No more twisty bulbs for me! I’ve installed a new LED lighting system for my home that beats twisty bulbs in every way. It has been awhile since I discussed technology here, so this will be an interesting diversion for many readers.
I’ve always been a fan of alternate energy and improved energy efficiency, and I don’t just write about it like some people we know, I do things about it. I try out new things, I do the work. Longtime readers of my blog know that I’ve done two solar power projects, drive an electric car for my local short distance jaunts (I have two now, a really sharp new model, but that’s another story). I’ve put a 10KW solar array on my home, plus a 125 KW solar array on one of our local schools when I was a school trustee. I’ve retrofitted my home with CFL’s in some places, as well as installed timer switches on many of our most commonly used lights. I live in an an Energy Star rated home. However, I’ve not been all that pleased with the lighting that came with the house. Now I’ve changed the largest wattage draw of lighting in my house from incandescent to LED lighting.
No matter what you think about the veracity of global warming claims, there’s really not much of an argument anyone can make against improved energy efficiency as a way of reducing all emissions, not just CO2. Literally, CO2 sucks all the oxygen out of the energy efficiency issue. The goals of full spectrum pollutant reduction can also be accomplished via improved energy efficiency, and with much less rancor, in my opinion.
I’ve never liked the twisty fluorescent bulbs, even when practically given away. They are slow to illuminate, don’t live up to manufacturer’s lifetime claims, and contain toxic mercury making them a disposal hazard. Watts to like?
Up until now, I hadn’t liked the color temperature of the light that LED bulbs had put out. They were mostly a harsh blue-white. Now, that’s been solved.
So that was my weekend project, improving my energy efficiency. It was painless, fast, and the result was fantastic.
The problem: 5 recessed incandescent lighting fixtures each with a 65 watt bulb for a total draw of 325 watts. My kids leave the hallway lights on constantly as it is the most trafficked area of the house.
The solution: swap in LED recessed lighting fixtures at 12 watts each for a total draw of 60 watts
A liberal professor friend in the bay area (who also happened to be best man at my wedding) turned me on to these new recessed incandescent fixture replacements from a company called CREE Lighting. I was impressed the first moment I saw the light they produced. It was warm, not harsh, and even better, it worked on a dimmer control.
The neatest trick with these lights is that they combine yellow and white LED’s in a matrix to get a color temperature that is 2700K or 3500K (your choice) which makes them give similar light to incandescents. Here’s what they look like inside:
Besides making less heat through lower power consumption, They also seal against the ceiling better than incandescent recessed lighting fixtures which are essentially open to the attic.
Here is what it looks like outside:
I bought one for my office immediately, to put directly over my desk, replacing a 75 watt flood in a recessed fixture. It worked out great, so I decided to do my entire house hallway of 5 fixtures.
Here’s the details on this new technology:
Product Description
The LR6 is a downlight module for new construction and retrofit that installs easily in most standard six inch recessed IC or non-IC housings. The LR6 generates white light with LED’s in a new way that enables an unprecedented combination of light output, high efficacy, beautiful color, and affordability. U.S. Patent # 7,213,940 issued. Numerous patents pending.
Performance Summary
• Utilizes Cree TrueWhite™ technology
• Nominal delivered light output = 650 lumens
• Nominal input power = 10.5 Watts
• CRI = 90
• CCT = 2700K or 3500K
• Dimmable to 20%
• Three Year Warranty
Cree TrueWhite™ Technology
• A better way to generate white light that utilizes a patented mixture of unsaturated yellow and saturated red LEDs.
• Tuned to optimal color point before shipment.
• Color management system maintains color consistency over time and temperature.
• Designed to last 50,000 hours and maintain at least 70%
of initial lumen output.
Construction
• Durable die-cast aluminum upper housing, lower housing, and upper cover.
• Integrated thermal management system conducts heat away from LED’s and transfers it to the surrounding environment. LED junction temperatures stay below specified maximums even when installed in attic insulation with temperatures exceeding 60 degrees Celsius.
Optical System
• Proprietary optical system utilizes a unique combination of reflective and refractive optical components to achieve a uniform, comfortable appearance. Pixelation and direct view of unshielded LED’s is eliminated.
• White Lower Reflector balances brightness of refractor with the ceiling to create comfortable high-angle appearance. Works with refractor to deliver an optimized distribution that illuminates walls and vertical surfaces increasing the perception of spaciousness.
Electrical System
• Integral, high efficiency driver and power supply. Power factor > 0.9 Input voltage = 120V, 60Hz
• Dimmable to 20% with certain incandescent dimmers (reference www.CreeLEDLighting.com for recommended dimmers)
Regulatory and Voluntary Qualifications
• Tested and certified to UL standards. Suitable for damp locations.
• Utilize GU-24 base for new construction projects in California or other areas where high efficacy line voltage sockets are required.
• Exceeds California Title-24 high efficacy luminaire requirements.
• ENERGY STAR® qualified Solid-State Lighting Luminaire.
Full Spec sheet here
The company has a savings calculator here
Installation was easy. I’ve photo documented it below. If you are interested in reading how, here is the installation manual in PDF form, and more info here.
FIRST and most importantly: turn off your a/c circuit breaker that supplies power to the lights.
The box:
The contents:
The top with special socket:
One of the five incandescent flood lights to be replaced:
Beginning disassembly, take out the bulb, pull down the trim ring:
Squeeze the spring clips and pop them off:
Cut the wires off the existing socket:
Install the wire splice block:
Add the new socket and crimp the splice block:
Socket installed:
Final step, all it takes is two twists. I couldn’t hold the camera and do this so I’m relying on diagrams. Twist the socket onto the fixture, push the fixture into the hole and twist until it locks into place:
New LED fixture installed:
Can you tell which ones are the incandescent floods and which one is the LED light?
The one in the foreground is the LED lighting. It puts out more light than the floods it replaced, and uses 1/5th the energy.
All done, three in the main hall, one in each side hallway are not shown:
Want one? Get them here from a company that operates in my town, called Lighting Direct:
UPDATE: I got called away before I could finish this post, so here’s a few more points on why I’ve done this swap.
1) I’m usually an early adopter of technology, this is something I’ve been looking forward to. But it is not for everybody yet.
2) I bought a 5 pack, so I got 20% off. You can call the company at the link listed above and ask for similar discounts. There’s also other sources online: here, here. Some commenters have asked about screw in LED models, here’s one also based on CREE’s patented LED illumination engine.
3) In California, I won’t be able to buy incandescent bulbs soon. This was my way of beating the state mandate on my own terms.
4) These have an advertised life of 50,000 hours. I figure if they log 8 hours per day, I’ll get 17 years out of them. They’ll pay back long before that.
5) CFL floods aren’t that cheap either, and from experience I only get 2 years out of them. For example I can buy a CFL flood at my local ACE Hardware for $14.99 plus tax. If I have to replace it every 2 years, I’m into some significant cash and significant disposal issues in a few years. Even with the higher cost of the LED units, I see myself as still being ahead in the long run and I’m not generating mercury toxic waste.
6) These lights are sealed, so there’s no air leakage to/from the attic. This should help on heating/cooling issues since when the wind blew above 15mph I could feel air being blown into the old recessed lighting fixtures. Not anymore. It will keep dust and attic insulation fibers out of the house also.
Anthony
I have progressively reduced the power of each of our downlighter bulbs to 20W and supplemented them with a reading light to give illumination where it is needed.
I haven’t seen those particular Led’s in the UK yet but will keep a look out.
If it’s not a rude question how much did your solar panel array cost?
Here in the UK they are being sold in the same way as double glazing and the salesman mark up makes them unaffordable and not cost effective.
A system to generate around 1600KW of energy per year cost around £12500 according to the Sunday Times today. I would like to fit them but the price is silly. I wonder what the actual cost price of the panels are?
Tonyb
“twawki (14:05:23) :
[…]
There are reports out that people who work in fluorescent lit offices have a higher rate of cancer than those that lie on the beach. ”
That could be associated with Vitamin D deficiencies more than with harmful effects of office lighting IMHO…
Sonicfrog (13:56:43) :
Absolutely. This is my argument that “it’s alright to be wealthy”. The undeveloped nations of this world are not poor because we are wealthy, they are poor because they have not had the benefits in technology we have (for many reasons). They will reach our levels, and quickly if organised, like the Chinese. If we refuse to be ‘wealthy’ and chuck all the benefits away, we’ll all be poor!
A small proportion has to be wealthy in order to drive the wealth of us all, it seems. There, you see? Guilt assuaged in a paragraph. That’;; be $10….
Last year I ordered some exotic chile peppers and built LED grow lights out of LED’s from CREE and Phillips. I had to use a computer power supply and my first unit used water cooling for the LEDs. I achieved higher intensity than tropical noon sunlight and in a narrow beam that could shine down from the ceiling without much dispersion. 🙂
For my second unit I wanted to go air cooled, and heat sinks are expensive UNLESS you wander down to your local computer repair shop and ask for a bunch of used monster heat sinks.
BTW, am I the only one here who’s used whale oil for lighting?
How many Watts does it take to change a light bulb?
Very cool – dimmable!!!!!
Well, at least partially dimmable – very cool! LED lights also have no warm-up time which is an issue with CFLs (i.e. they’re dark at first)
But wow, at $98 a pop, that hurts. I think I’ll have to hold off until the prices come down more. LED computer screens (or, more acurately, LED backlit LCDs) are about 30% more than comparable LCDs… LED TV’s are roughly 2x. At $98’s we’re talking a 1400% premium vs. CFL.
Don’t get me wrong, lighting is a significant part of home energy use… but in terms of bang for the buck there are plenty other places where you can get a better ROI.
Anthony,
Just out of curiosity, did you ever consider motion sensor switches? My friend put those into his bathrooms and they turn off x-minutes after they stop detecting motion. I’ve also seen these recommended for bathroom vent fans, because not running the fan after you bathe/shower can contribute to mold growth.
REPLY: You can get them as low as $80 in a 5 pack, which is what I did – Anthony
“rbateman (14:17:26) :
Are the made in America for American, NZ for New Zealanders, etc.?
Part of the hidden cost in globalization is in fuel expended shipping the kitchen sink halfway around the world to save a dime.”
I think the cost of shipping a fridge from China to Europe is about half a Euro – container ships load up to 16000 containers. It’s costing more fuel to transport the item with a truck for the remaining few hundred kilometers than shipping it around the globe. Container ship == 20000 trucks.
It looks like the future of lighting will include OLED devices. Due out in 2012
http://www.lomox.co.uk/articles/technology
I can’t wait to visit someone’s home, where they have installed CFL that look like twirls of dogsh** and explain how much they need to learn about being Eco-savvy
Atomic Hairdryer (14:14:35) :
I still think if governments were serious about reducing energy consumption they should mandate changes to building regs/wiring codes to make lighting circuits low voltage in new builds mandatory. Would save on the transformers per fixture, unit costs and increase overall efficiency. While they’re at it, look at grey water. Initially it would benefit new builds and major refurbs, but long term seems to make greater savings.
A friend of mine (EE) was talking about building like this. Under the current building codes (specifically residential) is it even legal to do that?
You are a bright guy … but you have always known that anyway.
Anthony,
First I want to complement you on your doing things instead of just talking like some of the Carbon Haters.
I bought a few CFL replacement bulbs but only installed a few when I realized the safety problem with Mercury. I don’t need an expensive hazmat around the house in our lamps with a playful cat and grandchildren. The safety issue really is scary and has been ignored by the zealots.
As an Engineer, another question comes to mind re the claimed economic benefits. Aren’t the benefits exaggerated for those of us that live in locations that need to heat our homes a large percentage of the year?
Doesn’t the energy “wasted” from the heat from conventional bulbs really replace the fuel we have to burn to heat the home? Of course the summer time is different when we use the AC but that is the period when we use our lighting demand is less.
I wonder if the claimed energy saving by the fools in Washington is an honest number, by ignoring the fact that we need heat anyway most of the year. I’m only asking for an honest number rather than a hyped number like the IPCC manufactures. Have GE fooled the politicians?
Anyone know the actual facts on the claimed economics? I don’t.
This is fantastic. When I started reading the price was $98 and about the time I finished it was down to $80. By Tuesday morning I can afford to retrofit the house, garage, and horse barn. (The pig tail lights in the horse barn don’t do too well in the cold unless you just leave them on all the time and that defeats the purpose.)
His Grace posted this about an hour ago. http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2010/2/7/has-jg-c-found-an-error-in-crutem.html. It’s 23:00 here in UK and I have to be up early tomorrow, so I don’t have time to dig into it. I’m sure a few readers here could answer his request for help.
Amazing! So we dont have to put up with those toxic mercury filled lights any more. Fantastic!
Very impressive, but lets hear it for the World’s longest serving light bulb at Fire Station 6, in Livermore, northern California, for old time’s sake.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243138/Still-glowing-strong-109-years-worlds-oldest-lightbulb.html
Too expensive. I got all my recessed lighting for around $12/total fixture, and got CFL’s thrown out at home depot at $0.50 per. They aren’t great, but they’ve been in here for a few years, keep my rooms bright, and even illuminate my outside yard like a landing strip in summer. I couldn’t afford to do that with LED (or pay for the power with incandescents). Call me when they drop to $15/total fixture and I’ll be there (the calculator on the Cree site only calculates for the lowest watt incandescent (60), so its somewhat misleading – comparing it to a 15 W CFL shoves the payback period to 15 years). But I do applaud Anthony – I have a lot of respect for first adapters. I would be one if I had a lot of money (which I regretably don’t…)
Nice article.
You missed one step in the installation.
Turn off breaker to prevent kids from coming along and turning on the hall light while redoing wiring!!!
By the way, why are you reducing CO2 emissions??? Think of all the poor CO2 starved PLANTS in California!!!!!!! (especially the Politicians!!)
REPLY: breaker off – that’s in the instruction manual. Didn’t think I needed to repeat it here. -A
Call me a Luddite, but I have yet to see any LED (let alone CFL) with the light quality of a halogen bulb. Won’t your heating costs rise to compensate for the low wattage?
Hmm not yet, at least at that price, and anyway, I can’t put one of these on a holder for a standard bulb.
It’s been years since we’ve been using CFLs. Quite a noticeable cut in power bills and an increase in longevity – the 8 years lifetime seems to be correct. We won’t go back to tungsten.
The light color (temperature) was a problem, until I decided to look further into the package. There’s the 5500 K lamps (daylight) and the 3200 K lamps (tungsten-like). Ok, I do photography.
We only use the latter, 3200 K (at most!). These have a decent yellowish soft, warm light, completely different from the 5500 K, that are very unpleasant. Unfortunately not all packages have the light temperature indicated, case in which it is safe to assume they are 5500 K and uninteresting.
Eh. “It’s been years since we’ve been using CFLs” actually means it’s been years we have been using CFLs. Editorial problem.
I believe the original life expectancy of the CFLs was based on never turning them off. Thus, use in homes where you have on/off multiple times each day makes those estimates useless.
I like the “sun tubes” (& Moon) effect and plan on installing a few this spring when the roof will be replaced and I’ll add to the insulation. That will also be a good time to add a few of the LEDs. Timely post, thanks.
Norm Millard,
What product do you use for lighting the RV? I assume you are running off a twelve volt system there.
They seem ridiculously expensive to me. They pay back eventually, but in the meanwhile you’ve lost money. They say it takes money to make money, and this is a classic example. I simply can’t afford to invest the money up front to get the payback years into the future.
REPLY: Yes, but in a couple years you won’t be able to buy incandescent floods, and that was part of my goal. I don’t ever want to ahve to replace these – A
Wow, if I had these installed in my house, I wouldn’t have to follow my wife around, flipping off light switches; I could just let them go all day/night!
Oh, wait, I don’t think that’s the goal…
Seriously, we’ve replaced most of our heavily used lighting with CFLs (or larger fluorescents). They do last a lot longer than conventional bulbs (though not as long as advertised, of course) and the light they give is acceptable. Now that LEDs are becoming more prevalent, however, I’ll definitely look into them. Thanks, Anthony.