Comments on: R.I.P. for CFLs? LEDs to Light our Future http://science.kqed.org/quest/2008/08/22/rip-for-cfls-leds-to-light-our-future/ Explore science, nature and environment stories from Northern California and beyond with KQED’s multimedia series Thu, 24 May 2012 05:51:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Alan Williams http://science.kqed.org/quest/2008/08/22/rip-for-cfls-leds-to-light-our-future/#comment-11581 Alan Williams Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:47:41 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=797#comment-11581 Finally, the lighting manufacturers are getting it! LED’s that is! Light Emitting Diodes have been around for a while. We use them for reader boards, stop lights, Turbo Flares (I use to sell those), car stereo displays, computers, etc. Now, the major designers in lighting are getting into the act, for track and monorail systems. And LBL Lighting is heading up the pack. LBL head and pendant options are colorful and efficient, and will add aesthetics and energy conservation for your office, business or home environments. What had held back LED’s before was the lumen or light output, but that now seems to be dealt with more than sufficiently by LBL. The power consumption is 5.8 watts, color temperature is 3000 degrees Kelvin, lumens are rated at 300, and the lamp life is 30,000 hours. These fixtures use 83% less energy than the equivalent Xenon or MR-16 halogen fixture. They are easily replaceable (unlike some fixed LED light fixtures), so after 30,000 hours (or 1,250 days, @24 hours a day), you just replace the LED module. There is no UV, no hazardous waste like mercury (which is the one complaint about CFL’s), and they are dimmable, to boot. LBL offers 33 varieties of shades, more than Baskin Robbins! Their glass selection is outstanding, with such wonderful choices as The Cuttle, Carolina, Waive Crush, Rachel and the Rosetta. The only drawback is that they are not yet compatible with the LBL 2 circuit monorail system. Please consult your lighting designer, technician, or one of our staffers, before ordering LED’s for your monorail lighting system. So, join the Light Emitting Diode Explosion, with LBL lighting. Finally, the lighting manufacturers are getting it! LED’s that is! Light Emitting Diodes have been around for a while. We use them for reader boards, stop lights, Turbo Flares (I use to sell those), car stereo displays, computers, etc. Now, the major designers in lighting are getting into the act, for track and monorail systems. And LBL Lighting is heading up the pack.
LBL head and pendant options are colorful and efficient, and will add aesthetics and energy conservation for your office, business or home environments. What had held back LED’s before was the lumen or light output, but that now seems to be dealt with more than sufficiently by LBL. The power consumption is 5.8 watts, color temperature is 3000 degrees Kelvin, lumens are rated at 300, and the lamp life is 30,000 hours. These fixtures use 83% less energy than the equivalent Xenon or MR-16 halogen fixture. They are easily replaceable (unlike some fixed LED light fixtures), so after 30,000 hours (or 1,250 days, @24 hours a day), you just replace the LED module. There is no UV, no hazardous waste like mercury (which is the one complaint about CFL’s), and they are dimmable, to boot.
LBL offers 33 varieties of shades, more than Baskin Robbins! Their glass selection is outstanding, with such wonderful choices as The Cuttle, Carolina, Waive Crush, Rachel and the Rosetta.
The only drawback is that they are not yet compatible with the LBL 2 circuit monorail system.
Please consult your lighting designer, technician, or one of our staffers, before ordering LED’s for your monorail lighting system.
So, join the Light Emitting Diode Explosion, with LBL lighting.

]]> By: Dr. Pablito http://science.kqed.org/quest/2008/08/22/rip-for-cfls-leds-to-light-our-future/#comment-11579 Dr. Pablito Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:29:46 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=797#comment-11579 I just finished a house remodel, and we took the opportunity to install LED downlight fixtures. They rock. The cost was about $100 per can fixture, which ain't cheap, but isn't so outrageous compared to a halogen can light. They are dimmable, use regular 120 v wiring to the fixture, containing a solid-state transformer inside the fixture to convert to low-voltage necessary for the LED's. They come in three "temperatures" (i.e. different flavors of white light), and the "warmest" one is darned nice. No fluorescent pallor. They use about 5 watts each, and should last something like 20 years. It's pretty clear to me that this is the wave of the future in lighting. The screw-in replacement bulb element with LED (to replace your incandescents) is not quite there yet, so it does require a fixture replacement. But if you're remodeling a house or building a new one, why wouldn't you use a new efficient technology? I just finished a house remodel, and we took the opportunity to install LED downlight fixtures. They rock. The cost was about $100 per can fixture, which ain't cheap, but isn't so outrageous compared to a halogen can light.
They are dimmable, use regular 120 v wiring to the fixture, containing a solid-state transformer inside the fixture to convert to low-voltage necessary for the LED's. They come in three "temperatures" (i.e. different flavors of white light), and the "warmest" one is darned nice. No fluorescent pallor. They use about 5 watts each, and should last something like 20 years. It's pretty clear to me that this is the wave of the future in lighting. The screw-in replacement bulb element with LED (to replace your incandescents) is not quite there yet, so it does require a fixture replacement. But if you're remodeling a house or building a new one, why wouldn't you use a new efficient technology?

]]> By: Jim Gunshinan http://science.kqed.org/quest/2008/08/22/rip-for-cfls-leds-to-light-our-future/#comment-11577 Jim Gunshinan Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:31:27 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=797#comment-11577 Dave, People like you who don't have the facts shouldn't be so rude. Using your halogen lights to warm your house is not very cost effective. By the way, using CFLs saves you money even in heating climates. The mercury that may get into the ground from CFLs is dwarfed by the amount of mercury that gets into the ground from power plants powering incandescents and halogen bulbs. When it comes to technology, my best friend is my brain. There are no magic solutions to our problems, and every new technology brings its benefits and downsides. It's best to get all the facts and choose wisely what's best for you and your environment. Dave,

People like you who don't have the facts shouldn't be so rude. Using your halogen lights to warm your house is not very cost effective. By the way, using CFLs saves you money even in heating climates.

The mercury that may get into the ground from CFLs is dwarfed by the amount of mercury that gets into the ground from power plants powering incandescents and halogen bulbs.

When it comes to technology, my best friend is my brain. There are no magic solutions to our problems, and every new technology brings its benefits and downsides. It's best to get all the facts and choose wisely what's best for you and your environment.

]]> By: Dave http://science.kqed.org/quest/2008/08/22/rip-for-cfls-leds-to-light-our-future/#comment-11576 Dave Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:24:05 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=797#comment-11576 When LED technology reaches the warmth and color of my 45w halogen down lights I have throughout my house I may consider them. They are my best friend all winter. I run them on dimmers and have a very very low utility bill. You do goods can go pound sand for all I care I wish you did better research before calling yourself experts and recommending replacement for everything, you bunch of green washers. Everybody jumping on the green cfls when many of us knew all along they pollute the environment with mecury when your standard bulb wont. When LED technology reaches the warmth and color of my 45w halogen down lights I have throughout my house I may consider them. They are my best friend all winter. I run them on dimmers and have a very very low utility bill. You do goods can go pound sand for all I care I wish you did better research before calling yourself experts and recommending replacement for everything, you bunch of green washers. Everybody jumping on the green cfls when many of us knew all along they pollute the environment with mecury when your standard bulb wont.

]]> By: Sylvia Wright http://science.kqed.org/quest/2008/08/22/rip-for-cfls-leds-to-light-our-future/#comment-11580 Sylvia Wright Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:19:21 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=797#comment-11580 Jim -- Here at UC Davis, the California Lighting Technology Center's engineers and designers have energy-saving research projects underway using LEDs: • In downlights; • In tandem with occupancy/motion sensors in parking garages and on community park pathways; and • In ceiling fans. To learn more, go to http://cltc.ucdavis.edu/ and look under Projects -> Research. They also recommend using LED holiday lights to reduce energy use by 75 percent. Jim — Here at UC Davis, the California Lighting Technology Center's engineers and designers have energy-saving research projects underway using LEDs:
• In downlights;
• In tandem with occupancy/motion sensors in parking garages and on community park pathways; and
• In ceiling fans.
To learn more, go to http://cltc.ucdavis.edu/ and look under Projects -> Research.

They also recommend using LED holiday lights to reduce energy use by 75 percent.

]]> By: David Coale http://science.kqed.org/quest/2008/08/22/rip-for-cfls-leds-to-light-our-future/#comment-11578 David Coale Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:10:28 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=797#comment-11578 When the price per watt for LEDs (all things considered) is equivalent to CFLs, along with the lpw and you can do area lighting, I will be ready too. When the price per watt for LEDs (all things considered) is equivalent to CFLs, along with the lpw and you can do area lighting, I will be ready too.

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