Topic: Light Bulb Ban...It's Here (Thanks, Idiot Republicans)

[Libertas]

Home Depot should have them.  Usually sell 40's and 60's, at least that is mostly what I see available.

The 40 and 60 Watt replacements are reasonably priced-- there are 75 and 100 Watt replacements, but they are not worth the $35-50 to buy them. I have seen them both at Home Depot and at Lowes on occasion.

The Crees are a great bulb - (watch the color temperature though! They have a "cool" version that is too blue for me) I have replaced nearly half the lights in the house with them and I am very pleased with them. The Feit is better from appearance ( no hot spot and good light dispersion)  and, at least on sale,  its cheaper. The Crees are usually $12-13 around here.

Fully agree on all points!

[oldcoastie6468]

I still don't understand the new ratings. What light output is a Cree 60W equivalent to for a standard incandescent bulb? Is there a chart somewhere?

[Weisshaupt]

I still don't understand the new ratings. What light output is a Cree 60W equivalent to for a standard incandescent bulb? Is there a chart somewhere?

In my experience what is typically billed as a "60 Watt Replacement" is in fact brighter than what I would expect from a 60 Watt incandescent. But my eyes are not scientific instruments. I would suggest plopping down the $12 for a Cree and trying it. (again you need the "warm" kind--unless you like the color of florescents with a bit more blue thrown in.)   If you don't like it you can stick it in that one fixture you hate changing because it will last forever,  or if you REALLY hate it, stick it in a closet, or in the basement, or in the garage... somewhere that you seldom use it .


 All of the "60 Watt Replacement" bulbs I have seen are rated for 800 Lumens.



http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57575907-285/five-things-to-consider-before-buying-led-bulbs/

The article points out some things I should have stressed. There are Non-Dimabble LED bulbs - as in "they don't work with a standard Dimmer switch" -  none of the bulbs I advocate buying here will ever be of that type.  That is not a "replacement" in my opinion.

Also another difference between the Feit and the Cree is the Feit is just glass, and the Cree has that Rubbery Coating on the outside, which may make it slightly tougher to break..

[oldcoastie6468]

Here's a chart. It seems you don't look for the WATTAGES, but for the LUMENS.

[warpmine]

On that CNET link there was juicy bits if info regarding the operation of these little gems including heats sinks and dos and don'ts regarding placement. Don't install them in enclosures otherwise they can't rid themselves of the heat they generate and die a slow death much faster than advertised. Nice info regarding light color and their respective heat ranges.

Do read through some of the first comments.

[Weisshaupt]

On that CNET link there was juicy bits if info regarding the operation of these little gems including heats sinks and dos and don'ts regarding placement. Don't install them in enclosures otherwise they can't rid themselves of the heat they generate and die a slow death much faster than advertised. Nice info regarding light color and their respective heat ranges.

Do read through some of the first comments.

Well, its more pay attention to them if you install them in an enclosure.  I  have a bunch of the Phillips bulbs installed in the standard "globe" fixtures  at the Teotwawki place - been there for years now. Not a single failure yet.     Ultimate life is yet to be seen, but  3 years and counting on those - nor have I seen any noticeable lack of brightness. . Nor have I seen any failures here with the CREEs - and  they can get warm-- never had them be "hot" - certainly not as hot as a 60 Watt gets.

Will they last 20 Years?  Perhaps not.  And at $25 its probably a bigger risk to take.  Not so much at $12.

One of the articles pointed out these are rated in hours, not years, and if you run them 24/7 , 25,000 hours is about 2.8 years.  Of course, if your electricity bill is  $0.08 a Kilowatt/hr - your incandescent costs $120 to run over that period of time.  Your 10 Watt LED will cost you $20. -- not to mention your incandescent would probably be replaced at least once over nearly 3 years. But say you have a really good incandescent that lasts forever. And you buy the LED at $12   SO say it runs half as long and you have to replace it halfway through-- two bulbs were $24. You still saved $76 over the period.  ? If they last a  third of the rated capacity at 8000 hours you have

And energy costs are only going up-- in  some places they are already over $0.12 KW-HR. - .08 is actually on the low side.  So yes, if you can find a brand you like for $10 - even if it only lasts 8000 Hrs and you replace it 3 times. , you still saved $28 bucks.  Really it has to only last 1/4 of the time advertised  for you to be at the break even point.  The same is true of CCFLs  as well ( but I hatez them) and those fail as often as Incandescent bulbs in my experience. 

But who leaves a light on 24/7?  Almost no one. So this means that you won't be looking at replacing  that bulb again for probably 7 years..even in the worst case.


The prime mover is sometimes the  energy you pay to use the thing, not the thing itself...

[LadyVirginia]

But who leaves a light on 24/7?  Almost no one.

My husband. Basement.

 

[Alphabet Soup]

But who leaves a light on 24/7?  Almost no one.

My husband. Basement.

 

I do. A 15-watt ice cream cone one in the kitchen.