In my new kitchen i put up cree leds in the roof and i very satisfied whit them.
I can dimm them to
Sharp looking setup, but here in the states we’re probably 5 years behind in consumer LED technology, as is true with everything else. Except for weapons and space exploration of course!
Odd, I’ve had a minimag with the aftermarket LED conversion by nite-eyez for several years with no problems. I beat on this thing too. I do backpacking and wilderness canoeing (nevermind using it for nearly every home repair situation), its also my 6 year olds fav “lightsaber”, and have never had a problem with the LED’s. The original bulbs would stop working if you looked at them wrong (probably why they come with the spare).
I would be interested to hear about any app of LED’s with dimmers as well.
I also have an 8 LED flashlight (forget the brand) that takes those darn expensive special batteries that works like a champ and is quite useful for blinding yourself or others if used appropriatly. Hands down far superior to any incandescent bulb i have ever tried.
I have two minimags with nite-eyez conversions, they work great and are the only reliable (for industrial use) mag made, the c and d cell lights will develop dead spots in the focus, most of the guys who use them just get used to wacking the light against something hard and turning the focus (head) to get a light back.
the mini mag with nite-eyez is too dim for me to use (I keep them in the car) at work. they do make a 1watt that can also come with a push button tail cap that dims the bulb and flashes it, it is pricey $25 on top of $10 for the light, I can get a good 3watt led 2AA light for $25 or so, so why bother.
I want to be able to clearly see the top of the rudder (25+ feet) from the ground at night so nite-eyez conversions don’t work as they are area lights and don’t focus well at a distance. I will never buy a light that requires batteries that my company doesn’t stock.
In my new kitchen i put up cree leds in the roof and i very satisfied whit them.
I can dimm them to
Sharp looking setup, but here in the states we’re probably 5 years behind in consumer LED technology, as is true with everything else. Except for weapons and space exploration of course!
Thats strange.I think Cree is an American company ?
I renovated my kitchen last year and considered LED recessed lights to replace the old track lighting that was previously the main lighting in the old kitchen. After a great deal or research I was able to locate a company that made a unit that you can screw into a regular recessed can that were also dimmable. Basically a conversion kit. My local company where I bought my new cabinets, counter top, and helped design the new space was able to purchase them if I desired. Turns out they were going to cost about $165 dollars apiece not counting the recessed light fixture. Given I needed to install ten lights, I found it to be too costly. I’ve see a few LED conversion bulbs for various applications but none yet that replace the R-30 incandescent bulbs currently in my new recessed cans. I’m sure they will be available soon, however. I’m really excited and intrigued with the progress we’re making toward energy efficient lighting in this country. Soon LED will be the norm and even the sometimes unreliable CFL’s will fall by the wayside.
For the outside floods on my deck I went to a pair of the CFL type. $6 at Sams Club and they do the job pretty well though they take 5-10 minutes to get full bright at -30F. Not as bright as the regular type though but only 25 W each. So far they have lasted 2 winters fine. The big thing to watch for with LEDS is that they can only shine directly one way. Mount one sideways in a taillight holder like on my snowmobile and they don’t work well at all, very dim. Mount them straight back like on my other snowmobile and they are very bright. They do make side studded ones but the cost is way up there last time I looked. If you want a damned good little almost disposable led flashlight look on the counter by the cash registers at Advance Auto Stores. They used to be $5 but they dropped them to 2.50 last winter. They are a very nice little 2AA 7LED light with aluminum body for the $$$. I have at least 10 of them scattered in every remote location and car glove box, boat ect You can’t beat them for the price if you can find any. They seem to dissappear fast and the reason is obvious.
I think we all have experience with LED flash lights, the original post here was on the subject of the “new” LED packages that have a standard A/C screw-in base for operation on 115 VAC.
I’ve tried the Walmart bulbs, three of then now. The first two burned out in less than a week, I took them back and got replacements, the third (the last replacement) worked for about a month…so I didn’t take it back even though its life was far-far below what was advertised. I also found the “45Watt” equivalent to be closer to a 15 Watt in terms of it light output. The compact florescent lights give far more light per watt, I believe.
My experience, the LED screw-in bulb for use in 115 VAC applications isn’t ready yet, I’ll wait for the next generation before I buy any more.
I saw the LED light bulbs at Wal Mart just today and took my time investigating. Since they did not advertise the lumen’s output I came the same conclusion Jerry did after purchasing them. They don’t put out as much light as they say (45w incandescent comparable). I bought a two pack of daylight color CLF bulbs instead (for the same price as one LED light).
As for the AA LED Mag lights. I bought one for myself at work a couple months ago, love it. Still on the same batteries. Would have gone through 3 sets of AA’s by now on the normal mag light I had before. One of my techs was using some sorry old flashlight so I bought him one also, he likes it as well. They are much brighter then some of the older LED flashlights I have used. I have been disappointed by older LED flashlights with 6 or more LEDs in them, this single LED maglight beats all the others I have used.
I just bought the same bulbs from Sams. But, I get a flicker. What is a relay based motion detector? Where do I find one? Went to the local Ace hardware none of the motion lights mention anything about relay based motion detector circuit.
I’ve seen the screw-in bulbs @ Home Dope-Oh recently, but I have not liked the Price$$, so I’ve passed. But the LEDs are purty nice in the “small” applications - we have a 4 or 6 LEDG booklite (very bright and white), a 1 LED flexible flashlite (bright enough), and a few others. But my favourite is an LED “camplite” (similar to this http://www.energizer.com/products/flashlights/outdoor-lights/Pages/batteries-lantern-headlamp.aspx but in red). My favourite part is that it still has the same D-cell alkaline batteries I put in it when I first bought it and the light is as bright as ever. And it “runs cool” ... it doesn’t put out any heat.
I s’pect that it will take a while for LED lights to be effective and cost efficient for regular home use, but for some specialty apps, they’re great. And when one of the posters above listed CFL’s shortcomings, he forgot to mention the mercury in the bulbs that makes them haz waste when they burn out. Rather a pain in the Donkey, esp. since, as other posters have pointed out, they don’t last as long as advertised in some applications.
LED lamps in the higher wattages are still too costly. I find the light a bit harsh, as well. The big issue with the LED lamps is that the service life is still being held back by the lower life expectancy of the electronics onboard. The actual LED elements will outlast the electronics. It gets darned hot inside these.
This same issue plagues CFL’s, by the way. They work best upright, like a traditional incandescent lamp with a shade clamped to the bulb. Invert them and they die sooner due to heat buildup. Coop them up inside a non ventilated fixture, and the life goes way down. The electronics inside of these gadgets are just not yet up to the job. I am using a lot of spiral CFL’s around here, however- and getting pretty good life.
BTW please remember, ladies and gents- the CFL’s have toxic mercury in them. Not good to just toss ‘em in the trash. They need to be recycled as hazardous waste.
I’ve been thinking about getting the LED lights for a while, but havent heard much about them….. So am a little concerned. I have found some good deals here: http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.907 but havent tried any. i have some CFL that work forever, some seem to be highly overrated! (not even in enclosed areas).
I can see LED bulbs working great for a spot light but notsomuch for a flood light. The light output for these bulbs is often mis-stated, because they beam in one direction and don’t diffuse. So you end up with a really bright pin-point that fools a light meter. I hope I’m wrong and they’ve suddenly gotten better, but many of the efficiency claims about these bulbs are false. Maybe the newer multi-led assemblies are doing better. I’ve got a 22 led flashlight that does pretty well.
I have two incandescent bulbs in my house. One is in my fridge and the other is in my daughter’s easybake oven. Everything else is CFL. Well, that’s not true. I’ve got two 50w halogen on the back porch. Once I changed all the bulbs I didn’t notice a difference between the CFL and the toaster lights.
We use LED lights in our cabin as our main source of light since we are off the grid and rely primarily on solar. Just to correct one post: The LED’s are great in cold weather. We have arrived to the cabin when the interior temp. was 4*F and they work just fine. The flrsnt. lights are however problematic in cold weather.
During the winter months we do use some 60w incndsnt. lights because the LED’s are directional and don’t provide the rooms with the warmth and light of traditional bulbs.
One LED light that I’ve found very useful because you tend to always have it, is a little key-fob light. Couple inches long, maybe about 3/4” wide and 1/4” thick. Has an LED in one end, a loop for your key-ring on the other, and a momentary push button on one side to turn the LED on. Puts out about as much light as one of the old doctor’s “Open wide and say Arghhhh” penlights - it is no searchlight, but it’s great for finding keyholes, or checking a mailbox, looking for footing, and general light duty flashlight stuff. Runs on a couple of the little coin size hearing aid batteries.
I’ve found them in hardware stores for a buck or two, and even picked up one or two at trade shows as “give-away chachkes”
