rough duty bulbs

[Jerry Lozier]

I guess all incandescent bulbs are not banned, rough duty bulbs are exempt??? Anybody else heard this??

http://www.newcandescent.com/

[Inspectorjoe]

At least for now, there are a few exceptions to the incandescent ban. These include 3-way, rough service, shatter resistant and appliance bulbs.

It looks like this company is exploiting a loophole, but it doesn't make make much economic sense to take advantage of it. Because they have a thicker filament, rough service bulbs give less light than a standard-duty bulb of the same wattage. Plus, they're outrageously expensive at 2.88 (per 100 watt bulb). Add shipping for the minimum order of 12 (to my zip code) and the price per bulb ends up being about $4.00. I think one would have to be a real dimwit to go for that deal.

[Garet]

I just bought a 4-pack of CFL for $3.00 ($0.75/bulb). Give it a few years for the price to come down (like it did for CFL) and consumers won't want anything except LED.

[John Kogel]

I put a flourescent bulb in my trouble light a few years ago. They last pretty good in rough service and don't get hot.

[Inspectorjoe]

I recently bought my first LED bulb. It replaced a CFL above the kitchen sink, since that light is usually left on 24 hours a day. It uses a fraction of the power the CFL did and the color is indistinguishable from an incandescent bulb. I'm totally sold on LED's.

[Marc]

Bought mine several months ago. Unlike my first disappointment with CFL over the color and general lack of brilliance several years ago, this LED is really bright and the color seemed perfect. It isn't rated in hours but years...7 years for this one.

Marc

[kurt]

I've already made the jump to LED's. It's the only way to go.

I completely fill my shop with bright light and all together they draw about 60 watts.

The apartment building exterior lighting is now drawing about 6 watts.

With a lifespan measured in decades, there is no argument for anything else.

[Jim Katen]

. . .

With a lifespan measured in decades, there is no argument for anything else.

If they actually last that long.

I just inspected a house with 27 dead LED lamps. They were all 2 years old.

No idea what caused the failure.

[Ben H]

. . .

With a lifespan measured in decades, there is no argument for anything else.

If they actually last that long.

I just inspected a house with 27 dead LED lamps. They were all 2 years old.

No idea what caused the failure.

Likely not made by Cree. I've seen bunches of them fail that were from Lowe's. The Cree bulbs HD sells seem to hold up.

[Marc]

They're electronic devices so a lightning strike to a nearby power line could conceivably have blown earlier designs of LED lighting. Maybe they've made improvements in resilience to voltage spikes since then.

That technology is still very young and will likely remain in a state of flux for quite a while as R&D teams continue in their game of one-upmanship and patent-filing to keep their company in the forefront of this emerging industry.

Marc

[Rob Amaral]

Have one Cree here in the basement laundry area... seems fine.. I read something recently about the CFLs 'leaking' UV light ??? That doesn't sound good to me.. the inner coating flakes-off and ...

[Ben H]

They're electronic devices so a lightning strike to a nearby power line could conceivably have blown earlier designs of LED lighting. Maybe they've made improvements in resilience to voltage spikes since then.

That technology is still very young and will likely remain in a state of flux for quite a while as R&D teams continue in their game of one-upmanship and patent-filing to keep their company in the forefront of this emerging industry.

Marc

It's not as young as you may think. I was installing LED taillights bulbs in cars in 1996. At a cost of about $20 a pair. Back then, clear taillights were all the rage. Obliviously you can't have white brake lights, and the little red condoms that were sold to cover regular bulbs would melt at red lights. The LED lights were the answer. People are getting gouged on LED bulbs at $10-15 bucks a pop. Looks like you can get the car tail lights now for around $3 bucks on Ebay.

[John Kogel]

They're electronic devices so a lightning strike to a nearby power line could conceivably have blown earlier designs of LED lighting. Maybe they've made improvements in resilience to voltage spikes since then.

That technology is still very young and will likely remain in a state of flux for quite a while as R&D teams continue in their game of one-upmanship and patent-filing to keep their company in the forefront of this emerging industry.

Marc

It's not as young as you may think. I was installing LED taillights bulbs in cars in 1996. At a cost of about $20 a pair. Back then, clear taillights were all the rage. Obliviously you can't have white brake lights, and the little red condoms that were sold to cover regular bulbs would melt at red lights. The LED lights were the answer. People are getting gouged on LED bulbs at $10-15 bucks a pop. Looks like you can get the car tail lights now for around $3 bucks on Ebay.

I think Marc was describing the 120 volt LED bulb as being relatively new tech.

Low voltage LED,s are old tech, as you say.

[Jim Katen]

I think Marc was describing the 120 volt LED bulb as being relatively new tech.

Low voltage LED,s are old tech, as you say.

Aren't they all low voltage? I thought that they were driven off a transformer. Or are the new ones actually powered by 120-volt current?

[Marc]

Solid state devices that handle that much voltage exist but I'm guessing that doesn't include LEDs, just MOSFET, SCRs and Triacs devices.

I could be wrong. I haven't dadled in semiconductor for a couple decades now.

The voltage could be reduced either by transformation or by switching circuits. Switching would take less space and weigh less.

Marc

Yep, I'm wrong. They do make high voltage LEDs.

[John Kogel]

Thanks Marc, for the link.

The chart shows Array type lights can operate on high voltages. I think that is several LED's in series.

Emitters have a max of 50 volts, by the chart.

So they take the 120 AC and use a bridge rectifier with a resistor to get about 100 volts DC.

The light emitting diodes operate only on DC.