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There's something off about LED bulbs

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Re: There's something off about LED bulbs

#261

Post by Smrchy »

aardvarkr wrote: post #47
formerly_proven wrote: post #24

There's a lot wrong with LEDs in general and retrofit (E27 bulbs) in particular. In no particular order - LED emitters driven hard for cost reasons, age and fail quickly - Power supplies driven hard for cost reasons, age and fail quickly - Poor CRI and SSRI - Flickering - Dim-to-warm is uncommon - Poorly designed power supplies that age and fail quickly - The same light quality is vastly more expensive to achieve wit…

What’s an example of what you consider to be a high quality led? I’m pretty happy with everything that I have in my home but I’m curious what you’re talking about

Check out https://www.occhio.com/en-lv/about-light/light-quality/outst... for some high end lights...

Re: There's something off about LED bulbs

#262

Post by pkulak »

causality0 wrote: post #239
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can go buy high CRI, high quality bulbs right now. Nothing is stopping you. Here is one common vendor: https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/a19-bulbs/ The issue isn’t that MBAs have cost reduced bulbs for no reason. The issue is that 95% of consumers will only choose the cheap bulbs, period. As a result, that’s what gets produced at scale. > We know how to mass-produce quality LEDs to the point entire T…

Is there anything decent in the middle? Somewhere between one dollar bulbs and eighteen dollar bulbs?

I've been happy with my Cree leds. I can't seem to find them online, only Home Depot.

Re: There's something off about LED bulbs

#263

Post by drorco »

marcellus23 wrote: post #209
taneq wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cost optimization IS the limits of the technology. All the nice things you mention are the result of large amounts of work by exceptional people. This costs money. Most of them require higher-spec components, or more design time, or more complicated fabrication and assembly. These things also cost money. Nobody's denying you nice things at low prices just out of spite. Nice things just cost more. To put a positive sp…

Are there companies out there creating premium LED bulbs without these problems?

I'm no expert with LEDs' technical bits, but I purchased LIFX bulbs which were pretty expensive and they've lasted for almost a decade now.

Re: There's something off about LED bulbs

#264

Post by last_responder »

throwthrowuknow wrote: post #64
gaudat wrote: post #51

Is it just me or is there something off about this article? It reads quite incoherent. I happen to work with a lot of LED light sources nowadays and I can see most problems discussed are related to the light fixture, driver or psychology. More often than not it is the capacitors in these mains powered LEDs that fail first, because the circuit is designed to run at the highest temperature possible to lower the cost of…

[flagged]

Green account . A mod? Admin? Either way reported.

Re: There's something off about LED bulbs

#265

Post by whateveracct »

the_af wrote: post #234
whateveracct wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why are you acting like you need a college credit in an LED survey course in order to buy incandescent-replacement LEDs? It's like a new vocabulary of like 5 terms/concepts that can all be summarized in a sentence or two. When I upgraded my house, I spent maybe 30 min reading some articles and then 30 more going through product listings [1]. To upgrade a core piece of infra for my whole house. [1] I can already hear…

> why are you acting like you need a college credit in an LED survey course in order to buy incandescent-replacement LEDs? It's like a new vocabulary of like 5 terms/concepts that can all be summarized in a sentence or two. I hope by "you" you are also including TFA and the comment I was replying to, right? Your response directly contradicts TFA. I don't know who is right, I just know I'm not entirely satisfied with…

The article isn't some authoritative source. It's the Strategist, which can best be summed up as just some people with opinions.

Re: There's something off about LED bulbs

#266

Post by eimrine »

Waterluvian wrote: post #104
eimrine wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Non-dimmableness is only one of the problems. For me the biggest problem is that all LEDs are blue, despite of any light-filters. I can not use it in bedroom when I use to read books before sleep and in bathroom when my aestetical needs of seing bare body have been not met. I have even changed my place of living since Sodium lamps have been replaced with LEDs on my old street. And if I need a really bright light or r…

My home is full of bright, warm yellow/orange LEDs. I also have a lot of "sunlight" LEDs which I'll describe as "white" and I LOVE them for big rooms and making daytime feel like daytime. Great for my office. I recall blue being a big problem when LEDs for homes were new, but when I bought a house 3 years ago and revisited it, I was delighted to find so many very solid options. Dimmable, non-flicker, warm LED bulbs.…

“for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources”

This is what drives your "warm" lamps. No deep red at all, man.

Re: There's something off about LED bulbs

#267

Post by pleb_nz »

Focusing on reliability, quality and performance I've had nothing but an excellent run with LEDs, both retro and built into the home for 10 years. Never replaced anything on any of them. And not just me proud I've talked with as well.

The only issue I have with LED is the light isn't as nice as incandescent and although I'm not certain it may not be as good for your health.

Be interesting to know more about the context is the authors experience doesn't seem to be the same for everyone

Re: There's something off about LED bulbs

#268

Post by JohnFen »

cogman10 wrote: post #222
JohnFen wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost all LED bulb failures are because the power supply died due to overheating, not the LEDs themselves. I harvest the LEDs out of dead bulbs to use in hobby projects. With Edison-style bulbs, anyway, the orientation they're mounted in makes a huge amount of difference. They're last a lot longer if they're oriented upright (base down) than in any other orientation because it reduces the heat buildup in the power s…

This is the frustrating thing about LEDs that IDK we can change. If there was a "DC" light socket in the house we could have LEDs outlasting owners, and for cheap. Nearly all the expense of LED bulbs is the power supply. Everything else is dirt cheap. A single home DC power supply with ~200W of output could light an entire house, flicker free. What's even more frustrating is I think we could fix it. A national regula…

Low voltage DC lighting is a thing that has existed for a very, very long time. That most houses don't have it is more cultural than anything else, in my opinion.

That means it's totally fixable. You can install such a system in existing buildings right now, and it's not crazy expensive unless you want to run the wires inside the walls.

If we could shift cultural expectations around this, adding a LV system in new construction would not significantly increase the construction costs. It will start to be done if buyers start demanding it.

Re: There's something off about LED bulbs

#269

Post by fest »

OJFord wrote: post #216
smallerfish wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can write the install date (and store name) on the bulb housing with a sharpie when you put it in the socket. It's not a receipt but it at least gives you a shot at getting a return when it fails early.

You could also just write an arbitrary date and the name of the most convenient shop when it fails, so I really don't see what good that does, it's very far from a receipt.

At the very least, it gives you an idea which receipt to look for in your box of receipts/warranties.

And no, I am not happy about having to think about storing receipts for mundane things like light bulbs either, but it is the only thing that calms down my nerves when yet another bulb with 5 year warranty fails in a year.

Re: There's something off about LED bulbs

#270

Post by JohnFen »

droopyEyelids wrote: post #232
JohnFen wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost all LED bulb failures are because the power supply died due to overheating, not the LEDs themselves. I harvest the LEDs out of dead bulbs to use in hobby projects. With Edison-style bulbs, anyway, the orientation they're mounted in makes a huge amount of difference. They're last a lot longer if they're oriented upright (base down) than in any other orientation because it reduces the heat buildup in the power s…

You're right though I want to mention the LEDs are also damaged by the heat, their color temperature will wander, lifetime will be reduced, and brightness per watt will also be reduced. Still useful for projects and areas where perfect lighting isn't as important.

Indeed. And, as another commenter pointed out, LED bulbs often overdrive the LEDs in order to maximize light output -- but doing so significantly decreases the lifespan of the LEDs themselves.
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