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.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I’ll pass. Purchase price of 2 of those cans is equivalent to one avg. month of my current electric bill. I have a 2200sqft all electric house on the grid plus a shop full of power tools that get used almost daily. When the tech gets to the point where I can unscrew an incandescent and screw in something else in the same fixture for the same upfront cost, I’ll consider it. But feel free to do your own thing. 🙂
Might I suggest one further step in the installation instructions? Before cutting any cables, make sure the juice is turned off. I’m no expert but I think you’ll find that’s good advice.
I have always loved the idea of LEDs, if only they were not so one-directional. FatBigotTowers is a modest residence but it does have high ceilings with lovely Victorian plaster mouldings and chandeliers. Incandescent bulbs work beautifully. Nothing other than a cattle prod to the softest of soft tissue could persuade me to put twisty bulbs in my chandeliers. I am yet to find suitable LEDs, but their development seems to be coming on in leaps and bounds so I’m sure it won’t be long.
The eco-loons seem to have no realisation that we all want to save energy because: (i) it saves money and (ii) it reduces demand on a system that is at risk of becoming overstretched. Never mind grandiose nonsense about saving the planet, I’m more interested in everyone having cheap and efficient electricity so that more and more people can live in comfort.
Great technology.
As this market develops, prices will go down.
Very nice article.
Thanks
Mercury once again in common household items. I remember when they banned those silent mercury wall switches because of mercury poising. One day they will ban the florescent mercury lights. Leds are the only way to go.
I am a partner in a startup company that uses LEDs (including Philips, Cree, and Osram) to make aviation and outdoor area lighting. We are partnered with another local company that makes solar powered streetlights, and have licensed our LED module design to them.
LEDs are definitely the future for lighting. The costs are still a little higher than other solutions, but when you look at the long life (50,000 plus hours), high efficiencies (comparable to fluorescent), wide temperature operating range, immunity to power cylcing life reduction, lack of hazardous materials, recyclability, and instant-on characteristics they pretty much win on all fronts.
The complaint about not melting snow only really applies to to the stoplights, the streetlights emit light from the bottom, so snow accumulation on the top of the fixture really isn’t an issue.
There are other non-mercury containing high-efficiency, good color, instant-on, non-heat-or-cold sensitive lighting solutions coming in the near future, possibly significantly lower cost than the ~$80 LED lights. One is made by VU1, http://www.vu1.com although I don’t know the price and availability yet. I do help them out occasionally and as you can tell, I am a believer…For example, they use the Edison socket and fit in existing fixtures. This should allow for lower cost as well.
LED bulbs are showing up at Costco and Home Depot. Fairly small and low wattage so far. I am waiting for 100 watt equivalent at a reasonable price, about $10 or so.
In the meantime, I am using compact CFLs most everywhere, except where we read. I did it for increased efficiency of the Air Conditioning during summer. (Here in Texas, the usual seasons are “Early Summer”, “Summer”, “Late Summer”, and “January”.) During cold weather, the heat from the 100 watt bulbs help to warm the reading areas, but we can wear a sweater for that.
Of course, General Electric (who owns MSNBC) and the other Big Name companies make nothing on an incandescent light bulb (the patents have long since expired and everyone makes them). They do make a “tidy” profit on these “save the polar bear” bulbs. Hence all of the lobbying for “green regulations”. They aren’t stupid (that’s why they are rich) and they learned fromt the windfall Dupont/Dow made from refrigerant replacements.
Regards,
Steamboat Jack
Interesting article!
I have been using CFL bulbs for years since they first became affordable. The standard florescent bulbs do have a major color balance issue (being quite green) and I only use them in locations where I need brief lighting (such as a stairway or storage room). In the living areas, I use the natural white light CFL bulbs that approximate sunlight. They are much easier on the eyes, and are becoming much more available they are now only slightly more expensive than the conventional green color cast CFL.
I have also see short lifetimes on the CFL bulbs with several going out much sooner than expected. I recently found out that this issue may not actually be a bulb burn out. It appears some of the CFL bulbs have a thermal safety cut out switch in the base. If placed in certain fixtures that do not allow enough ventilation, they over heat if left on for extended periods of time and go dead until they cool off.
If you have a CFL bulb appear to burn out, take it out and let it rest for an hour or two then try it again. In my experience about 80% of the time the bulb works fine after it cools off. They don’t like being in shrouded shades like desk lamps that have limited air flow to cool them. If the shade is pointed down, it traps the heat in the fixture. If you turn it upwards so the spot shows to the ceiling, they last much longer, (or use a lower power level bulb whose ballast will not generate so much heat). The torchiere style floor lamp seems to work very well with the CFLs as its upward directed beam does not trap heat, and I cannot recall a single early failure in that style fixture with the CFL bulbs.
Mixed spectrum lighting is very old. In the 1960’s when many factories and office buildings first switched to florescent lighting, a percentage of the office workers complained — some due to perceived flicker (not everyone noticed it), and some due to color balance. The fix of the day was to mix fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. The incandescent bulbs supplied red which was almost totally missing in the light spectrum of the florescent. The added red improved the appearance of people (skin color was more normal) and helped with judgment of colors. Some eye doctors prescribed a pale pink eyeglass lens for office workers bothered by fluorescent lighting, to accomplish the same thing for people who were sensitive to the missing red in the color spectrum.
If you have problems with CFL bulbs and are not ready to jump to LED’s yet due to cost or availability, you might try looking for the natural white spectrum bulbs or try mixing them with other styles.
The slow starting issue is temperature related, they do not start well in cold environments like garages, patios and porches in the winter time due to the low temps. In those places, you can mix a 7 watt incandescent (refrigerator bulb) with a higher power CFL to get some instant light when the switch is thrown and higher levels of light a moment later.
I use LED lights for emergency lighting and cool summer lighting with some low cost puck lights and LED lantern lights but as mentioned they are a harsh blue white which is not pleasant to read by but works well for safety or emergency lighting.
Larry
One of the drawbacks of most LED lights until now was the reduced light intensity. Most were less than 100 lumen, indeed for very low consumption (1-2 W), but not enough to replace spotlights in most cases. Until recently: I just bought a 315 lumen 3500 K, 4 W spotlight, comparable in light intensity to a 20 W halogene spotlight (GU10), for 20 euro (Makro, Belgium).
Now it begins to be affordable comparable in light to the old spotlights, without the drawbacks of CFLs.
How well do they work on a dimmer-circuit?
REPLY: OK, but have a cutoff at 20% of max brightness (80% reduced from max)…they shut off below that -A
I live in a 64-unit apartment building (apartments = owners and renters in Australia, not just renters) and the council of owners has already approved that the flouro strips in the parking lots (which are lit 24/7) be replaced with LED systems. I think the cost was of the order of A$6,000 and would be recouped through reduced electricity consumption in approx. 6-12 months. After that it is pure savings.
No brainer really.
AlexB (13:58:56) :
Watts on watts
Nope!…Watts on miliwatts
OT
Want to watch a country called Greece implode? Run on, not banks but, countries has begun. They call those first countries to implode, the PIIGS. See here for an explanation of the run on Greece.
The Run On Greece Is Here: Investors Pull Out €10 Billion From The Troubled Country; Crisis Escalation Approaches
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/run-greece-here-investors-pull-out-%E2%82%AC10-billion-troubled-country-crisis-escalation-here
I’ve been using incandescents this whole time because I can’t stand the horrible color and really fast flickering of CFL bulbs, but with your recommendation I think it might be worth giving LED’s a try this year.
Incidentally, I hate the fluorescent lobby the most out of all these green hucksters. Made lights with mercury and phosphors that get dimmer and flicker and are bad for your health and make everything look like nasty sickly green. That’s not efficiency.
and break! i forgot that one
The breathless article sounded interesting and I’m a EE so I thought I’d run some calculations.
The first picture in the article shows the LEDs behind the cover lens. I count 30 LEDs based on symmetry since only 15 are visible to the right of the center-line. The Cree LR6 datasheet lists 10.5W nominal input power and 650 Lumens. Division gives 350mW input power per LED and a quick visit to http://www.digikey.com with filters set to “Cree” and “white LED” yields some candidate LEDs.
Based on the size of the LEDs in the picture, I’m guessing the LEDs used are Cree’s CLN6A series devices (300mA, 4mm square lens).
Using the datasheet graphs, 350mW input power gives an LED Vf of 3.1V at just over 110mA. Luminious flux is 40% of rated at that current. Assuming it’s the 65 Lumen rated part, this works out to 780 Lumens at a 25C Tj
The LED lists a thermal resistance of 15C/W and dissipates 350mW which gives a 5C temperature rise. I estimate the fixture heatsink at 3C/W and it dissipates 10.5W giving an additional 31C rise for a total of 36C rise at the LED junction. At 25C the junction temperature is 62C. Using the datasheet Lumens vs. Tj derating of 0.85 at 62C, the calculated output is 663 Lumens. This matches the specified 650 Lumens from the fixture nicely.
A 60C ambient isn’t uncommon above the ceiling during the summer and a fixture covered with insulation. That ambient temperature would take Tj to 92C, perilously close to the 125C limit.
This is an expensive fixture because of the 30 LEDs that list at $1.54 in 5K quantity and the cost of a massive aluminum heatsink section. In fact the fixture lists at $99. Let’s see what you get for this price:
An incandescent light bulb produces 15 Lumens per Watt, requiring 325W of power and 5 65W light bulbs to produce 4875 Lumens. Cost $5.
A fluorescent light produces 110 Lumens per Watt, using 44W of power with 3 15W fluorescent fixtures to produce the same 4875 Lumens. Cost $50.
This LED produces 55 Lumens per Watt, requiring 88W of power and 7.5 LED fixtures to get 4875 Lumens. Cost $750.
Looks like fluorescent lights still win by a long shot.
Thanks Anthony. I’ve been mulling LED domestic lighting over for a while now. You’ve just made my mind up for me!
Anybody know of any good wholesalers in the EU who can be approached for re-distribution?
Forget about Global Warming. LED Global Lighting is easily measured, achievable, non-controversial and, compared to governmental supported heavy metal alternatives, environmentally benign!
In my garage, I installed 3 fixtures, each capable of holding 3 incandescents of 60w ea. Over time, I realized this just wasn’t enough light for the area.
I wanted more wattage without exceeding the specs on the fixtures, but I didn’t want to run power for more fixtures.
I admit I didn’t conduct any calculations for heat from the ballasts, but I did conduct some informal heat tests with the twist style flourescents before making the switch. I now have 120w flourescents in each socket for something like 30w of draw each. Problem solved, and they use less energy.
If you have sidereal timers or electronic eyes on external lighting, the Flourescents don’t work (They’ll burn out your switch) , tho I have recently seen a few that claim they will.
Great article. This is a nice option. If you get a chance to do a show and tell on your EV’s that would be cool too.
CFL give me a blinding headache and I refuse to have them in my home. I stocked up on 100 and 60 watt incandescents shortly before moving into my current apartment, which is mostly lit using halogen lighting. Annoying, but there you go.
LED lights have a few more years before they’re at a decent price. A bayonet-cap 40W equivalent LED bulb currently comes in at about £80 around here. Far too much.
O/T, but kind of a rubicon being crossed
This weekend, ‘Have I Got News For You’, one of the BBC’s flagship comedy programmes made fun of global warming alarmism.
I’ve always thought that the real tipping point on AGW in the UK would be when mainstream comics (who tend to be very PC) found the courage.
Heartening.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00qmbwr/Mock_the_Week_Series_8_Episode_3/
(Apologies to those non-UK viewers who can’t view this).
PaulH from Scotland (16:22:55) :
O/T, but kind of a rubicon being crossed
This weekend, ‘Have I Got News For You’, one of the BBC’s flagship comedy programmes made fun of global warming alarmism.
I’ve always thought that the real tipping point on AGW in the UK would be when mainstream comics (who tend to be very PC) found the courage.
Heartening.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00qmbwr/Mock_the_Week_Series_8_Episode_3/
(Apologies to those non-UK viewers who can’t view this).
Totally agree Paul. I too am in Scotland and the thought that the tide is turning I share that also.
On the same channel, “Mock the Week”, took the ur*ne as well.
Times, they sure are a’changin
For those of you in NZ and elsewhere freezing, you should look at a product like this: http://www.reflectixinc.com/
If I had known about this when I was building, I’d have put it everywhere.
I use a CREE LED flashlight at work regularly. It’s incredibly bright (about 180 lumens) and runs on two AA batteries. It will only last about 2 hours continuous on the highest brightness, but I only use it for 20 seconds or so at a time to see inside broken power wheelchairs and such.
Thanks – Perry (13:58:13) – for the UK link to a possible supplier. Now we can’t get incandescent lamps in EU land I’ve been looking for an LED solution, since I don’t like the tone of CFL lamps, and they must be SO wasteful to produce – feel the weight, never mind anything else!
Might be a bit early yet, but we’re clearly nearly there, though to avoid the 50/60Hz flicker of CFR which gives some people headaches the LEDs should be on a DC supply.
An excellent thing to know about, hopefully they’ll come out with versions that’ll fit in full sized track lighting cans too. I have numerous track lights and recessed lights that are on very high ceilings, the long life of these would be a real plus. I hate the light from CFL units, sickly, and it tends to exacerbate migraines (or cause them), and as you say previously LEDs were too blue.
Give the market time and it’ll come up with a real useful solution, rather than jamming CFLs down everyone’s throat. In the meantime, I’ll stick with incandescent and halogen bulbs.