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What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

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Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#381

Post by Moru »

setquk wrote: post #250
darepublic wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Alas this isn't a problem. It is a problem in the sense that it creates waste and pollution. There is a cost to throwing things out, and for shipping things across the country without limit.

Goes in the WEEE recycling here and is recycled so the impact isn’t as high as it may be elsewhere. I do agree with you fundamentally however.

Recycling of electronics does not have to be as good for the environment as it's made out to be. It can be pretty toxic stuff to melt and separate.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#382

Post by arm »

sosuke wrote: post #274
mrb wrote: post #235

Lifetime isn't even my #1 concern with LED bulbs. It's strobing/flickering. I film all the LED bulbs I buy in slow motion at 240 fps with an Android phone, and play the movie back on a PC with mplayer using the dot(".") key to move frame by frame. Here is a shot I made comparing 2 brands of LED bulbs: https://youtu.be/QbenId_F2RQ (Edit: yeah you don't have to transfer to a PC, just playing back in slow motion on the…

I'm really happy to see you post this. Everyone else I've brought it up too just says I'm crazy. I might be crazy but not about the damn flickering/strobe. Especially when my dog bounces around it looks like she is in a strobe light. I did a couple of videos of it just to "prove" it in some fashion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DddB_0QrV_8

You’re definitely not crazy. HN also had a big discussion about it two months ago in this¹ thread as well.

――――――

¹ — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18644590

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#383

Post by handzbagz »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #378
mrb wrote: post #235

Lifetime isn't even my #1 concern with LED bulbs. It's strobing/flickering. I film all the LED bulbs I buy in slow motion at 240 fps with an Android phone, and play the movie back on a PC with mplayer using the dot(".") key to move frame by frame. Here is a shot I made comparing 2 brands of LED bulbs: https://youtu.be/QbenId_F2RQ (Edit: yeah you don't have to transfer to a PC, just playing back in slow motion on the…

LED flicker could prove harmful or fatal if you work with anything that rotates or reciprocates. The rotating / reciprocating mass may appear stationary at some RPM. Just a reminder to only ever use incandescent or halogen lights around machinery you can touch while in operation: drills, lathes, mills, slotting machines, etc.

Just how likely is this to happen though, it would have to be the only light source and be flickering with exactly the same frequency as the machinery is traveling at (which i assume for most devices varies a lot).

Not saying it can't happen but it does seem stupidly hard to achieve.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#384

Post by handzbagz »

ams6110 wrote: post #300
tzs wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I replaced around 25 bulbs in my house with cheap Walmart "Great Value" LEDs just under 3 years ago and they've all been fine. Previously, I had replaced around 4 bulbs with Cree LEDs from Home Depot, and half of those were dead within a few months. The Walmart bulbs without any special pricing were way cheaper than the Cree bulbs from Home Depot, but even better, there was some sort of automatic rebate or something…

I bought about 100 regular incandescents in various wattages at Lowes before they were banned. I wish I had bought a lot more. They were about $0.25 per bulb at the clearance sale prices. CFLs and LEDs are poor substitutes from a quality-of-light standpoint. Also AFAIK there is no hazardous waste in a burned-out incandescent. You can throw it away with a clear conscience.

But you're using huge amounts more energy, I think that would rest on my conscience a little more.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#385

Post by arm »

pistachiopro wrote: post #316
mrb wrote: post #235

Lifetime isn't even my #1 concern with LED bulbs. It's strobing/flickering. I film all the LED bulbs I buy in slow motion at 240 fps with an Android phone, and play the movie back on a PC with mplayer using the dot(".") key to move frame by frame. Here is a shot I made comparing 2 brands of LED bulbs: https://youtu.be/QbenId_F2RQ (Edit: yeah you don't have to transfer to a PC, just playing back in slow motion on the…

I completely agree, flicker has been the most distracting part of switching to LEDs, for me. Here are two good sites that posted graphs of light intensity over time for a bunch of different bulbs: http://www.ledbenchmark.com/ http://sle.se/michael/led/ (Swedish) Unfortunately, they both stopped updating around 2015. Anyone know of similar sources for more recent bulbs?

In the huge HN thread here¹, yeutterg mentioned² their Bedtime Bulb:

> “I am on a mission to make lighting healthy. That's why I made Bedtime Bulb: https://bedtimebulb.com/ It has the lowest flicker I've ever seen in a bulb form factor—even less than those claiming to be "flicker-free."”

In addition to that, a few other database sites that test for flicker were mentioned here³.

――――――

¹ — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18644590

² — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18650624

³ — https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18646409

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#386

Post by simcop2387 »

handzbagz wrote: post #383
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LED flicker could prove harmful or fatal if you work with anything that rotates or reciprocates. The rotating / reciprocating mass may appear stationary at some RPM. Just a reminder to only ever use incandescent or halogen lights around machinery you can touch while in operation: drills, lathes, mills, slotting machines, etc.

Just how likely is this to happen though, it would have to be the only light source and be flickering with exactly the same frequency as the machinery is traveling at (which i assume for most devices varies a lot). Not saying it can't happen but it does seem stupidly hard to achieve.

It doesn't have to be going the exact same speed, a multiple would do the trick too. It can also be dangerous if it's close to the same rate since it can then look like it's going slower even if not stopped.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#387

Post by [deleted] »

handzbagz wrote: post #383
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LED flicker could prove harmful or fatal if you work with anything that rotates or reciprocates. The rotating / reciprocating mass may appear stationary at some RPM. Just a reminder to only ever use incandescent or halogen lights around machinery you can touch while in operation: drills, lathes, mills, slotting machines, etc.

Just how likely is this to happen though, it would have to be the only light source and be flickering with exactly the same frequency as the machinery is traveling at (which i assume for most devices varies a lot). Not saying it can't happen but it does seem stupidly hard to achieve.

[deleted]

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#388

Post by foxhop »

Brakenshire wrote: post #61
QasimK wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending on where you live, the energy “inefficiency” of a light bulb is no such thing. In the UK, for example, during winter (and spring and autumn) the heating is appreciated! However, it is 2-3x more costly than using gas central heating. (However however something something whole house vs room-specific heating.) In the summer, it’s a complete waste though. Directed infrared heating panels may be the most efficie…

It's also heating the ceiling, which will reduce the efficiency further. It's a straightforward issue of separation of concerns, there are some occasions where you want heating and lighting always tied together, but they are niche. Almost everywhere in the world you have large periods of the day or year when you want lighting without heat.

I use a desk lamp so It's really close to me and I get both the light and heat and I swap the bulb out for an LED during summer.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#389

Post by unicornporn »

dpwm wrote: post #336
simcop2387 wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I've found to help weed out the worst of the worst is to only buy dimmable versions of the bulbs. They cost more but because they have to support dimming they're almost required to have a better power supply to handle the usual triac based control that most dimmers have.

Not sure this always holds. The worst bulbs I've personally seen for flicker were dimmable ones. The non-dimmable variant from the same range had no noticable flicker. Price paid also seems to be no indicator of quality – I've had premium LED bulbs from major makes, bought from a reputable wholesaler, that have died after 6 months within days of each other. I've had cheap no-name imports that have lasted years and ha…

Confirmed. Have dimmable at work and home and they flicker like crazy.

Re: What Happened to the 100000 Hour LED Bulbs?

#390

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

simcop2387 wrote: post #386
handzbagz wrote: post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just how likely is this to happen though, it would have to be the only light source and be flickering with exactly the same frequency as the machinery is traveling at (which i assume for most devices varies a lot). Not saying it can't happen but it does seem stupidly hard to achieve.

It doesn't have to be going the exact same speed, a multiple would do the trick too. It can also be dangerous if it's close to the same rate since it can then look like it's going slower even if not stopped.

Or the rotating / reciprocating object may appear to be rotating / reciprocating slowly in the opposite direction.

Even after 20 years in the metal fabrication industry that scenario still spooks me.

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