What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs? • Hacker News Board

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#141

Post by cr0sh » Wed, Feb 06, 2019, 5:58 PM UTC

2019ideas wrote: post #76

I bought some G9 bulbs, and they are not performing like the halogens... It doesn't give me the full RGB like halogens and my house looks pale white(lacks red) instead of full color. I might go back, I do not like the look of my house, and I find myself turning on my living room lights AND dining room lights. The brightness wasn't there. There is massive improvement to be made on LEDs still.

If you're getting a pale white, "operating room" color - look into "warm white" (instead of cool white or "sunlight") LED bulbs. I've found them to be the closest to an incandescent you can get. Be aware, though, that some "warm white" bulbs are toward the "cooler" end of the range and look more white; you'll need to try a few brands to find the color temp you like.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#142

Post by Consultant32452 » Wed, Feb 06, 2019, 5:59 PM UTC

Sebguer wrote: post #120

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>requires an electrician to replace the whole fixture would like a word with you. Kind of like how replacing a gas dryer "requires" a licensed plumber to make the gas connection or you're "required" to drive no faster than the speed limit at all times. You're getting the runaround. If it was in a vacant apartment that they were showing to people it would already be fixed. If they cared about getting it done ASAP they…

yeah, darn those pesky laws around liability getting in the way of some good old-fashioned handiwork.

As long as you're just replacing the fixture and not running new line a handy man type person can do it legally.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#143

Post by nsxwolf » Wed, Feb 06, 2019, 5:59 PM UTC

tachyonbeam wrote: post #35

mikepurvis wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there was more selection available of that kind of thing— when I last looked a year or so ago there was basically just one option at Home Depot, and it had the aesthetics of something you'd put in the laundry room. Worse than that, though, it was unusable with a dimmer switch; the whole thing visibly flickered every few seconds. I felt bad returning it because I really wanted it to work out, but the quality ju…

I have an LED fixture that I got from home depot that is dimmable, no flickering. It's connected to a normal dimmer switch. I bought it about a year ago. My other LED fixtures were ordered through aliexpress. The fixtures were fine, but the transformers that came with the fixtures all failed and had to be replaced (overheated, melted the plastic casing). This turned out to be tricky, because the LED drivers available…

I didn't know that the fixtures themselves had dimming features. I put "dimmable" LEDs in my can lights in the basement, and I'm really unimpressed with them. They don't flicker[1], but they don't get very dim, either.

[1] Except after a power outage - then they eerily flash on and off like something out of Stranger Things.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#144

Post by nouveaux » Wed, Feb 06, 2019, 5:59 PM UTC

phasetransition wrote: post #105

So, engineering lead of a (outdoor) led Luminaire manufacturer here. And our sales director used to work for one of the biggest Asian light bulb OEMs. Happy to answer specific technical questions out there that this article triggered.

So which led light bulb do you install in your house?

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#145

Post by Freak_NL » Wed, Feb 06, 2019, 6:00 PM UTC

tachyonbeam wrote: post #35

mikepurvis wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there was more selection available of that kind of thing— when I last looked a year or so ago there was basically just one option at Home Depot, and it had the aesthetics of something you'd put in the laundry room. Worse than that, though, it was unusable with a dimmer switch; the whole thing visibly flickered every few seconds. I felt bad returning it because I really wanted it to work out, but the quality ju…

I have an LED fixture that I got from home depot that is dimmable, no flickering. It's connected to a normal dimmer switch. I bought it about a year ago. My other LED fixtures were ordered through aliexpress. The fixtures were fine, but the transformers that came with the fixtures all failed and had to be replaced (overheated, melted the plastic casing). This turned out to be tricky, because the LED drivers available…

That is the constant frustration of this economic model. Either you buy the driver (or the LED bulbs for that matter) from a shop in your own regulated economic area (like the EEA) and have them handle quality assurance (including the selection of the product) and warrantee, or you get the same product directly from China for a fifth of the price and have to handle the occasional failure yourself.

The sad thing is that the latter is still cheaper than buying from a 'local' shop.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#146

Post by ip26 » Wed, Feb 06, 2019, 6:01 PM UTC

neonkiwi wrote: post #112

ip26 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of junk to be sure but tens of Philips & GE bulbs have been doing great for me for a couple years now. They don't run that hot either.

I was surprised at the early failures of my Sylvania bulbs. Had expected that going with a brand that has been in the light bulb industry for a long time, I would get decent quality, but they've all died in under a year. Now IKEA bulbs are my go-to, the mix of selection, quality and price is impressive compared to what I've seen but I haven't thoroughly researched this. Do Philips or GE do better?

I have only my anecdotal experience, but I'm happy with the Philips & GE bulbs. As I said, they both seem to run pretty cool. Philips makes what seem to be inexpensive-but-quality bulbs, as well as dimmable LED's that red-shift like incandescent used to. They also make a 60W yellow bulb that has very low blue emissions, uncommon for LED bulbs. Some of GE's LED bulbs have really high CRI which I like for making the basement more cheery.

One thing to pay close attention to on the package is whether the bulb can be run in an enclosed fixture. The package should always specify. Following this guidance and picking the right bulb for the fixture will help ensure you get the service life you expect. I don't think I've found any 100W equivalents that are OK'd for fully enclosed application, and 60W equivalent is like 50/50.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#147

Post by hypertexthero » Wed, Feb 06, 2019, 6:01 PM UTC

I was recently excited to find an ”award winning” Ikea Riggad LED lamp on the ”take for free” shelf by the recycling area of my building.

Plugged it in, did not work. Tried dismantling it with the help of these photos — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhfZ-vwau8c — but some screw sockets seemed damaged and the screws would not come off. I could not see anything wrong with cables or soldering as far as I got, so I wonder if the LED or circuit board is the problem.

Good design needs to consider sustainability, longevity and ease-of-maintenance in addition to how something works and looks.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#148

Post by lupire » Wed, Feb 06, 2019, 6:02 PM UTC

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #25

vanderZwan wrote: post #7

> Plus, they’ll more than pay for themselves in electricity savings compared to the old, inefficient LED bulbs they replaced. Sure, eventually, but without further context this obsession with light bulbs always sounds a little bit penny wise and pound foolish to me. The relative cost of lighting on the monthly electricity bill is tiny so those savings are pretty small. Getting a more efficient fridge, washing machine…

There's a simple joy in trading out some dying halogen bulbs for so much brighter LED bulbs which use the same power. It's absolutely optimizing in the wrong place, but it's super satisfying.

Why is it wrong? Halogens are a fire hazard and a heat nuisance.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#149

Post by ceejayoz » Wed, Feb 06, 2019, 6:03 PM UTC

Consultant32452 wrote: post #142

Sebguer wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah, darn those pesky laws around liability getting in the way of some good old-fashioned handiwork.

As long as you're just replacing the fixture and not running new line a handy man type person can do it legally.

In some jurisdictions.

IIRC, Australia requires an electrician for even this sort of minor work.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#150

Post by JohnTHaller » Wed, Feb 06, 2019, 6:03 PM UTC

Consultant32452 wrote: post #142

Sebguer wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah, darn those pesky laws around liability getting in the way of some good old-fashioned handiwork.

As long as you're just replacing the fixture and not running new line a handy man type person can do it legally.

Generally, a landlord wants someone licensed with insurance to handle something like that on the off chance something goes wrong. I was going to fix the fixture in my bathroom that was shorting a bit and burning out bulbs myself. Thankfully I called my owner and he had an electrician come in because it turns out a lot of the conduit above the fixture needed replacing due to age.