I am shocked!

solar_dave
solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
in Energy Use & Conservation #1
OK not so shocked :-) I lost my first CFL today after 3 years, it was run daily in a desk lamp fixture with the axis in the horizontal plane. They definitely last much longer than a filament bulb.

I bet a couple more on the way out, with symptoms of slow start. This one just winked a couple times then died.
· Share on Twitter

Comments

  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: I am shocked!

    And now it's toxic mercury waste. Where do you put it ?
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

    · Share on Twitter
  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: I am shocked!
    mike90045 wrote: »
    And now it's toxic mercury waste. Where do you put it ?

    Home Depot takes them for recycle! ;)
    · Share on Twitter
  • drees
    drees Solar Expert Posts: 482 ✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: I am shocked!

    Speaking of mercury - have you seen the new Home Depot dimmable LED bulbs? They're about $20 and have about the same lumen output as a 40w incandescent or 9W CFL.

    I bought one to try it as a number of people have said it's the best and most economical LED bulb on the market right now.

    Well - they're right. I only have a couple minor nits - the light output is still a bit directional compared to the 9W CFLs I was comparing it to and the temperature could be just a tiny bit warmer and the bulk of the plastic packaging defies the point of a "green" bulb. I guess they felt the need to justify a $20 light bulb?

    But the instant on and dimmability of it is great. Just need the price to come down more (needs to be comparable to CFLs) and I would love these bulbs if they were available in a PAR30 / PAR40 fixture with more power.
    · Share on Twitter
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #5
    Re: I am shocked!

    I don't know anything about the LED bulb you are typing about--But with LED's in general--I would suggest you just get one or two and try them out for at least 1 year before replacing all of the rest of your lamps.

    Many LED lamps do not last more than 500-1,000 hours of use before losing 1/2 or more of their output (1/2 output is not that much--our eyes actually barely can see an A:B test of that level of change in lighting--using some sort of lumen meter is much more accurate).

    I am not saying that these lamps will have problems--but I would run my own testing first to make sure that they are reliable in the long term. At this point, $20+ a lamp is not yet cheap.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
    · Share on Twitter
  • drees
    drees Solar Expert Posts: 482 ✭✭✭
    #6
    Re: I am shocked!

    Like I said - Home Depot is selling them (for a couple months now) and from all the reviews I've seen so far are basically the same as mine. I suggest you head down to your local store to pick one up to try for yourself.

    At $20 they are still very expensive compared to CFLs, but not having to worry about mercury to clean up if you break it is a bonus and supposedly they should last a very long time. We shall see in time.
    · Share on Twitter
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #7
    Re: I am shocked!

    drees,
    do you have the link to that new led bulb? i'd like to try 1 or 2 or even 3?
    · Share on Twitter
  • drees
    drees Solar Expert Posts: 482 ✭✭✭
    #8
    Re: I am shocked!

    Try this link: http://tinyurl.com/382jbn6

    Look for the EcoSmart LED A19 40 watt equivalent bulb on www.homedepot.com if that doesn't work.
    · Share on Twitter
  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    #9
    Re: I am shocked!

    For 20 bucks with a 5 year guarantee.

    I don't know this company name - will they even be around to honor the guarantee in 2 years?

    CFL's are still a better deal until they get the price into a reasonable range and a company with a name backs up the guarantee.
    · Share on Twitter
  • n3qik
    n3qik Solar Expert Posts: 741 ✭✭
    #10
    Re: I am shocked!

    Here is a look of the insides:

    http://www.edn.com/blog/PowerSource/39582-Home_Depot_s_20_EcoSmart_LED_light_What_s_inside_.php
    · Share on Twitter
  • dmiller
    dmiller Solar Expert Posts: 68 ✭✭✭✭
    #11
    Re: I am shocked!

    I'm not sure the point of a 9W A19 LED, except being dimable. It seems a lot of time is spent trying to make CFLs into directional lights and LED's into general purpose lights like an A19.

    Doesn't surprise me that Home Depot would get LEDs right too. But I agree with drees that what is needed is PAR bulbs.
    · Share on Twitter
  • drees
    drees Solar Expert Posts: 482 ✭✭✭
    #12
    Re: I am shocked!
    russ wrote: »
    I don't know this company name - will they even be around to honor the guarantee in 2 years?
    Given that it's a HomeDepot brand - HomeDepot should warranty the bulbs.
    russ wrote: »
    CFL's are still a better deal until they get the price into a reasonable range
    No doubt there - but for certain applications I think they do make sense.
    n3qik wrote: »
    Here is a look of the insides:

    http://www.edn.com/blog/PowerSource/39582-Home_Depot_s_20_EcoSmart_LED_light_What_s_inside_.php
    Cool - they seem to be well built! Hopefully with that electrolytic cap they last 10 years - I wonder how hot the cap gets.
    · Share on Twitter
  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    #13
    Re: I am shocked!

    Sold by Home Depot OK. It is not a Home Depot subsidiary company.

    Unless you have your sales receipt in hand there is no reason Home Depot should stand behind the guarantee - they would stupid to do so.

    5 years - if the light is left on 24/7 that comes to about 44,000 hours. In a typical application that would be less than 4,000 most likely.

    For a supposedly long life bulb that is not an impressive guarantee.

    I also think LED's are the coming thing but they have not yet arrived in acceptable price ranges and or qualities.
    · Share on Twitter
  • solorone
    solorone Solar Expert Posts: 257 ✭✭✭
    #14
    Re: I am shocked!

    I am shocked that you are shocked.:D

    I was using PL bulbs, (Philip's Lighting) what they were called when they first came out, bought them at a trade show some 22+ years ago, and they were not cheap, 20$ was worth a lot more back then.

    Once they became CF's and china and everyone else started making them, the failure rate went way up, some even leaking a brown goo.

    I have heard more than one friend saying that they were very disappointed in the life of many CF bulbs.

    You do get what you pay for, but nowadays it is hard to tell the wheat from the chaff.

    I am still using a lot of fluorescent bulbs FT 18's, I have found a source for LED replacements, but with my getting burned on some early LED's I am in no rush to try these. they also have a reduced total lumen output.

    If anyone would be interested in sharing a minimum order of these bulbs, (maybe 24) PM me and we will work something out. At least we can cut our risk in half.
    · Share on Twitter
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,891 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #15
    Re: I am shocked!

    Ninety days is all I ever get from Home Depot. But, you can buy another widget from them and take back the bad widget for as long as they sell those wigets.
    I am not sure about the ethics but...
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

    · Share on Twitter
  • mlail
    mlail Registered Users Posts: 22 ✭
    #16
    Re: I am shocked!

    I have been using a bulb like (Model ECS 19 WW 120) for a little over a year. I too noticed the build was not comparable to a CFL or incandescent bulb. The light acts like a spot light. So I replaced a spot light over the kitchen sink wit the LED bulb. We are happy with this use of the bulb. Being mounted 10' pointing down helped spread the light around the location. It is a little on the blue side but it is also great for a TV watching light!

    I have not noticed any change in light levels but like the moderator stated, we rarely perceive these changes unless it's dramatic.

    I bought mine when they were much more expensive and mine was a matched to a 60 Watt bulb...

    Marshall
    · Share on Twitter
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    #17
    Re: I am shocked!
    dmiller wrote: »
    ... But I agree with drees that what is needed is PAR bulbs.

    I've been running a few of these for about a month now, and am very impressed with them. They are a fair amount brighter than the normal CFLs I was using in the recessed can lights. I wasn't using PAR lights in there after they all crapped out a few years back - It made more sens just to use the same CFL in all fixtures, and they worked fine in place of the PAR floods in the recessed can lights.

    The most noticeable benefit is the don't take time to "warm up to full brightness" like a CFL does.

    http://www.ledtrailerlights.com/home/par38.htm
    · Share on Twitter
  • zeuspaul
    zeuspaul Solar Expert Posts: 59 ✭✭✭✭
    #18
    Re: I am shocked!
    They definitely last much longer than a filament bulb
    .

    I installed a pair of 25 watt filament bulbs in 2002 in a pair of outdoor fixtures. They turn on every night at dusk and off every dawn with a photo sensor. One burned out 6 years later in 2008 after about 20000 hours of use. I replaced both and they still turn on every night.

    I wired them in series.

    Zeuspaul
    · Share on Twitter
  • jcgee88
    jcgee88 Solar Expert Posts: 154 ✭✭
    #19
    Re: I am shocked!

    Since this is a forum mostly about solar generated electricity,
    being shocked is, on the surface, not a good thing.

    Nevertheless, are you shocked, SHOCKED, that there is
    gambling going on in Rick's Cafe, Captain Renault?

    John
    · Share on Twitter

Categories