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LED Bulbs
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subego
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Dec 19, 2016, 02:00 PM
 
Sacrilege!

I really like incandescent bulbs, for many reasons, but getting my hands on 75W bulbs that don't blow out every week has proven a bigger drag than it should be.

Tried out some 2700K LED bulbs from Cree. I'm impressed. They nailed the color temperature.

They're dimmable, but don't really behave ideally. One of the reasons I like incandescents is dimming them warms up the color temperature. These (unsurprisingly) keep the same color temperature regardless of output.

The circuitry causes some lag with switching and dimming, but I won't know how much it bothers me until I swap everything out. Though everything in my apartment is on a automated dimmer, my actual use pattern has degraded to "instant full on" and "instant full off".

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01K7..._st_dp_summary
     
starman
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Dec 19, 2016, 02:07 PM
 
I went to LED a few years ago. The lights I put in my office in 2012 are still running and haven't degraded. If Christmas LEDs weren't so expensive I'd switch those too.

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subego  (op)
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Dec 19, 2016, 02:32 PM
 
I was extremely happy with the GE "Double Life" bulbs I was working with. Case of those would last a couple years. A case of the GE "normal life" aren't lasting 6 months.
     
Ham Sandwich
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Dec 19, 2016, 02:38 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Tried out some 2700K LED bulbs from Cree. I'm impressed. They nailed the color temperature.
Cree's bulbs are defective. They flicker. I had half a batch flicker beginning 2015 on occasional use and returned them all (over $100 worth of them). Plus their heat sink on the bottom stays scorching hot for a few minutes after turning it off.

I switched to the Phillips LED bulbs. They are thin, lighter-weight, and cooler-running. They look like plastic question marks, and don't get anywhere as hot because the heat sink is spread throughout the LED array within the bulb. The 75W equivalents (correction: 60W equivalents) were on sale at Home Depot for like $2 a bulb when I got mine.
( Last edited by Ham Sandwich; Dec 19, 2016 at 03:22 PM. )
     
osiris
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Dec 19, 2016, 02:43 PM
 
I went totally LED years ago, Hue lights and regular 5Ks, whatever they got I love them and use them.
Saved a fortune in electricity (if your idea of a fortune is less than $30 a month)

If you want full control get the Hue system - their color bulb is fantastic, plus HomeKit supports it too, though Siri is a PITA I turned her off because I grew tired of yelling at my phone "turn the goddamn lights on!"

On Cree - I've noticed a few bad bulbs lately, in fact, all 3 of mine died in the course of year. These were the 100 watt equivalent on for 12 hours a day.
But yes, they flickered and died...
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subego  (op)
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Dec 19, 2016, 02:44 PM
 
Originally Posted by And.reg View Post
Cree's bulbs are defective. They flicker. I had half a batch flicker beginning 2015 on occasional use and returned them all (over $100 worth of them). Plus their heat sink on the bottom stays scorching hot for a few minutes after turning it off.

I switched to the Phillips LED bulbs. They are thin, lighter-weight, and cooler-running. They look like plastic question marks, and don't get anywhere as hot because the heat sink is spread throughout the LED array within the bulb. The 75W equivalents were on sale at Home Depot for like $2 a bulb when I got mine.
Hopefully I got a different batch.

Isn't being scorching hot a heat sink's job?
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 19, 2016, 02:50 PM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
I went totally LED years ago, Hue lights and regular 5Ks, whatever they got I love them and use them.
Saved a fortune in electricity (if your idea of a fortune is less than $30 a month)

If you want full control get the Hue system - their color bulb is fantastic, plus HomeKit supports it too, though Siri is a PITA I turned her off because I grew tired of yelling at my phone "turn the goddamn lights on!
I've played around with Hues, and I like them. That's what I put in at work when I had a clean slate. For my apartment, I already have a bunch of dimmers, which is approaching things from a not very Hue-compatible direction.
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 19, 2016, 02:54 PM
 
If my Crees flake out on me, Hyperikon seems to be the main competitor.
     
osiris
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Dec 19, 2016, 03:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
I've played around with Hues, and I like them. That's what I put in at work when I had an empty slate to work with. For my apartment, I already have a bunch of dimmers, which is approaching things from a not very Hue-compatible direction.
It's a big leap from dimmers/timers. I had a crazy array of things setup for lighting too, got lucky with the gift of hue.
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
Chongo
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Dec 19, 2016, 03:07 PM
 
I almost cleaned out the .99 only store. They had the 40 watt equivalent models. On a side note, we bought an "Atomic Beam" flashlight. It uses a Cree LED. It's bright using three AAA's. I'm going to buy some 18650's for it. They are suppose to be even more bright using an 18650.
( Last edited by Chongo; Dec 19, 2016 at 04:02 PM. )
45/47
     
Ham Sandwich
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Dec 19, 2016, 03:22 PM
 
[...deleted...]
( Last edited by Ham Sandwich; Apr 23, 2020 at 08:31 AM. )
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 19, 2016, 03:25 PM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
It's a big leap from dimmers/timers. I had a crazy array of things setup for lighting too, got lucky with the gift of hue.
They're home automation dimmers... all computer or phone controlled. I haven't hooked it up yet, but I got Alexa so I can yell at my house to turn the lights on.

As I said, I like the Hues, but even ignoring the outlay I've made with my current system, my apartment is decorated such it wouldn't benefit from colors outside of old-fashioned light bulb ones.
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 19, 2016, 03:27 PM
 
Originally Posted by And.reg View Post
Did yours say "10-year warranty?" It's the same batch.

A distributed heat sink doesn't get as hot.
I was being kind of a snot... of course, the cooler it runs the better, and the flickering problems are quite possibly overheating related.
     
Thorzdad
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Dec 19, 2016, 03:43 PM
 
We're replacing our incandescent and halogens with LED as they burn out. First up were all of the exterior lights at the front and garage doors. We used a bunch of weather-rated LEDs by Utilitech (Lowes) and they've been performing like champs through two sub-zero Indiana winters now, and starting into a third winter.

On the other side of things, we've actually had indoor LED recessed ceiling floods fail within a year. Up until then, they were great.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Dec 19, 2016, 08:12 PM
 
I've never seen them installed and in use but the Philips Hue bulbs look good on paper. They cost a bomb but they supposedly last 15 years and I know they do hundreds of different versions of just white alone so they ought to be able to satisfy your colour requirements between that and the programming options should allow you to emulate your dimming desires.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 19, 2016, 09:47 PM
 
If I wanted to put in that kind of effort, I'd do it in a second. As I said, I put them in at work.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Dec 20, 2016, 12:31 AM
 
So what you're saying is you want top notch results with little or no expenditure and effort,
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
P
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Dec 20, 2016, 03:46 AM
 
I used CCFL bulbs from early on - IKEA had some really cheap ones - and figured that I'd replace them with better ones when they wore out. Trouble is, they don't - nearly indestructible - so recently I have replaced a few with Philips LEDs after a certain new lamp had rust brown light with CCFLs. LEDs are really much better, and you can put very bright ones in small lamps without melting the lamp.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
reader50
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Dec 20, 2016, 04:47 AM
 
Same "problem" here. The CFLs are excellent bulbs, and are taking their sweet time wearing out. It may be a while before I can rotate LEDs in.

Beware LED marketing. Most of the LEDs I've seen aren't putting out the standard lumens for their size. They aren't much more efficient than CFLs, but exaggerate their advantage by selling you undersized bulbs.

100W equivalent = 1600 lumens.
75W equivalent = 1200 lumens.
60W equivalent = 960 lumens. (LEDs often 800 lumen)
40W equivalent = 640 lumens. (LEDs often 450-500 lumen)
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 20, 2016, 07:10 AM
 
Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep View Post
So what you're saying is you want top notch results with little or no expenditure and effort,
What I want is an incandescent bulb which lasts more than a couple weeks.
     
osiris
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Dec 20, 2016, 10:03 AM
 
psst... I can get you a deal on smuggled GE incandescent bulbs from an unopened case made in the '60s, made in usa...
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 20, 2016, 10:10 AM
 
I'd be fine with Mexico, actually. That was where the Double Lifes were from.

I'll let people guess with the other ones.
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 23, 2016, 03:15 PM
 
I may have to go Hue after all... I very much dislike these bulbs when dimmed. Not cozy.
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 30, 2016, 05:53 PM
 
I'm at a crossroads.

The Hues integrate 95% with my current home automation deal, but that last 5% is a killer.

It can't really do any "Bridge tricks", like getting it to do a scene. It can assemble a scene by sending a command to a bunch of bulbs one by one, but the lag as it runs through the list is way too much for my OCD to handle.

If I go with the Hues, I basically ditch my whole home automation system for an entirely new one... at significant expense.

This would be easier if it wasn't for my infatuation with the Amazon Echo. Ironically, considering it uses a hack to work with my home automation software, for things like controlling my current lighting setup, it works magnificently.
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 30, 2016, 08:15 PM
 
I'm trying to look at this emotionlessly, and see what I could potentially squeeze out of a new, Hue based system.

If I want to use Alexa to turn on the lights in a room I've set up on the Hue app, and have that happen in sync, I need to use the Hue skill.

For whatever reason, maybe because it needs to get pushed through Philips servers, it tacks on a good second or more while Alexa thinks about it. Enough it starts impinging on the reason you're using voice control in the first place.

So that's garbage. I'm going to disable the skill. Either I bail on Hues entirely, or, I dunno... maybe try and run with the lag. Set up a delay between the lights coming on which has a nice rhythm.
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 30, 2016, 10:29 PM
 
Yup. I'm bailing. Fun experiment, but LEDs aren't cutting it yet.
     
Ham Sandwich
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Dec 31, 2016, 09:16 AM
 
[...deleted...]
( Last edited by Ham Sandwich; Apr 23, 2020 at 08:33 AM. )
     
subego  (op)
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Dec 31, 2016, 11:53 AM
 
Looks ideal for topping up the Colonial Viper.
     
reader50
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Dec 31, 2016, 05:06 PM
 
I've used those on book shelves, to light up the spines. They work good in vehicles too, since they run on 12 VDC. Haven't tried dimming them though.
     
subego  (op)
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Jan 16, 2017, 01:33 AM
 
I've found incandescents which say they can swing 20,000 hours.

Irritatingly, I already have a bunch, they're just in lower wattages than I need. No idea why I didn't try to find them in 75 watt versions.

It's also irritating to leave behind 6, 75 watt equivalent LEDs running less than 60 watts total.
     
kiana mckylie
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Jan 25, 2017, 05:15 AM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
I used CCFL bulbs from early on - IKEA had some really cheap ones - and figured that I'd replace them with better ones when they wore out. Trouble is, they don't - nearly indestructible - so recently I have replaced a few with Philips LEDs after a certain new lamp had rust brown light with CCFLs. LEDs are really much better, and you can put very bright ones in small lamps without melting the lamp.
I have the IKEA ones..and they still work, 2 years down the line. Lets see, how long they hold up.
     
subego  (op)
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Feb 23, 2017, 01:48 AM
 
I got my theoretical 20,000 hour incandescent bulbs.

They're dimmer than the Crees (680 lumens vs. 815). After I put them in, the dim light level kinda made me sleepy. Bleh.

Decided to see if I could tolerate my new "sleepy" setting.


What happened kinda surprised me. There must some weird effect based on what the brain expects because after a few weeks it compensated and now everything looks just as bright as it was with the Crees.
     
reader50
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Feb 23, 2017, 02:10 AM
 
Things can look quite bright in dreams. The question is, did you fall asleep then, or just now.
     
subego  (op)
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Feb 23, 2017, 02:13 AM
 
I did then, but not now, which is why it's confounding.
     
osiris
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Feb 23, 2017, 11:21 AM
 
I just bought a bunch of GE Bright Sticks which claim to be Soft White @ 2700K (they were a deal @ 6 for $14)

They look too red, and get quite hot for LEDs claiming to be efficient. Also non dimmable.

They were cheap tho, so they're great for general purpose. I am 100% LED now with all lighting, and compared to last year my savings is about $20-30 a month. Pays for itself in a year, no doubt, even with the fancy Hue setup.
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The Final Shortcut
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Feb 25, 2017, 10:45 AM
 
My issue is that all the fixtures where I'd be interested in strategically trying Hue bulbs have way too many lights.

For example, dining room chandelier has 7 LED A19s. Bedroom light has three. Kids light was the place I was most interested in, but that fixture has G9 bulbs (I don't think there's a smart equivalent). Hallway fixtures have a bunch of Par16 LEDs GU10s.

So I guess I'd have to buy multiple Hues for each fixture or else replace a bunch of my fixtures entirely. I guess that's what I get for jumping on the LED bandwagon early - in theory it might be 15 years before I need more bulbs.
     
subego  (op)
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Jan 27, 2018, 01:35 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
I got my theoretical 20,000 hour incandescent bulbs.

They're dimmer than the Crees (680 lumens vs. 815). After I put them in, the dim light level kinda made me sleepy. Bleh.

Decided to see if I could tolerate my new "sleepy" setting.


What happened kinda surprised me. There must some weird effect based on what the brain expects because after a few weeks it compensated and now everything looks just as bright as it was with the Crees.
Just remembered this thread... not a single one of the 20K hour bulbs has blown yet.
     
Laminar
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Jan 29, 2018, 10:17 AM
 
How many hours has it been?
     
subego  (op)
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Jan 29, 2018, 03:28 PM
 
Maybe 4,000-ish?

After having to change about 5 bulbs a month, doing none in a year seems like a big deal.
     
ghporter
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Feb 4, 2018, 06:56 PM
 
I swapped out the hard-to-change flood-type lights in my kitchen for LED-based units quite a while ago. They are still awesome. Instant on, the same color light all the time, and (essential in South Texas) cool. When the pocket lights in the top of my rather involved headboard went out yet again, I wound up changing the sockets out so I could put in LEDs...more cool wonderfulness.

I have yet to have an LED lamp fail. I'm sure one or another will eventually, from manufacturing issues rather than inherent design problems. But my house is cooler in the lengthy Texas summer, and the light is more consistent from one room to another when lit by LEDs. I'm gradually shifting everything from CF to LED. I think it's money well spent.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
subego  (op)
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Feb 4, 2018, 09:27 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
the same color light all the time
This is what killed me. A dimmed light should be warmer goddammit!
     
ghporter
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Feb 5, 2018, 05:34 PM
 
We have an enormous amount of natural light in our living and dining rooms - even with overcast skies, like today - so I adjust light levels indoors with the window blinds. Using that paradigm, dimmed lighting just gets dimmer. After sundown, I don't dim stuff, I turn it off - in stages. My home can be overly lit if I turn everything on, so I have plenty of options for lowering light levels without dimming lamps.

But the biggest point in my statement about the color of the light being the same all the time was about moving from room to room. If I have 4000K LED lamps in the dining room and 4000K LED lamps in the kitchen, my food isn't going to change color on the way to the table. And unlike compact florescent, they come on at 4000K and stay at 4000K whether it's cool or warm in the room.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
subego  (op)
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Feb 5, 2018, 10:31 PM
 
Less mercury than that fish you cooked for dinner, too.

For me, dimming is only partially about lowering the light level. It’s just as much about making things cozier by virtue of the lower color temp.

In that vein, 4,000K is way too cool for me. I want 2,700K at full, and less as it darkens.
     
The Final Dakar
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Feb 5, 2018, 10:41 PM
 
Spring for Hue white ambience lights.
     
subego  (op)
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Feb 5, 2018, 11:21 PM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
Spring for Hue white ambience lights.
Tried that. The Alexa integration was problematic.

I can’t have a bunch of lights come on at once without running it through the Hue skill, which is laggy AF.

I essentially live in a loft, so that’s 13 lamps/fixtures it needs to cycle through.

After a decade of having them all come on at once, I’m spoiled.
     
The Final Dakar
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Feb 6, 2018, 10:09 PM
 
Hmm... that's odd. I wonder if the sheer number, the area size, or interference would be the problem. With five or six I don't see any issues.

There's a physical hue lightswitch, but I imagine that's counterproductive.
     
subego  (op)
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Feb 7, 2018, 01:52 PM
 
Are you using the built-in Hue-Alexa integration, or the Hue skill?

This was over a year ago, so it’s possible they’ve improved it.
     
The Final Dakar
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Feb 7, 2018, 03:58 PM
 
Tough call. What's the difference?

I'd say I was using built-in integration, but I may have activated the skill at some point.
     
The Final Dakar
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Feb 7, 2018, 05:37 PM
 
According to my app, I didn't even enable to Hue skill.
     
subego  (op)
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Feb 8, 2018, 02:26 PM
 
You would definitely remember the skill, you have to make a frigging Phillips account for it to work.

My experiments were in my bedroom, which is only two lamps. Nothing I did could get them to reproduce what I have now, which is both lamps doing a nice, synchronized, half-second dim to on or off.

It’s definitely possible they’ve fixed the problem since.


The system I use is annoying in lots of ways, but one of the awesome things about it is “scenes” are stored within the dimmer itself. There’s no network congestion if the hub needs to trigger a bunch of lights. The hub spits out a single “scene” command, and the dimmers respond to it instantly because they’re running on a look-up table.
     
 
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