No worries, hope you're able to find what you're looking for.
For anyone else interested;
Cree has a warranty for 10 years, 6 hours a day, 7 days a week.
http://www.creebulb.com/Home/Warranty
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Let's shine some light on LED light bulbs
- Thread starter Toothpick
- Start date
No worries, hope you're able to find what you're looking for.
For anyone else interested;
Cree has a warranty for 10 years, 6 hours a day, 7 days a week.
http://www.creebulb.com/Home/Warranty
They do MUCH better than 3 years at 3 hours per day.
My wife has sleep issues due to her meds, and she doesn't work, so our living room lighting is generally on for 16-20 hours a day.
The LEDs are holding up just fine after two years.
- Thread starter
- #83
Yes, Home Depot carries Cree.
I have not seen Cree advertised at Lowes or Menards, though they do carry other brands.
- Thread starter
- #85
sweet, thanks yet again
Remember Jason, the warranty doesn't cover a fall from the kitchen counter to the floor, as I kind of pointed out in my previous post in this thread. Be careful opening the clamshell packaging. I have 3 5000K Crees in my bathroom globes over the medicine cabinet. Plenty of light; my fading eyesight is another matter....
Don
Phil and others, thanks for the education.
Based on recommendations from my boss, I swapped out all the lights in our townhouse with LEDs I bought on eBay. We had a ton of recessed lights and our electric bill in San Diego was always $200 at least.
Took about 4 weeks to get cause they come from china but they cost $3-7 each. Cost me about $150 to change all them. We have changed no other habits and our bill is now always $115-135. I am a believer.
I was shocked how hot our old recessed lights were when I went to change them. No wonder my bill was so high. LEDs are cool to the touch.
Couple notes of caution.
1) The "cool" type of light is a very different light. It is blueish and very clean. I like it but momma doesn't. Get the "warm" it is closest to what u are used to.
2) corn cob style LEDs are great for lamps where you want a big output of light. 7-9w.
3) dimmable. You can only dim LEDs from 50-100% output. Takes some time to get used to.
I am a believer. I have seen it. So much so we are switching back all the bulbs when we move out and taking them with us.
Took about 4 weeks to get cause they come from china but they cost $3-7 each. Cost me about $150 to change all them. We have changed no other habits and our bill is now always $115-135. I am a believer.
I was shocked how hot our old recessed lights were when I went to change them. No wonder my bill was so high. LEDs are cool to the touch.
Couple notes of caution.
1) The "cool" type of light is a very different light. It is blueish and very clean. I like it but momma doesn't. Get the "warm" it is closest to what u are used to.
2) corn cob style LEDs are great for lamps where you want a big output of light. 7-9w.
3) dimmable. You can only dim LEDs from 50-100% output. Takes some time to get used to.
I am a believer. I have seen it. So much so we are switching back all the bulbs when we move out and taking them with us.
- Thread starter
- #89
That's a big savings just from switching out light bulbs!
This depends on the bulb and the manufacturer. There are absolutely LED bulbs out there that dim down all the way to zero.
If dimmable bulbs are a feature you are specifically looking for, ensure the bulb you buy is capable of dimming below the half-way point to or near zero.
- Thread starter
- #91
You also need to have a light fixture that is capable of dimming correct? and a dimmer switch on your wall?
If I wanted to use a dimming LED in my ceiling fan:
1. swap out the ceiling fan for one that will dim
2. swap out the on/off switch on the wall for a dimming switch
3. Both 1 & 2
buying a dimming LED bulb is a given...
If I wanted to use a dimming LED in my ceiling fan:
1. swap out the ceiling fan for one that will dim
2. swap out the on/off switch on the wall for a dimming switch
3. Both 1 & 2
buying a dimming LED bulb is a given...
The socket is irrelevant, it's the dimming switch that makes a socket dim the bulb in the socket.
The motor and the light portion of the ceiling fan are separate and distinct circuits.
You can leave the motor circuit as is, and install a dimming switch on the wall for the lighting circuit, leaving the socket of the fan intact and you will be able to dim the light from the switch.
If you have only one switch on the wall for the light and the fan, and control the fan from only the pull chain, then the light and motor circuit have been jumpered together. Separate the two, use the existing switch for the fan motor, and install a dimmer switch in the wall box for the light.
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Here's a wiring diagram for a switched fan, and a dimmer lamp;
This site gives you several different options, with switched and dimmer on one or both, depending on location of source (electrical supply), whether it's at the switch or at the ceiling fan box.
http://www.do-it-yourself-help.com/wiring_diagram_ceilingfan.html
Make SURE you are doing this according to local code. Some places require hard or flex conduit and some do not.
Check your local codes before proceeding, or call a certified electrician to do the work.
This site gives you several different options, with switched and dimmer on one or both, depending on location of source (electrical supply), whether it's at the switch or at the ceiling fan box.
http://www.do-it-yourself-help.com/wiring_diagram_ceilingfan.html
Make SURE you are doing this according to local code. Some places require hard or flex conduit and some do not.
Check your local codes before proceeding, or call a certified electrician to do the work.
- Thread starter
- #94
The wall switch as two on/off switches - one for the light and one for the fan. So I just need to swap out the wall switch for the light with a dimming switch and leave the fan switch alone.
- Thread starter
- #95
I'd just buy what i need and let the maintenance man swap them out
That is correct, unless you also want to control the speed of the fan, in which case you could install dimmer switches on both, and have speed and light control from the dimmer switches.
EDIT: Let me add that some electric motors are cooled by the movement of a fan on the motor itself, or the movement of air near the motor from the room fan.
If a fan is not sufficiently cooled, running it at very low speeds (as is possible with a dimmer switch) can cause the motor to overheat, causing premature failure.
NOTE: A Fan motor will not operate properly with a dimmer switch designed for a light. You need a specific controller designed for a fan motor.
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- Thread starter
- #97
i think I'll just leave the fan alone. Thanks for the additional info. I have a big ole plasma TV in my bedroom and I'm thinking a dimmer would be ideal for the evening when I relax with the TV and don't want to sit in darkness with the TV being the only light.
Would reduce glare and provide a little light too.
As always, another B&B thread that costs me money
Great thread. I'm glad to hear that LEDs are mostly or all dimmable, even if not specified, and maybe the ones not labeled for it merely don't dim quite as well.
Like so many other things, I differ from popular opinion. I love the smell of Arko. I prefer latakia in my pipe. I love CFLs and I hate the sickly yellow light of incandescents (even so-called "cool white" ones). I think I'll like LEDs more than CFLs, though...once their price comes down enough.
My average sized raised ranch came with hundreds of lights. Previous owner was a bit of a nutter. There are 12-light tracks everywhere (including TWO in the bedroom closet), 5-light fans, the attic and most of the basement ceilings are tiled with 4-tube fixtures, the exterior has dozens of 3-bulb fixtures. When I bought it in 2005 he took his CFLs with him and replaced them with incandescents. Besides my dislike of their color I sure wouldn't want to pay the electric bill for them, so immediately I outfitted the entire house with CFLs again.
So, in 2005 I scored tons of dimmables for $2 and regular CFLs for $0.50 and fit every fixture in the house with them. They were a cheap brand that I haven't seen since. In 9 years most have not had to be replaced. There's one in the bathroom that I have replaced twice and is probably going to die again soon. I gave up using them in the fridge and put an incandescent in there. There's one track in the living room where I've replaced almost every one of them once, it gets used every single day. Most of the ones in the kitchen ceiling fan have been replaced once. I think I've replaced a couple in the track over the laundry area, and maybe a couple in the bedroom ceiling fan. I really can't remember the last time I replaced one, they seem to last just as promised for me. My electricity usage is similar to my most energy-efficient neighbors according to emails from the electric company, and I run a lot of stuff non-stop that most people don't (ancient inefficient large freezer, always at least one computer, lots of fans, etc).
Mine are a pretty high color temperature, which is just what I and SWMBO like...when we turn them on, it's a clean white light.
Like so many other things, I differ from popular opinion. I love the smell of Arko. I prefer latakia in my pipe. I love CFLs and I hate the sickly yellow light of incandescents (even so-called "cool white" ones). I think I'll like LEDs more than CFLs, though...once their price comes down enough.
My average sized raised ranch came with hundreds of lights. Previous owner was a bit of a nutter. There are 12-light tracks everywhere (including TWO in the bedroom closet), 5-light fans, the attic and most of the basement ceilings are tiled with 4-tube fixtures, the exterior has dozens of 3-bulb fixtures. When I bought it in 2005 he took his CFLs with him and replaced them with incandescents. Besides my dislike of their color I sure wouldn't want to pay the electric bill for them, so immediately I outfitted the entire house with CFLs again.
So, in 2005 I scored tons of dimmables for $2 and regular CFLs for $0.50 and fit every fixture in the house with them. They were a cheap brand that I haven't seen since. In 9 years most have not had to be replaced. There's one in the bathroom that I have replaced twice and is probably going to die again soon. I gave up using them in the fridge and put an incandescent in there. There's one track in the living room where I've replaced almost every one of them once, it gets used every single day. Most of the ones in the kitchen ceiling fan have been replaced once. I think I've replaced a couple in the track over the laundry area, and maybe a couple in the bedroom ceiling fan. I really can't remember the last time I replaced one, they seem to last just as promised for me. My electricity usage is similar to my most energy-efficient neighbors according to emails from the electric company, and I run a lot of stuff non-stop that most people don't (ancient inefficient large freezer, always at least one computer, lots of fans, etc).
Mine are a pretty high color temperature, which is just what I and SWMBO like...when we turn them on, it's a clean white light.
Don't forget to worry about vibration. I don't know about medium base LED home lighting lamp assemblies, but the actual LED part itself should be more vibration-resistant than anything else on the market...it's just a solid-state semiconductor.
Brightness is lumens (or, in other types of lighting, candlepower). 5000k or 2700k is color. Some actually look blue, but usually the question is white or yellow.
Are they in those dangerous plastic clamshells that are incredibly tough to open, resulting in severe injuries sometimes?
- Thread starter
- #99
I went to Home Depot and bought this one for my bathroom.
The light fixture had 3 60W 885 Lumens light bulbs in it. 180 total watts, 2,655 total lumens
Now I just have this one light bulb in there that is 18 watts and 1,600 lumens.
So far I love it. Perfectly bright enough and I really like the "daylight" look over the yellow I had before. In fact I could actually go with less lumens and it would be fine. This bad boy is bright. But it's my shaving bathroom so I kind of want a brighter light as well.
Now I know what 1600 lumens looks like so I'll be able to have a better understanding of what I want when I buy lights for the various other rooms.
Untitled
The light fixture had 3 60W 885 Lumens light bulbs in it. 180 total watts, 2,655 total lumens
Now I just have this one light bulb in there that is 18 watts and 1,600 lumens.
So far I love it. Perfectly bright enough and I really like the "daylight" look over the yellow I had before. In fact I could actually go with less lumens and it would be fine. This bad boy is bright. But it's my shaving bathroom so I kind of want a brighter light as well.
Now I know what 1600 lumens looks like so I'll be able to have a better understanding of what I want when I buy lights for the various other rooms.
Untitled
I also have a lot of LEDs in places around my Tulsa apartment and my home and the farm.
One of the reasons that LEDs seem to save such a ton of money, actually do - not seem to, is that not only is there a reduction of the power required for the building lighting, but there is a reduction of the wasted power that become extra load for the cooling system. So you save on lighting costs, and you save on cooling costs.
(Actually it is a little more complicated; it is approximately the same power load for the actual visible light generation, and the real reduction is in the wasted power.)
As others have pointed out, The Cree bulbs from Home Depot are the ticket. Early on I used a fair number of the "corn row" bulbs from China. Took forever to arrive, and invariably one was damaged in transportation. To their credit the vendors would always replace them, but the weeks long waits were frustrating.
I have also had good success with Xledia high lumen output bulbs from EarthLED.com.
The motion sensor/dimmers that "blink" are may be two wire devices. These were designed in a day when the tungsten filament in the bulb provided a pathway for the minuscule current draw required to make the device function. A scheme that I have had for a while, but never actually tried, is to put a 5K ohm resistor in the base of the fixture across the terminals for a bleeder path to allow operating current across the device. Sort of the same idea as a small candelabra base bulb across the main bulb. Might not work at all, though.
One of the reasons that LEDs seem to save such a ton of money, actually do - not seem to, is that not only is there a reduction of the power required for the building lighting, but there is a reduction of the wasted power that become extra load for the cooling system. So you save on lighting costs, and you save on cooling costs.
(Actually it is a little more complicated; it is approximately the same power load for the actual visible light generation, and the real reduction is in the wasted power.)
As others have pointed out, The Cree bulbs from Home Depot are the ticket. Early on I used a fair number of the "corn row" bulbs from China. Took forever to arrive, and invariably one was damaged in transportation. To their credit the vendors would always replace them, but the weeks long waits were frustrating.
I have also had good success with Xledia high lumen output bulbs from EarthLED.com.
The motion sensor/dimmers that "blink" are may be two wire devices. These were designed in a day when the tungsten filament in the bulb provided a pathway for the minuscule current draw required to make the device function. A scheme that I have had for a while, but never actually tried, is to put a 5K ohm resistor in the base of the fixture across the terminals for a bleeder path to allow operating current across the device. Sort of the same idea as a small candelabra base bulb across the main bulb. Might not work at all, though.
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