LED - No Longer a Bulb of the Future
Posted by Paige
Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are now available for residential usage. You may say: What is an LED and Why should I care? Two very good questions. LEDs provide highly energy efficient lighting. And what’s better, they contain no Mercury!
An LED uses 10xs less energy than an incandescent light bulb and 3xs less energy than a CFL light bulb. Most of the LED residential bulbs range from 1-2 watts/bulb. And they last longer than a CFL. LEDs last up to 50,000 hours where CFLs last up to 10,000 hours.
LEDs use less energy, give off less heat, last longer (about 20 years!) and are 100% dimable. They do not have the limitations that CFL bulbs do. So what’s the catch? The cost. Like all new products yet to be mainstream, an LED bulb is significantly more expensive than an incandescent and still more expensive than a CFL.
The Blue Ridge Eco Shop carries several LED light bulbs and they range in price from $14-$55 per bulb. If looking over the lifespan of the bulb, you will save money, but it is difficult for consumers to swallow the up front costs. These bulbs are new to the market, they were released the past Fall, so as the demand increases, the prices should begin to fall as well, just like CFL pricing has. In the Blue Ridge Eco Shop’s 7 months in business, we’ve seen CFLs drop in price as much as $2/bulb, which of course we have passed on to you.
Over the life of a bulb, including initial cost, an LED light bulb can save you $350. Where a CFL can save you around $40. (Compared to an incandescent bulb - http://www.ccrane.com/)
LED lighting is, in my opinion, the best option on the market for energy efficient lighting.
I had no idea LEDs could replace my light bulbs. Can LEDs replace my halogen spotlights?
Yes, there are LED lights that can replace Halogens. Depending on the socet, we should be able to find you an equivalent LED bulb.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 5:09:00 PM EDT
We do have all of our bulbs on display in the shop. Stop in to see LEDs or CFLs in use!
Friday, March 14, 2008 10:24:00 AM EDT
Well, I bought two - the “sun’s dusk” bulb, which is a warmer yellow bulb, and the brighter (blue-ish) one, can’t remember it’s name. It’s the expensive one. : )
The blue-ish one looks a lot like those new blue LED headlights that you see on the road. Surprisingly, given the fact that it was labeled as a reading light, it’s not very bright. When I put it in a lamp, it looked more like a night light or an ambient light. Except that it’s blue and not so pleasing. The ‘sun’s dusk’ warm colored one is pleasing, but it’s even dimmer. The “reading light” one has more of a “beam” effect, so it would probably work better in a task lamp that points directly at your reading or work surface. It doesn’t spread light all over the room like a whole-room lamp bulb needs to do. I’ll come back in and try the others, too — I’m placing these two that I have in lamps that fit their characteristics. And I’ll either keep waiting for more brightness or I’ll come back in and find that I just bought the wrong kind for my needs. I turned on the display ones in the store, but it’s hard to tell what they’ll do in a room. I’m not disappointed that I bought them, but I’d recommend to customers that they buy one and try it before purchasing enough bulbs to outfit the whole house. I look forward to this technology continuing to develop and I’m glad you guys highlighted LED bulbs because it’s nice to have another option to explore. Thanks!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 9:43:00 PM EDT
With LEDs being so new to the residential market, they really haven’t released bulbs that can replace higher wattage lighting. Most of them are good for accent (Sun’s Dusk) or reading/task lighting (Full Spectrum Vivid Plus). That is one current limitation for the LED bulbs.
C. Crane is developing a “Geo Bulb” which will be the bright bulb they have on the market and would replace a 65 watt incandescent bulb. It would have the Soft or Full Spetrum options like CFL bulbs do. This bulb has been pushed back on its release date, but as soon as it hits the market, you can be sure the Blue Ridge Eco Shop will have them in stock!
Thursday, March 20, 2008 12:46:00 PM EDT
I agree with you but there are a lot of researches to do before bringing LED’s into market for future use at low cost. since i am a engineering student I am interested in doing a project in this field can you help me for this.