Living room LED lighting?

I've been bitten by the flashlight bug, and now would like to extend that to home lighting. I live in a rental with dim, industrial lighting, and, especially with winter near, would like to buy a few floor/table lamps that can light up my living room like a day at the beach. Is that feasible? I'm biased against halogen floor lamps because years ago I nearly had a fire disaster, so I thought LED technology might be the answer. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I have been browsing this forum and haven't been able to locate the information needed to put this together...

AlonzoMosely said:

I'v...would like to ...light up my living room like a day at the beach

Click to expand...

I'm thinking a metal Halide HID reflected off the ceiling.

This might be one?

:welcome:

The sun is awful bright!

If you use regular incandescent bulbs what would you need?
How many table lamps, what size bulbs?
How many floor lamps, what size bulbs?
How many torchieres, what size bulbs?

40W equivalent LED household bulbs came out earlier this year. They are often on sale now because... (They are too dim to compete with the sun.) ~$10

60W equivalent LED household bulbs are now widely available. ~$25

75 watt equivalent LED household bulbs are just introduced. ~$40

100 watt equivalent LED household bulbs are due January 2012.

75-100 watt spot/flood LED bulbs are around a bit longer but you need a torchiere to bounce the light off your ceiling. ~$35-$40

Please note LED bulbs can come in cool/daylight or soft/warm white and there is a lot of difference in the tint!
Go down to your local Home Depot and look at the displays.

If you really want a floor-standing lamp that will light up your place like the noon sun then buy one of these:
http://www.microsun.com/

The 68W halide bulb will last years (provided you turn it on and leave it on for awhile). I seem to remember the lumen output is in the 6000 range.
It's fun to say "I have a bright lamp, watch." Turn it on. They say, hmm, neat. I say "wait for it". 2 minutes later their voice changes.
My wife thinks it makes a great sewing lamp too.

While classic floor standing lamps using metal halides may seem weird I can think of a lot of relatives who would love this.

Problem is there's no specs on the bulb, and cheap metal halides (low CRI) look horrendous. High CRI halides are used at your nicer sporting stadiums and such.

One source at least.

http://www.venturelighting.com/LampsHTMLDocuments/NaturalWhite_lamps.html

Replace your incans with LED lamps.:thumbsup:

Ken_McE said:

I'm thinking a metal Halide HID reflected off the ceiling.

This might be one?

Click to expand...

Yep. Works for me. I suggest 70 W CMH PAR 30 lamps on electronic ballasts. As Ken says, you need to have a white ceiling and aim them upwards. Bright, White, Efficient, and well, unusual... I like 3000K lamps indoors. If you want something cooler, look for 4000K lamps. If you like ghastly bluish white: 5000K..:sick2:

Here's the lamp I use (philips Sylvania, and GE all offer similar lamps)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GE-LIGHTING...278?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4842653cd6

And Ballast:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NAIS-70-Wat...Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item4cf04f67b9