LED light bulbs
Apr. 30th, 2015 03:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI just read something interesting today over at The Simple Dollar: Light Bulb Showdown: LED vs. CFL vs. Incandescent. Holly Johnson says, "they’re now available for about $8 a bulb on Amazon [$54.98 for a 6-pack of Cree 9.5-watt (60w) LED * 6 Pack * - Soft/warm White (2700k) Light Bulb]. IKEA sells its own 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs for just $5 [$4.49 for a LEDARE LED bulb E26, dimmable, globe opal], and Home Depot is reportedly running a promotion in May that will discount Philips LED light bulbs to as low as $2.50 per bulb."
(I can't find additional information on the Home Depot promotion, even though it's May tomorrow, but I do recall reading that Home Depot has some light bulbs that are subsidized by my city.)
So if you've been putting off getting these, now might be a good time financially. Also, summer is coming, so if you live somewhere hot, it might be nice to switch to some lightbulbs that don't emit heat.
I've heard mixed reviews of LEDs over the years and have started keeping track of people's favorable reviews.
In October of 2013, MMM recommended GE Energy Smart LEDs--"the first LED bulbs I found with a sufficently good "color rendering index" to make the food look tasty, and thus they finally allowed me to remove the power-hungry halogens." But his current recommendations page lists LED Waves which he reviewed in March 2012, but then updated at a later point to include those bulbs. But he likes a really focused light and I like an uncultured widely dispersed light. Why, yes, I do like overhead fixtures! (I've read that overhead fixtures are a terrible way to light up your house and instead you should have millions of spotlights in the areas where you actually like to look at things like paintings and work surfaces. Apparently I am not supposed to like to look at my whole house, like bookshelves, the inside of cabinets, or the floor I'm walking across.)
In January of 2014, Financial Ramblings liked Cree's warm white bulbs. "They immediately reach full brightness, they put out a ton of light (800 lumens/bulb), and both the color and light dispersion are fantastic. Oh, and they use marginally less electricity than an equivalent CFL (9.5W vs. 13W)."
In March 2015, Trent Hamm from The Simple Dollar liked LE's A60 E26 bulbs to replace 75-watt bulbs and Triangle's candalabra-based bulbs for ceiling fans.
In November, 2014, Miser Mom posted that she had noticed that a lot of light bulbs don't actually last as long as they're supposed to, so they don't save you money after all. Unless you save your receipts (she saves hers in an envelope in the box where she keeps her new light bulbs) and keep track of which bulbs are how old (she writes the installation date on the bulb itself when she installs it). Then you can negotiate a refund or replacement bulb.
Warning: one of the CREE reviewers on Amazon says, "Cree has stated that they will not honor their warranty for Amazon purchases, unless the seller sends you their receipt from Home Depot!"
The weird thing I want is bulbs that are equivalent to 40 watts instead of the usual 60; most of our overhead light fixtures involve two or three light bulbs.
My current plan is to see what's up at the Home Depot that is walking distance from my house tomorrow. I'm hoping to find the 40-watt equivalent Cree light bulbs.
(I can't find additional information on the Home Depot promotion, even though it's May tomorrow, but I do recall reading that Home Depot has some light bulbs that are subsidized by my city.)
So if you've been putting off getting these, now might be a good time financially. Also, summer is coming, so if you live somewhere hot, it might be nice to switch to some lightbulbs that don't emit heat.
I've heard mixed reviews of LEDs over the years and have started keeping track of people's favorable reviews.
In October of 2013, MMM recommended GE Energy Smart LEDs--"the first LED bulbs I found with a sufficently good "color rendering index" to make the food look tasty, and thus they finally allowed me to remove the power-hungry halogens." But his current recommendations page lists LED Waves which he reviewed in March 2012, but then updated at a later point to include those bulbs. But he likes a really focused light and I like an uncultured widely dispersed light. Why, yes, I do like overhead fixtures! (I've read that overhead fixtures are a terrible way to light up your house and instead you should have millions of spotlights in the areas where you actually like to look at things like paintings and work surfaces. Apparently I am not supposed to like to look at my whole house, like bookshelves, the inside of cabinets, or the floor I'm walking across.)
In January of 2014, Financial Ramblings liked Cree's warm white bulbs. "They immediately reach full brightness, they put out a ton of light (800 lumens/bulb), and both the color and light dispersion are fantastic. Oh, and they use marginally less electricity than an equivalent CFL (9.5W vs. 13W)."
In March 2015, Trent Hamm from The Simple Dollar liked LE's A60 E26 bulbs to replace 75-watt bulbs and Triangle's candalabra-based bulbs for ceiling fans.
In November, 2014, Miser Mom posted that she had noticed that a lot of light bulbs don't actually last as long as they're supposed to, so they don't save you money after all. Unless you save your receipts (she saves hers in an envelope in the box where she keeps her new light bulbs) and keep track of which bulbs are how old (she writes the installation date on the bulb itself when she installs it). Then you can negotiate a refund or replacement bulb.
Warning: one of the CREE reviewers on Amazon says, "Cree has stated that they will not honor their warranty for Amazon purchases, unless the seller sends you their receipt from Home Depot!"
The weird thing I want is bulbs that are equivalent to 40 watts instead of the usual 60; most of our overhead light fixtures involve two or three light bulbs.
My current plan is to see what's up at the Home Depot that is walking distance from my house tomorrow. I'm hoping to find the 40-watt equivalent Cree light bulbs.