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Amount of work that once bought an hour of light now buys 51 years of it (2017)

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Re: Amount of work that once bought an hour of light now buys 51 years of it (2017)

#11

Post by 6DM »

rsynnott wrote: post #8

Mildly weird piece, in that it's really measuring two things; lighting efficiency (and only at an extremely low resolution, implying a whole-system efficiency that doesn't change between the invention of the light bulb and the fluorescent light) and wage growth. 60 hours of work may have bought 72 hours of electric light in 1880, but rather more in 1990, say, for a combination of both reasons. That said, LED bulbs do…

I have a love hate relationship for led lights. They are more efficient, come in an array of colors for you to personalize your space.

But I consider them expensive and a lot of them surprisingly don’t last that long, especially for their price. I’ve already replace two out of three led light fixtures that are supposed to last at least a decade and it hasn’t even been 5 years.

I hope the quality improves or there’s some system out there so I can get a reliable lightbulb that lasts and/or doesn’t randomly flicker.

Re: Amount of work that once bought an hour of light now buys 51 years of it (2017)

#12

Post by [deleted] »

6DM wrote: post #11
rsynnott wrote: post #8

Mildly weird piece, in that it's really measuring two things; lighting efficiency (and only at an extremely low resolution, implying a whole-system efficiency that doesn't change between the invention of the light bulb and the fluorescent light) and wage growth. 60 hours of work may have bought 72 hours of electric light in 1880, but rather more in 1990, say, for a combination of both reasons. That said, LED bulbs do…

I have a love hate relationship for led lights. They are more efficient, come in an array of colors for you to personalize your space. But I consider them expensive and a lot of them surprisingly don’t last that long, especially for their price. I’ve already replace two out of three led light fixtures that are supposed to last at least a decade and it hasn’t even been 5 years. I hope the quality improves or there’s s…

[deleted]

Re: Amount of work that once bought an hour of light now buys 51 years of it (2017)

#13

Post by mcv »

6DM wrote: post #11
rsynnott wrote: post #8

Mildly weird piece, in that it's really measuring two things; lighting efficiency (and only at an extremely low resolution, implying a whole-system efficiency that doesn't change between the invention of the light bulb and the fluorescent light) and wage growth. 60 hours of work may have bought 72 hours of electric light in 1880, but rather more in 1990, say, for a combination of both reasons. That said, LED bulbs do…

I have a love hate relationship for led lights. They are more efficient, come in an array of colors for you to personalize your space. But I consider them expensive and a lot of them surprisingly don’t last that long, especially for their price. I’ve already replace two out of three led light fixtures that are supposed to last at least a decade and it hasn’t even been 5 years. I hope the quality improves or there’s s…

They last a lot longer than incandescent bulbs, though. In fact, I've been using LED lights for about 15 years now, and I'm not sure I've ever replaced one. Even the cheap ones. By comparison, incandescent bulbs had to be replaced all the time in my experience. My parents had a supply of them ready. Phosphorescent bulbs were a bit in between. They don't break, but they get dimmer and need more time to get to full brightness as they age.

Though perhaps I do recall a particular LED light that would overheat in a particular fixture. It's possible not all fixtures are equally suitable.

Re: Amount of work that once bought an hour of light now buys 51 years of it (2017)

#14

Post by rsynnott »

6DM wrote: post #11
rsynnott wrote: post #8

Mildly weird piece, in that it's really measuring two things; lighting efficiency (and only at an extremely low resolution, implying a whole-system efficiency that doesn't change between the invention of the light bulb and the fluorescent light) and wage growth. 60 hours of work may have bought 72 hours of electric light in 1880, but rather more in 1990, say, for a combination of both reasons. That said, LED bulbs do…

I have a love hate relationship for led lights. They are more efficient, come in an array of colors for you to personalize your space. But I consider them expensive and a lot of them surprisingly don’t last that long, especially for their price. I’ve already replace two out of three led light fixtures that are supposed to last at least a decade and it hasn’t even been 5 years. I hope the quality improves or there’s s…

Huh. I replaced every light bulb in my house with Ikea LEDs about seven years ago. They cost between about 4 and 10 EUR apiece depending on size. I think three have since failed. This seems like _fairly_ good going, and certainly way better than the old incandescent and halogen bulbs I had.

Re: Amount of work that once bought an hour of light now buys 51 years of it (2017)

#15

Post by philjohn »

6DM wrote: post #11
rsynnott wrote: post #8

Mildly weird piece, in that it's really measuring two things; lighting efficiency (and only at an extremely low resolution, implying a whole-system efficiency that doesn't change between the invention of the light bulb and the fluorescent light) and wage growth. 60 hours of work may have bought 72 hours of electric light in 1880, but rather more in 1990, say, for a combination of both reasons. That said, LED bulbs do…

I have a love hate relationship for led lights. They are more efficient, come in an array of colors for you to personalize your space. But I consider them expensive and a lot of them surprisingly don’t last that long, especially for their price. I’ve already replace two out of three led light fixtures that are supposed to last at least a decade and it hasn’t even been 5 years. I hope the quality improves or there’s s…

There are definitely a range of quality when it comes to bulb manufacturers, heat dissipation is also important.

I got 10 LAP GU10 bulbs 6 years ago for use in en-suite bathrooms - 6 years later all 10 are still trucking along.

On the other hand, I had multiple Phillips B22 bulbs last at most 2 years.

Re: Amount of work that once bought an hour of light now buys 51 years of it (2017)

#16

Post by jjice »

rsynnott wrote: post #8

Mildly weird piece, in that it's really measuring two things; lighting efficiency (and only at an extremely low resolution, implying a whole-system efficiency that doesn't change between the invention of the light bulb and the fluorescent light) and wage growth. 60 hours of work may have bought 72 hours of electric light in 1880, but rather more in 1990, say, for a combination of both reasons. That said, LED bulbs do…

> Mildly weird piece, in that it's really measuring two things

True, but I think it's an interesting metric. I don't think it maps well to everything, but it is cool that it is a combination of two things since a lot of our technology has just gotten better and better over the years. I mean, just look at how incredible computers are. Power efficient, performant machines that can allow someone to work a job from anywhere, start a business, learn, etc and you can get a decent used one for $300 USD. One hell of a time to be alive, all things considered.

Re: Amount of work that once bought an hour of light now buys 51 years of it (2017)

#18

Post by kikokikokiko »

6DM wrote: post #11
rsynnott wrote: post #8

Mildly weird piece, in that it's really measuring two things; lighting efficiency (and only at an extremely low resolution, implying a whole-system efficiency that doesn't change between the invention of the light bulb and the fluorescent light) and wage growth. 60 hours of work may have bought 72 hours of electric light in 1880, but rather more in 1990, say, for a combination of both reasons. That said, LED bulbs do…

I have a love hate relationship for led lights. They are more efficient, come in an array of colors for you to personalize your space. But I consider them expensive and a lot of them surprisingly don’t last that long, especially for their price. I’ve already replace two out of three led light fixtures that are supposed to last at least a decade and it hasn’t even been 5 years. I hope the quality improves or there’s s…

They are made to fail fast, it's obviously by design. One simple thing I do in all my led light bulbs, that makes them last for an almost indefinite amount of time: remove the plastic bulb. One of the main reasons for one of the leds or one of the capacitors to fail, is the high temperatures reached during the operation of the device. Removing the bulb makes it a lot cooler, and in the last few years since I've been removing the bulbs, no led light has failed in my house. There's other things you can do, but this is the main one any consumer can do to fight back against this scourge of modern capitalism. I recommend Big Clive's Youtube channel for getting more tips like this one.

Re: Amount of work that once bought an hour of light now buys 51 years of it (2017)

#19

Post by osigurdson »

USB5 wrote: post #17

American wages have been stagnated for over 30 years.

We’ve had many technological advancements, but few touch on concrete problems that actually save time or reduce costs for individuals. I suspect the next few decades will have more impact in this regard than the last 50 years.

Full self driving might be an example in the near future that will measurably lift standards of living for many. More automation, AI and robotics are the key.

Re: Amount of work that once bought an hour of light now buys 51 years of it (2017)

#20

Post by stonemetal12 »

rsynnott wrote: post #8

Mildly weird piece, in that it's really measuring two things; lighting efficiency (and only at an extremely low resolution, implying a whole-system efficiency that doesn't change between the invention of the light bulb and the fluorescent light) and wage growth. 60 hours of work may have bought 72 hours of electric light in 1880, but rather more in 1990, say, for a combination of both reasons. That said, LED bulbs do…

If we are just looking at "Fun" numbers it might make sense to include house prices. After all I need a power socket to plug in my light bulb vs say a candle or lamp I can fire up anywhere.
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