LED lights for home use

[hillwalker]

I don't think these lights are expensive lights that have dropped in price because of the walton magic.

I think these are cheap lights, period.

They are *not* the same product as the ones that cost 10x as much, but look the same.
My experience is that not only are they sub-par (heh) in illumination, but the failure rate
on them is pretty high (I bought 2 doz) and they start to dim pretty quickly, then hit
a stable phase at about 1/2 to 1/3 the initial output for a long time. I've got 2 that
have been running pretty much 24x7 for about 3 years now, you can barely see the
output. Also have 2 cfls that have been running the same amount of time, and
their light output is still decent.

I bought a led lamp from a vendor out of Home Power magazine, that cost literally 10x
what one of my cheap-o lamps cost ($35 compared to about $3.50) it looks very much
the same, but the light output is not comparable. The expensive light is a real usable
light. But that one I am hording.

[Targe]

Your likely correct.  And there's nothing 'magic' about using Chinese child slaves to build your crap....

[hillwalker]

Your likely correct.  And there's nothing 'magic' about using Chinese child slaves to build your crap....

Hear hear;

there is a pretty good documentary 'What would Jesus Buy?'
at the tail end of the dvd, there is a testamony of a gal from
China who was a Christian and was arrested and imprisoned for
same. While incarcerated, she was subject to all the horrors imaginable,
but the ultimate irony, was that she was shopped out to a place
that made Christmas lights.
And the ultimate irony of that irony, is that in the depth of all that horror,
the one solace she was able to take, was that she imagined that
folks would take the fruits of her slave efforts, and use them to celebrate
the birth Jesus in a free country.

That was pretty much the end of it for me and Chinese goods.
Of course, they are pretty much unavoidable, but I avoid them where I can.

[Chip Haynes]

Ok, so we did buy some 110 volt LED lights awhile back, and we do use them around the home. The other day the alarm went off at oh-dark-thirty and I got up and sauntered into the bathroom without having to turn on any lights. I noticed a glow coming from the back room, so I made a detour to check it out. It was the 1.5 watt LED light bulb in a table lamp in there, glowing noticably. I thought that was a bit odd. Was this a phantom power drain? I unscrewed the light bulb, and even in my hand, it still glowed. Interesting.

Anyone else notice this with their 110 volt home LED light bulbs?

 

[Jonathan_Byron]

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

I bought some from Costco and had a similar experience. Even though it had a zillion little LEDs, it was not as bright, and there is a blue tinge.  In terms of energy use, it is more efficient - it barely gets warm and pulls only 3.5 or 4 watts (very nice!). But you will need additional lamps to get enough light using today's bulbs. 

[Chip Haynes]

The 1.5 watt LEDs we bought have a nice warm/yellow-ish glow to them, but are only about as bright as a 15 watt incadescent bulb. The 3.5 watt LEDs are certainly brighter, but also much bluer.

I expect to see better choices available as more varieties of LEDs come on the market.

And hey, they apparently work with no power at all!

 

[Katie]

The 1.5 watt LEDs we bought have a nice warm/yellow-ish glow to them, but are only about as bright as a 15 watt incadescent bulb. The 3.5 watt LEDs are certainly brighter, but also much bluer.

I expect to see better choices available as more varieties of LEDs come on the market.

And hey, they apparently work with no power at all!

 

Now that's a proper doomer light  .   However, it may be a seasonal effect, Halloween and all.  (Ghost loads have a new meaning  ) 

[Chip Haynes]

Halloween! That's it!   

The bulb does have a very other-worldly glow about it- even this morning, still.

Very Uncle Fester.

(snap, snap.)

[Chip Haynes]

And so, again I have to ask: Has no one else seen this sort of thing happen with their LED bulbs??

[Jonathan_Byron]

No, not with the LED bulbs.  With fluorescent, yes.  We had a ceiling fan with a circular fluor tube, and it would glow and occasionally flicker through the night.

[Chip Haynes]

Yeah, I've seen that with the flouros for a long time, but this was a first with LED bulb.

I may have to let the other LEDs we have around the house run for awhile to see if they do the same thing.

[Katie]

I do notice that when I turn off the light, the LED's glow for a while after being turned off.

[Chip Haynes]

I checked the LED on my nightstand last night when I went to bed. I made a point of leaving it on for a bit (I seldom turn it on at all), and yes, when I turned it off, it did glow for awhile. I suspect the longer you leave them on, the longer they glow. And it glowed longer than it was on.

Cool.

[Katie]

I checked the LED on my nightstand last night when I went to bed. I made a point of leaving it on for a bit (I seldom turn it on at all), and yes, when I turned it off, it did glow for awhile. I suspect the longer you leave them on, the longer they glow. And it glowed longer than it was on.

Cool.

Yes, it takes those electrons a while to calm down in the LEDs  .

Anyway, above I said "ghost loads"  I really meant "Phantom loads" but they are the same thing, really. 

[Chip Haynes]

Watching that LED glow when "off" made me suspect some sort of phantom power drain, so I unscrewed the bulb from the light socket, and it still glowed.

I guess it will make a dandy little night light!