Lightbulbs?

[bossy22]

the 60w say daylight. the 40w say warm. I got them at the beacon hill location.

[Brannigans Law]

Originally Posted by Neeper

Check out this site guys. This website has a ton of LED bulbs for sale with extremely good reviews on almost everything they sell: http://www.lightinthebox.com/c/led-light-bulbs_4657

They're reviewed almost TOO well

[Brannigans Law]

So I threw my costco bulbs in and boy howdy in comparison to the incandescent I have already they are super white. Not quite blue/cool but really really white. I chose a lot of earth/neutral tones in my new home so there's no way I can use these bulbs in the main areas like my kitchen. Maybe in my master bedroom where I'll paint a deep blue accent wall. Gotta find me an LED bulb now that's nice and warm.

[prarieboy]

I just replaced 20 Halogen 50w GU10's for LED's I bought at Costco. They are 6.5w and produce 320 Lumens. They seem to be just as bright as the Halogens but the colour is quite a bit whiter which we like. The halogen bulbs are too yellow for our liking. Now we will see if they last longer than I do! Supposedly 40,000 hours.

I experimented with CFL's a lot and would never buy them again based on the fact they usually crapped out way earlier than promised.

Check the Buy and Sell for a great deal on used Halogen GU10's!!

[Neeper]

Originally Posted by Brannigans Law

They're reviewed almost TOO well

From the research that I gather about this company, I found out they have a really good business model. They source stuff that is made in China that is of the highest quality while keeping their prices low. This company has increased their earnings every quarter. I have bought stuff from them before, including LEd bulbs, and I must say I am extremely happy. Their stuff is pretty top notch.

[Neeper]

Oh yeah, also. I try to keep my order under $20 to avoid duties and brokerage charges. Since shipping is free, I always split my order whenever I can.

[Brannigans Law]

I went to Lowes tonight with the woman and I have a really tough time justifying LED's over CFL's. A 4 pack of CFL's is the same price as 1 LED bulb pretty much, and the warm 2700k CFL bulbs I saw in store were really nice. I think until LED comes down in price there's no way I can justify a 4x markup over CFLs.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by prarieboy

I just replaced 20 Halogen 50w GU10's for LED's I bought at Costco. They are 6.5w and produce 320 Lumens. They seem to be just as bright as the Halogens but the colour is quite a bit whiter which we like. The halogen bulbs are too yellow for our liking. Now we will see if they last longer than I do! Supposedly 40,000 hours.

I experimented with CFL's a lot and would never buy them again based on the fact they usually crapped out way earlier than promised.

Check the Buy and Sell for a great deal on used Halogen GU10's!!

You also will have the benefit of not having the equivalent of a 1000 Watt heater running all summer.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Brannigans Law

I went to Lowes tonight with the woman and I have a really tough time justifying LED's over CFL's. A 4 pack of CFL's is the same price as 1 LED bulb pretty much, and the warm 2700k CFL bulbs I saw in store were really nice. I think until LED comes down in price there's no way I can justify a 4x markup over CFLs.

The LEDs will probably last 4x as long, and will not have delays in starting up, or fade dimmer over time.

[Brannigans Law]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

The LEDs will probably last 4x as long, and will not have delays in starting up, or fade dimmer over time.

Ya I guess but ... 3.75 per bulb vs 15 a bulb ... tough call. LED's have come down a lot from their crazy 60+ pricing... if they came down another 5 bucks or so I'd do it in a heartbeat.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Brannigans Law

Ya I guess but ... 3.75 per bulb vs 15 a bulb ... tough call. LED's have come down a lot from their crazy 60+ pricing... if they came down another 5 bucks or so I'd do it in a heartbeat.

40W Equivalent $5.88

60W Equivalent $9.88

[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by Brannigans Law

I went to Lowes tonight with the woman and I have a really tough time justifying LED's over CFL's. A 4 pack of CFL's is the same price as 1 LED bulb pretty much, and the warm 2700k CFL bulbs I saw in store were really nice. I think until LED comes down in price there's no way I can justify a 4x markup over CFLs.

The reason I don't mind shelling out some extra cash on LED's is how long they are supposed to last.

I used to feel the same about CFL's but the experience I've had with them has been more negative than positive. It may be that I installed them in less than prime situations but I found many bulbs of different makes have failed way sooner than they were supposed to. Sure, I could have saved the receipt and tried to get a replacement but I'm just too lazy for that.
I do have several CFL's around the house that have not failed early but for the most part they are slow to brighten up.
On paper they are the clear winner in the cost vs. consumption conversation but in the real world they are just not working for me that well.

I'm on to the LED's now in hopes of finding something to replace the MANY Halogen pot lights I have.

I have tried this before. Over a year ago I purchased many GU10 LED's from Hero LED out of China. They sent the wrong bulbs at first and it was a pain to get that sorted out but eventually I replaced all the old Halogen's with LED's. About three months after that one of the bulbs decided to self destruct in a cloud of smoke that I'm surprised didn't set off the fire alarm. One month later a second one did the same.
That was it for those bulbs and the Halogens were put back in.

I'm hoping now that the bulbs I purchased are going to last and not be a fire hazard. After talking to a few people I wouldn't install anything that isn't CSA or UL approved.

I'm just experimenting

[Brannigans Law]

So I actually put my Cree LED bulbs from home depot 15 a pop (2700 K) vs the 3000k bulbs from Coscto (that are actually 40 watt replacements not 60) and I found the colour temperature almost impossible to pick a difference between the two.

I have a dinky little mini CFL that I put in for comparison and it's noticeably warmer, then the soft white incandescent blew them all out for warmth.

Ugh Im terrible at decisions.

[Jedi Ninja]

Originally Posted by prarieboy

The reason I don't mind shelling out some extra cash on LED's is how long they are supposed to last.

I used to feel the same about CFL's but the experience I've had with them has been more negative than positive. It may be that I installed them in less than prime situations but I found many bulbs of different makes have failed way sooner than they were supposed to. Sure, I could have saved the receipt and tried to get a replacement but I'm just too lazy for that.
I do have several CFL's around the house that have not failed early but for the most part they are slow to brighten up.
On paper they are the clear winner in the cost vs. consumption conversation but in the real world they are just not working for me that well.

I'm on to the LED's now in hopes of finding something to replace the MANY Halogen pot lights I have.

I have tried this before. Over a year ago I purchased many GU10 LED's from Hero LED out of China. They sent the wrong bulbs at first and it was a pain to get that sorted out but eventually I replaced all the old Halogen's with LED's. About three months after that one of the bulbs decided to self destruct in a cloud of smoke that I'm surprised didn't set off the fire alarm. One month later a second one did the same.
That was it for those bulbs and the Halogens were put back in.

I'm hoping now that the bulbs I purchased are going to last and not be a fire hazard. After talking to a few people I wouldn't install anything that isn't CSA or UL approved.

I'm just experimenting

2 years ago, I replaced 15 GU10 halogens in our house with 15 GU10 LED bulbs that I got from Ikea, at a total cost of $180. They're all still running fine. This actually made a noticeable difference in how hot our house is in the summer. The halogens would die at a rate of about one per month, that's probably at least $30 a year in bulbs, so the LEDs will eventually pay for themselves, but the heat difference and eliminating the PITA of changing bulbs alone is worth it for me. Unfortunately, Ikea carries a different type of LED now that is not as nice.

[Jimmy Stang]

Giving this thread a little bump for a couple of reasons:

- Incandescent bulbs can no longer be sold in Canada (once retailers sell off their current stock): http://www2.macleans.ca/2014/01/01/t...nt-light-bulb/

- It appears that Home Depot have ended their CFL bulb recycling (disposal?) program, which I discovered recently when trying to drop a couple off. This is a shame, but apparently the city now recommends dropping them at the "Throw and Go" sections of the landfills, or at designated fire stations that have the little drop off points: https://www.calgary.ca/UEP/WRS/Pages...t.w_wgw=search

And finally, I picked up a few little LED bulbs from Ikea for outdoor use. Previously, I had some 5w CFL bulbs which were about equivalent to a 25w incandescent, but I found that they took a while to reach full brightness in the cold weather and would even remain at a reduced brightness when it was about -10 and below, and thus their lifespan was only about a year or so. None of this was surprising.

The Ikea LEDs (http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/50198193/) are really small, give off an equivalent of 25w of light (200 lumens). They're prefect for my outdoor lights on the garage and house. I'm not a fan of obscenely bright outdoor lighting, but I do like to have my garage and back door light on overnight (they're on a dusk to dawn photocell) as a cheap and easy security measure. These things are great - just the right amount of light, instantly on in all temperatures, and fit nicely into the outdoor fixtures as they're so small.

[Ducay]

Incandescents are being phased out. 60W, 40W are still fine for now and will continue to be supplied for another year, and then sold until no more stock is left. I'd imagine sellers have made huge orders for when the bulbs get phased out as they'll be an easy sell.

As well, Halogen bulbs (ie the ones that look identical to a traditional incandescent bulb) are still allowed. These are what I use in most cases, as the light color is the same/better than incandescent, same feeling of the light, and are marginally more efficient.

I have 3 Phillips LED BR30 bulbs outside in potlights that are on for 8 hours a day, and thus, were the only bulbs that I could economically pay the full price for.

Alberta needs an incentive program like ON and QC, where they're subsidized by ~$5+. Makes them affordable for A19 (standard bulb) replacements and the general populace might start the switch. I know I won't until then.

@ 8c/kwH, and much of the monthly electricity costs fixed (riders, etc), the payback period on $15+ bulbs is ridiculous unless you're leaving them on many hours a day.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Incandescents are being phased out. 60W, 40W are still fine for now and will continue to be supplied for another year, and then sold until no more stock is left. I'd imagine sellers have made huge orders for when the bulbs get phased out as they'll be an easy sell.

Good point - I didn't realize at first that the 60 and 40 watt bulbs still had until the end of the year.

I personally find CFLs pretty good for everyday use. The price point is good for my fixtures that see moderate to heavy use, and I have never had a problem with the quality or colour of the light. I always make a point of buying "warm white" ones though - I'm not a fan of the "cool white" look.

The only downsides (for me, at least) are the mercury (which really is negligible, and not an issue with proper disposal), the fact that they're generally non-dimmable (I still use halogen GU10s in my seldom-used tracks), and the cold weather performance (but not with my new LEDs - the only place I have used them so far).

[HockeyIlliterate]

The kitchen in the condo that I rent uses these:



I think that they are called MR16's; 50 watts.

They burn out way too quickly--if a bulb lasts 6 months, it is a near miracle.

They also seem to be much more difficult to find (in bulk, at a discount, whatever) than the seemingly more common (and cheaper) GU10 bulbs.

The developer (and/or their designer) who decided to use and install these light fixtures in the kitchen should be shot.

[photon]

Even the GU10s in my kitchen burned out like crazy. Replaced them all with LED ones and they've been great ever since.

LED BR30's in my basement are also still going well.

The Philips A19s in my office I think are dimmer, the light fixture is an enclosed one and they aren't recommended for enclosed fixtures.

[darklord700]

Your wallet will never win since LED is so expensive. I stocked some incandescene flood light before Christmas. Some places like the pantry where one bulb will last a long time and it just doesn't make monetary sense to replace those with LED.