismantle the bulb and see if I could get the individual LEDs to light up and see what went wrong.

verdesardog · 07-31-2010, 07:56 PM

The main problem with CFL's is the mecury containd in them. The main problem with LED's is cost. Properly engineered LED bulbs should last longer than your lifetime and put out much more light per watt of input than any other types of light at this time. When the cost is more reasonable I will use LED exclusivly, right now I'm using a combination of incandescent and CFL's.

07-17-2010, 05:37 AM	#1
JDtech Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 308 Blog Entries: 1	Long-lasting lightbulbs Light bulbs that blow out too soon is a pet peeve of mine. What do you use? Is there something that lasts longer than standard incandescent? __________________ Members don't see ads in threads. Register your free account today and become a member on Tech Today Online, gaining access to posting privileges, contests, free plug-ins and other downloads, unlimited online storage for your photographs, reviews, free marketplace listings, and much more. __________________ Follow me on Twitter \| My Tech Blog

07-17-2010, 07:14 AM	#2
jcjacob Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Doylestown, PA Posts: 159	Right now, most of the lights in my house are incandescent, but as they go, I'm replacing them with CFLs or LEDs. The ban on the sale of incandescent doesn't begin un 2012, but in most of the stores near me, Home Depot and Lowes included, 90-95% of the bulbs on sale are CFL and LED. It's getting harder and harder to find 'traditional' light bulbs. __________________ -John

07-17-2010, 08:56 PM	#3
Ken-L Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 150	I'm still using incandescents, my wife would never allow CFL in the house! I'm not convinced that LED is the answer either, and there have been rumors that something better will be introduced before the deadline and get approval. I don't know where said bulb would be made, but part of the argument against CFL is that they are all made abroad. __________________ "An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way." - Bukowski

07-17-2010, 09:42 PM	#4
Bodryn Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Minnesota; Manitoba Posts: 90	CFL and LED bulbs for illumination Some years ago I was in charge of a public building - the standing policy was to use incandescent bulbs for security illumination at night. I decided to change the policy over to using the existing fluorescent bulbs and a year later, found we had saved $1600 in one year in electricity costs. So for several years I have been switching to CFL, which last much longer and save in electricity costs. However, I have more recently been buying various LED flashlights, and now a few LED 110v bulbs. Incandescent bulbs generate a lot of heat also, which may not be what you want if you also are using air conditioning. LED flashlights, when made right, are wonderful. __________________ Bodryn ======== "Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?"

07-18-2010, 06:35 AM	#5
Dave R. Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Pacific Northwest Posts: 1	Light Bulbs There has been a lot of negative about LED, but they have come a long way in a short time. My responsibilities at work have allowed me the opportunity to make decisions on energy saving ideas. We now use either T-5 fluorescents, CFL's, or LED. I recently arranged to have all of the street and parking area lighting changed to LED. The payback for this $80,000.00 investment is less than 5 years with government incentives. If I factored in labor savings for maintaining the older HID lights, the payback would be around 3 1/2 years. My message, seriously consider the newer style of lamps and get rid of the incandescence type lighting. BTW, quality LED lamps have an average of a 50,000 hour life. Not bad by comparison not to mention the energy savings. The biggest disadvantage, and one that is changing all the time is they don't like heat. So proper ventilation is a must at this time.

07-18-2010, 02:25 PM	#6
Jon Foster Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: White Lake, MI Posts: 149	I think all the lights in our house are CFL with the exception of the lights in the fridge and oven. In 2-3 years of use we've only have 1 CFL fail and it didn't work very well from the day we bought it. When I worked for the school system we were required to have T-5 lighting inside every room. It saved thousands of dollars every month. Once a year we went through each room to check for dead bulbs but probably averaged 1-2 per room. Part of the lighting system in the buildings were automated sweeps. At 4:00PM and 12:00AM the computer would shut off any lights left on so bulb life was maxed out pretty good. Jon. __________________ Come visit us on the web at AITec Services

07-19-2010, 09:37 PM	#7
Bodryn Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Minnesota; Manitoba Posts: 90	For specifics, I have found some 110v 1 watt LED bulbs that make excellent and comfortable reading lights for a lamp, such as over an easy chair. This amazes me, when I consider that years ago, a common plug-in nightlight used 7 watt incandescent bulbs. The LED selection seems to be growing rapidly. __________________ Bodryn ======== "Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?"

07-19-2010, 09:42 PM	#8
Jon Foster Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: White Lake, MI Posts: 149	I'm a huge fan of LED's. They have come such a long way in the last few especially. Jon. __________________ Come visit us on the web at AITec Services

07-30-2010, 11:04 PM	#9
Bodryn Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Minnesota; Manitoba Posts: 90	LED bulb failed Well, not so good news on my one 1.5 watt LED bulb, purchased at WalMart. A few days ago, it stopped working. At first I thought it was the lamp. I took it to my work bench and tested it all out. But the lamp was fine. The bulb failed, after only a few weeks of use. Maybe just a fluke, but if more of them fail that quickly, I will be disillusioned. Meanwhile, when I get time, it looks like I could dismantle the bulb and see if I could get the individual LEDs to light up and see what went wrong. __________________ Bodryn ======== "Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?"

07-31-2010, 07:56 PM	#10
verdesardog Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 28	The main problem with CFL's is the mecury containd in them. The main problem with LED's is cost. Properly engineered LED bulbs should last longer than your lifetime and put out much more light per watt of input than any other types of light at this time. When the cost is more reasonable I will use LED exclusivly, right now I'm using a combination of incandescent and CFL's.

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