LED Light Bulbs: The Greenest So Far, But Challenges Remain

Thu Apr 5, 2007 11:02PM EDT

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Nine percent of the average household's electricity bill comes from lighting, the second-biggest source of power usage after your refrigerator. Fortunately, it's one of the easiest power hogs to actually do something about.

I've been slowly transitioning my house from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescents. My early experiences with CFLs hadn't been too successful: The bulbs were enormous and the light they put out was downright ugly. That's changed, and today's CFLs are about the same size as a regular incandescent bulb, and options that put out attractive light are available, too. And best of all, they use far less power than an incandescent: A 12-watt CFL puts out as much light as a 60-watt incandescent. And they last about four times as long as an incandescent.

Now, a cool new option is coming on the market: Light bulbs filled with LEDs instead of standard tubes. LED bulbs generally use even less power than fluorescents (though it's not as dramatic as going from incandescents to CFLs), and they last a whopping 40 times as long as incandescent lights. Unlike CFLs, they don't contain mercury, either, making them easier to recycle when they do burn out, and most LED bulbs are dimmable, while few CFLs can be dimmed.

I've been testing a couple of LED bulbs from the C. Crane Company, and while I love the technology (the bulbs don't even heat up) it's got limitations you need to know about. First, the bulbs are not currently available in brightness that's substantial enough for regular room lighting. A 72-LED spotlight (the PAR 38) I'm testing puts out a whopping 200 lumens, about the same as a piddly 25-watt incandescent. Frankly, you can barely tell it's turned on, making these bulbs really suitable for accent or mood lighting only.

Then there's the cost: The PAR 38 spot runs $60. Still, C. Crane assures me that brightness is going up and prices are coming down, fast.

On the other hand, CFL prices have already dropped radically such that they don't cost much more than premium incandescents. In multi-bulb packs, CFLs now run about $3 a pop.

Both CFL and LED technologies have a long way to go before they completely replace incandescents, but they're both going to play a big part of our future. If you haven't given these technologies a try yet, Earth Day is the perfect excuse to do so! 

Comments on LED Light Bulbs: The Greenest So Far, But Challenges Remain

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  • 6 Posted by cnull on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    ed_garcia_jr: I've been using "n:vision" brand CFLs marked "soft white." (I get them in 4-packs at Home Depot.) I can't tell the difference vs. incandescents.

  • 7 Posted by marcus_cotey on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:06PM EDT Report Abuse

    LEDs are ready for prime time but you have to buy a noted brand from a store. Don't buy them on eBay or online at all if returning them is a hassle. Also many older houses have "dirty" power meaning if you see spikes when appliances turn on then you can and will burn out bulbs regardless of the materials they are made from. I have them but I stuck with a North American based company so that if/when I need to return it will be much easier.

  • 8 Posted by kehajn on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    What the author fails to realize, or comment on, is that the best flashlights out there use LED's. These lights are extremely bright, last forever, and are common place among outdoor enthusiasts and public safety consumers. C. Crane is not the ONLY, nor perhaps the leading edge source for new technology.

  • 9 Posted by mkbauerle on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    What about CFLs annoying warm-up time? I would use them more, but it takes several minutes for them to reach full brightness. I thought they would have solved this problem by now.

  • 10 Posted by marc-wood@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:05PM EDT Report Abuse

    i have all cfl and extra insulation in 1500sqft home winter electric $42 summer high with over 100f about $125 and if you get the right cfl they are almost instantly up tol brightness i highly recomend them an electrition

  • 12 Posted by kunochione on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    Just make sure you recycle these CFL bulbs with either a store, company, or special with your town, as the Mercury in them could do Major environmental damage in a landfill! Also, fluorescent lights have proven in studies to "suck" the life out of people, as they make you tired - so be careful where you use them around kids, etc. As an artist, I also agree that the "daylight" CFL bulbs do Not produce nice light. It's still harsh. However, the benefits of helping save on Carbon Emissions is worth it UNTIL they invent the Best Bulb yet! -Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repeat!

  • 13 Posted by a416641834 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:43PM EDT Report Abuse

    Cree, out of Durham n.c., has new downlight led units that are as effective as 60 watt incandescents and the city of Durham N. C. is going to replace all of their public lighting with Cree units. See Cre at yahoo.com finance and read the press releases from the past year to come up to date. regards

  • 14 Posted by amsoil9 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have been using CFLs since the 1980's. I lived on Long Island, NY and the power company paid $6.00 per bulb. I had 12 bulbs in my NY home. At present I have 24 CFLs in my Florida home. Being GREEN is easy.I have had electric cars in the 1970's, solar hot water heater in both my NY home, 1970 and also in my own Fl;orida home. I have a hybrid SUV (Ford) and my company had 3 hybrid vericles (Honda). When you use all this for a long time, you laugh when your neighbors complain about power costs. Ralph

  • 15 Posted by laurmulsman on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    CFL's work pretty well, but even the most compact ones (of reasonable wattage) are quite a bit bulkier than the incandescent and halogen bulbs. In many cases they just don't fit our fixtures. Also, they don't seem to have the advertised light output. Many say the watts used, and that they have the equivalent output of an incandescent about 4 times higher. I find it seems to 'only' be about 3 times higher in real-world use, which is still good but not as good as on paper.

  • 16 Posted by dventures01 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm sure glad that they're working more with the LED lights, I had moved to the CFL's and stopped using them when one burned up in the bathroom and set off the fire alarm. I refuse to use the CFL's and the LED's are soooooooo much nicer with the light they put out and the energy savings are great!

  • 17 Posted by rlm7in on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:43PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why isn't anyone talking about the truly unflattering light that today's standard white LED puts out? LED white is THE single color option I see available to consumers. What it produces is as cold and bleak as the grayest November afternoon, and no one seems to notice or care. At it's best, LED white comes off as an icy blue-white, and is as equally ugly as the light from any CFM, just nasty in a different way. Complexions look ghastly, artwork goes flat, and food looks pretty harsh when placed under it. The color a given LED lamp emits can be designated at the time of manufacture, but even the so-called "antique white/soft white/candlelight" LED color sometimes available around the holiday season looks dirty and mustardy ,and leaves lots to be desired compared to the aesthetically pleasing colors seen under something like an incandescent lamp, especially one like a GE Reveal. I agree that the need to replace the incandescent in the marketplace is overdue, but if the future means living with and under ugly light, I don't see many people making the switch.

  • 18 Posted by johnsnyder666 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    LED's are not light bulbs, there is no such think as a light bulb for the matter, they are in fact light emitting diodes they do not have a filiment in them they work on completly differnt properties

  • 19 Posted by lodogg2333 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    Yeah, I got a bunch of the CFL's, and they didn't last as long as I would have wished them to, as a matter of fact, figuring the cost of them, minus the difference in the electrical bill, plus the cost of a regular incandescent bulb... I lost money... So, I'm switching back to the regular old fashioned bulbs, 'cuz now they are way cheap. LED's... don't know yet. No answer there.

  • 20 Posted by berhost on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:05PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hi all, I am a lighting designer and know a few things about all this stuff. If you simply replace your existing incandescent lights with a self ballasted CFL yes you will have to wait for the mercury in the lamp to evaporate and chemically bond with the phosphor coating, thereby fluorescing. However, if you were to replace the entire light fixture with one that is purpose made for compact fluorescents you get an electronic ballast which will give you instantaneous light. As for LED's, there are a couple problems. Currently the light output isn't high enough to warrant their use in residential applications. New technology is currently being tested which will increase the output and should be available in about 1-1.5 years, a long while still I know. The drawback is that it takes more power to produce the light output and it may end up as the same power consumption as today's CFL's. The other issue is the color temperature is either too high (blue) or too low (yellow). Take a look at your skin tone under those LED flashlights. Kind of like the bodies you see on CSI right? Development in color correction is still a ways off but a lot of time and money is being poured into the LED field. I would suggest using CFL's for the next couple years, but buy a good quality one from an electrical shop if possible, and by the time those begin to burn out LED technology will be getting close to good residential use.

  • 21 Posted by greenebaker on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    First, It'd like to applaud the author for being an early adopter of green technology. We need more like him. However, he is not very educated when it comes to LED lighting, but a lot of consumers are not. That's what happens with new things. (they used to have education classes when "microwave" cooking first came out) 1) The test bulb he used is not a good example. 72 LEDs! That means someone took really cheap, inefficient chips to make this bulb. You can buy a "Edison" style light bulb today that has 5 Cree XLamp LEDs for less and puts out twice the light. 2) All LEDs are not created equal. Since they are chips, companies make them on all different types of wafers. Just think of it like this...all wood is not the same. 3) Cost. Yes. Early adopters are hit with high costs. Yes. LED home lighting has a higher upfront cost. But think about the total cost. Say you install LED Can lights in your kitchen and you never have to replace the LED for 10 yrs. That saves on you buying CFLs or Incandescents. That saves on energy consumption. I calculated the breakeven point for my kitchen. At today's energy rates, the LED can lights pay for themselves after 3 years! In 2 more years, they pay me! 4) Environment. California has decreed that 20% of new homes need to use LED lighting, not CFLs. Why? Residents do not want mercury in the land fills. Do you? 5) Light Color. It is important!! There are many grades of white (just walk into Lowe's and look at all the white paints). Get what is right for the room. Don't do what I did. I bought a bright white for my kitchen. When I turned them on, my kitchen looked like a sterile hospital lab. I switched to a Warm White and now it looks fantastic! I bought LED Lighting Fixtures can lights www.llfinc.com 6) Why use "Edison" sockets? Today, manufactures are trying to retrofit all of our inefficient Edison fixtures with LEDs. Why? They are so bulky and use more resources. With LEDs you can shrink the fixture and still put out the same light. 7) Same Light. Less Fixtures. This is a version of #6. New home builders that use LEDs will actually need to use less fixtures to illuminate the room. A room with 6 can lights using Edison style Incandescents or CFL, can be illuminated with just 4 LED can lights. Do more with less! 8) Brightness. Be careful here. Whoever said LEDs are not bright...well...they unknowingly bought cheap LEDs (probably the same chips that light up your cell phone). Audi (S6+S8) and Cadillac (Escalade) are set to release LED headlights in 2008. Now that is bright! Hope this helps :)

  • 22 Posted by alxhamer on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    LEDs are very bright and white atleast the ones I'm currently selling. The Lighting divivision out of Rochester NY makes good undercabinet and Kovacs of the Minkagroup have very bright LEDs. Kichler also makes good low voltage outdoor lights. The cost is high for LEDs, for now, and yes they make more colors than white. For CFLs try a company like Satco which makes CFLs that are smaller than incandescant and come in warm and bright white 60W. Larger wattage CFL usually are a bit bigger. I haven't changed a bulb in my house in two years. Good luck all

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