LED lights for home use

[Chip Haynes]

I'm going to go ahead and start this thread now. JoAnn and I saw a variety of 110v LED light bulbs for home use at Sam's Club last weekend, but didn't buy any. (We will later this week.) They were all marked as 40 watt equivalents that used just 1.5 watts of power. There were several different styles available, all packaged three for $14.95. We'll pick up on a three pack and let you know how it goes. In the meantime, if anyone else out there wants to rush right out and give them a try, here's the thread for us to share the information.

If they work out, we will replace all of our CFLs with LEDs ASAP.

 

[Zac]

I tried the ones costco was selling and was not impressed.  The light was very directional, blue tinged, and not nearly as bright as a comparable compact fluorescent light. 

Zac

[speaksoftly]

I've started buying these and so far I like them. I am using them in a ceiling fixture, and I've gotten several of the little battery-operated tap lights to use in stead of turning on overhead lights. If there is a glass fixture over the bulb, the light seems to sparkle a bit. There is a tinge, as Zac mentioned, but the sparkle is nice. A lady in Walmart was talking to me while we were looking at them and convinced me to try one. She uses them in her antique lamps with the glass globes because of that sparkle.

[Chip Haynes]

I do expect a sort of "learning curve" or evolution with these things, just as there was with CFLs. The first CFLs were very limited in power options and shape, and the color tint was nasty. They got better. These will, too.

And it's tough to ignore that "1.5 watt" output.

Man, we can save some serious coin with that!

[Zac]

I do expect a sort of "learning curve" or evolution with these things, just as there was with CFLs. The first CFLs were very limited in power options and shape, and the color tint was nasty. They got better. These will, too.

And it's tough to ignore that "1.5 watt" output.

Man, we can save some serious coin with that!

The ones I got (and returned) were also 1.5 watt and supposed to replace a 40 watt incandescent.  But, they were far less bright than a 40 watt incandescent.  Also, there are LEDs in production that are not blue tinged and have quite acceptable output spectrum, but I haven't seen them used in inexpensive 120V drop-in-replacement lights yet. 

Zac

[Chip Haynes]

You will. Give it a few months. I'm headed to the Pinellas County Living Green Expo the first weekend in May, and I do expect to see them there.

[mes228]

Don't buy the ones at Sams club. I did, and they are awful. It's the biggest lie in advertising I've seen. The light given off is about 1/4 (a guess) of the advertised wattage. They are a joke. I returned them all.

[Chip Haynes]

WHOA- Thanks for the warning!!!

 

[Chip Haynes]

Ok, so here ya go: The Lovely JoAnn bought a three-pack of  1.5 watt LEDs at Sam's Club. They are advertised as "40 Watt equivalent", but yes, they are more like maybe 20 watt. Maybe. The lumen output is listed no where on the packaging, so you can't really tell how much light they will put out- but it ain't much. We do plan to keep these lights and use them, just not where we need more light than that. I put one in our phone booth, and it was perfect for that. The other two may go in the lights on our nightstands.

So: Not bad for a first generation attempt, but maybe next time we'll look for a 2 watt bulb.

Oh, and we don't notice any blue cast at all. The color tint seems warmer than the CFLs.

[Targe]

Wow, they have really come down in price.  Do you have a web link to look at?  I looked for these two years ago in Canada and they started at $50 a bulb (!).

(bulb, not light.  The ones I found were shaped like lightbulbs, but with large clusters of LED's pointing in all directions mounted in them)

[Chip Haynes]

Yeah, we saw them last May for $80 apiece wholesale. Five bucks a bulb is not bad, but now we need to see some improvement in the lumens.

And I'm sure we will.

Stay tuned!

[Katie]

This is a relatively old thread, but I read it and got a Sam's membership just so I could try them out.  They are having a membership speacial for $15 for 100 days.  I don't normally shop at Sam's but did get a set of the three bulbs and another higher power one.  The one's for $14 are advertised as being 40 wats equivalent for all three together.  I looked at the lumens and figured it that way.  I put the small ones in a ceiling fan and it's ok for me, not blue or anything.  I'm going to try and read with the higherpower one tonight and will let you know what I think about a few days.  They are very directional and that's a bit of a problem.  They are not recommended for a light with a shade.  My guess is that this is because they are dirctional.    Sorry for the bad typing but I' have very slowcomputer access and it takes a long time anyway, but tonight is ridiculous.  I'm signing off for now. . .

Edited to add:  OK, I did try the 7 watt bulb last night and it worked fine for reading.  I'm still experimenting.  Right now, I have the 3 1.1 Watt bulbs in an overhead light (ceiling fan lights).  It gives the room a soft glow but is not very bright, but hey, only 3.3 watts to do it, which I find amazing.

I did check a 40 watt equivalent Compact Fluorescent and it was only 9 watts.  So, it was only 2 watts saving for the 7 watt bulb.  Still, they do last considerably longer than the CFS and no mercury. 

[hillwalker]

Years ago, I bought 2 doz '40w' equiv LED lights off some fellow on Ebay.
I was just curious how these stacked up against some of the LED lights I'd
seen that 'looked' the same, but cost 10x as much.

These lights were basically garbage, worth what I paid, but no more. I didn't
pay much. Good experiment though.

They came fob from china.

I expect these costco lights are the same thing.

Not worth it.

[Chip Haynes]

Yeah, the first ones we bought awhile back were mighty weak. I put one in our phone booth, though, and it works well there. I'm hoping the next generation of home LED bulb is a bit birghter. I mean, we don't need spot lights or anything, but it would be nice to see across the room.

I guess I need to get back out to Sam's, huh?

[Katie]

Ok, I've been living with these for a few days now.  I went and got two more sets of the $14-for-3 packages.  I have put those 1.1 Watt bulbs in all the ceiling fan sockets with the glass shades in the rooms I use most. So, when I want to go into the room, I turn on switch for those lights.  They are ok, but not strong lights.  Because I don't need a lot of light for most of the things I do, these are just fine and sure to save money.  I like it that most of the time, I'm only using 3.3 watts total to light these rooms.  In each room I also have at least one other lamp with a CF bulb in it.  So, if I need to do something that takes more light, there it is, the 9, 15 or 23 watt CF bulb works fine. 

The 1.1 watt bulbs are not very directional like the single 7-watt LED, more expensive one is.  I've used the 7 watt to read but seem to get better results if I use the 3.3 Watt overhead bulbs in addition to that, since the spot on the book is plenty bright to read, but the rest of the room is too dark, so adding the overhead makes it more even.  I don't think I'd bother to buy the single 7 watt bulb.  It is way too directional.  But since I have it, I'll use it.

I would wait for more improvements, but have had my eye on LEDs for years and years and this may be the best it gets, with PO and collapsing economy.  They may get more expensive again in the future.