LED light bulbs are not a new invention but currently they are a costly alternative to the more traditional incandescent light bulbs.A report from London based Metro newspaper indicates that scientists have discovered a new method for producing the man-made material on silicon, instead of costly sapphire. In turn the cost of the light bulbs will be cut from £20 ($28) per bulb to just £2 ($2.80).
The bulbs can last up to 60 years, burn for 100,000 hours and are 12 times more efficient than conventional bulbs and could be on the shelves in two years. The impact to the environment and the economy is that offices and homes won't need to replace them for years and that could potentially cut energy bills by 75% within 5 years the inventors claim.
"This could well be the holy grail in terms of providing our lighting needs for the future," said Prof Colin Humphreys, who helped develop the bulbs. "The five-year timescale is a conservative estimate," he said. "I'm hoping the bulbs will be on the shelves much sooner."
200 watts (50x4) vs 14 watts (3.5x4) is quite a power saving and I'd recommend them to anyone. Don't go for the cheaper 24,32 LED versions though, nowhere near as bright and not really suitable as main room lighting.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GU10-White-60-LED-Sp...%3A1|240%3A1318
I saw these on televison last night and wondered about them. Thanks for the information. How long did they take to be delivered from HK?
Normal bulbs I dunno. They suit spotlights well as LED light is unidirectional. I suppose in theory they could arrange them in a ball, but I've never seen any like that (I've not really looked).
or do they mean for home use like indoor lights like how we have standard light bulbs? ... cause if that's the case they would be worth every cent not only cause it costs you less on electric bills but cause it's one of those things you can buy and forget about they last that long
the thing is though even with LED's being alot more efficient in general... will it make a 'noticeable' difference on monthly electric bills? , that's the question
sad thing though is even if they save u money... once every one has them all the electric company's will do to get more money is to raise prices of electricity again
but i guess even if we keep getting screwed... at least there will be less electricity used and the planet and our natural resources will last longer worst case from it , which cant be to bad of a thing.
Last edited by ThaCrip on 29 Jan 2009 - 10:02
sounds like all you have saw are warm white cfl's....you need to look at the cw cfl's to notice a difference...that or check out the daylight lamps
Thanks. I have two in my living room and I've no idea what they are to be honest. They were sent by our energy company. But like many others I see, they produce a dirty colour that is really uninviting. I presume the cw is cool white? I'll look into it, thanks!
The cool white produces a blue tint and cool feeling... personally I hate them, they make the rooms feel like you are in antartica or something with the blueish glow... the CF bulbs I have feel more like sun light and they are not cool white or "natural white" bulbs... made by GE
Comparing cfl's to led's is like apples and oranges.
They have working mercury free CF's now also... they've been designing them for a couple years... not sure if they are on the market yet or not
Does a lot of good at night too!
If you are talking about using the heat generated from incandescent bulbs to heat your house, you should know that they are a very ineffecient method of doing so. Similar to leaving your refridgerator door open to cool your house during the summer.
Really? You mean incandescent bulbs create cold?
Stop talking nonsense. The two are nothing alike.
They aren't talking about 75% of the total energy bill. They mean that the LED bulbs only use 25% of the energy of incandescent bulbs. The article and title is very poorly worded.
Actually, no, it is not worded correctly. The title and the article clearly state that the LED bulbs would cut energy bills by 75%, which is not the case. They will cut energy consumed by light bulbs by 75% compared to incandescent bulbs. Just another case of lazy writers not checking facts.
At a time when there is such a huge 'credit crunch' and business are struggling to keep going, this is going to be good for energy saving, but bad for the people selling them. The impact would also be to everyone in the chain that supplies them.
Just a thought.
Its kinda like those bright Xenon headlights that are so white that if you're in a snowstorm you're screwed.
Its kinda like those bright Xenon headlights that are so white that if you're in a snowstorm you're screwed.
That's an easy one. Just use a yellow-tinted screen over the bulb. A lot of street lights use that around where I live, because of the fog and the snow.
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