New G-E 4W edison base LED at Wally World

[PhotonWrangler]

Just found this LED lamp at Wally World today (link goes to another company's site). It looks like the identical chip and optics that's used in their GU-10 based lamp, and for the same price ($25).

Brought it home and it has a nice warm white color and a useful semi-floody beam. This should make a good reading light.

 

[StarHalo]

What's with the 15,000 hour rating?

 

[PhotonWrangler]

What's with the 15,000 hour rating?

CFLs are typically 6000 to 15,000 hours, so this compares favorably to the longer-life CFLs. It does seem a little short though. They might be overdriving the chip, or they might be considering the lifetime of the electronics and the LED. As such it doesn't compare well to CFLs in terms of total cost of ownership, but it's a lot more rugged than a CFL.

For an LED afficianado (a fancy word for a nut) like me though, it's still worth getting at least one of them.

 

[geepondy]

Ccrane has been selling these types of lamps for awhile now. Nice to see them go mainstream, maybe the price will drop.

 

[shortstack]

4W with only 100 lumens??? no thanks....... would need around 400lumens to even be comparable

 

[LEDninja]

4W with only 100 lumens??? no thanks....... would need around 400lumens to even be comparable

Remember the 100 lumens is all directed forwards so the lux numbers is much higher when compared to a globe incandescent bulb.

I do not have a direct comparison picture so you have to extrapolate using the 7W Philips as base.

40W incandescent left, 7W Philips MasterLED right.

3*1W Cree left, 7W Philips MasterLED right.

Not good for general lighting but the more focussed beam produces enough light for close in reading. I use those little PAR16/JUDR bulbs in my keyboard/desk lamp and my bed headboard light. The beam is just about right for a paperback, too narrow for reading a newspaper in bed. YMMV as I do not have the GE bulb.

I saw a thread on a GE 7W PAR20 bulb a while back, which should give more lumens.

 

[shortstack]

Remember the 100 lumens is all directed forwards so the lux numbers is much higher when compared to a globe incandescent bulb.

I do not have a direct comparison picture so you have to extrapolate using the 7W Philips as base.

40W incandescent left, 7W Philips MasterLED right.

3*1W Cree left, 7W Philips MasterLED right.

Not good for general lighting but the more focussed beam produces enough light for close in reading. I use those little PAR16/JUDR bulbs in my keyboard/desk lamp and my bed headboard light. The beam is just about right for a paperback, too narrow for reading a newspaper in bed. YMMV as I do not have the GE bulb.

I saw a thread on a GE 7W PAR20 bulb a while back, which should give more lumens.

yes i realize that which is why i said 400 lumens, 100 lumens is no where near close enough for around 60w incandescent, only a few of the led bulbs would work good for the recessed lighting, but thats not what most people have.


here was my retrofit ourdoor light w/6 cree's (3-r2's and 3-p4's, @ 350mA on a low side should be about 582 lumens)
the light is pretty much the same other then color

here is a picture of a 13W CPF

here is the 6 cree's

 

[LEDninja]

Most people do not have the expertise to build their own lamps. Even less would be able to build them so they will pass a UL, CSA or other safety inspection.

So we are stuck with buying manufactured bulbs.
The Earthled Evolux at 1000 lumens is probably the only replacement that can work with floor lamps, torchieres, flush mount & semi-flush mount ceiling lamps. (Note 1000L is only equivalent to 75W, not 100W)
The Zetalux & Geobulbs at 250-400 lumens may work in table lamps and 2 bulb semi-flush mounts. (I find the 2*9W CFLs in my smallish bathroom rather dim & replaced them with 13W CFLs so 250-400L may not work for most people.)
Most other LED bulbs can only be used as accent lights & spotlights. The lower end 4 & 7 watts including the one discussed in this thread are only useful for CLOSE IN lighting.

As to recessed lamps, in Canada, northern US, high altitude places like Denver, where there is snow the ceilings are insulated. Insulated boxes are built around recessed light fixtures trapping heat which kills LED bulbs. Commercial buildings have tall false ceilings which allow heat to escape.

 

[blasterman]

Most people do not have the expertise to build their own lamps. Even less would be able to build them so they will pass a UL, CSA or other safety inspection.

I'd hadly call the skill to wire half a dozen LED in series, glue them to a bar of aluminum, and plug a power supply into them as 'expertise'. If this is honestly what's keeping LEDs from being a mainstream light source..........

Also, I feel safer sitting in a bathtub with a DIY 12 volt LED lamp than a mains powered Incan. The Asian manufactured CFL that literally caught fire in my living room the other day is UL listed.

There are two types of people; those who insist that any light they buy has to screw into existing sockets and be bought cheap from Walmart, and those who don't. The first group is going to be stuck with underpowered / over priced LED bulbs, or CFLs with flaky ballasts.

 

[LEDninja]

I'd hadly call the skill to wire half a dozen LED in series, glue them to a bar of aluminum, and plug a power supply into them as 'expertise'. If this is honestly what's keeping LEDs from being a mainstream light source..........

Also, I feel safer sitting in a bathtub with a DIY 12 volt LED lamp than a mains powered Incan. The Asian manufactured CFL that literally caught fire in my living room the other day is UL listed.

There are two types of people; those who insist that any light they buy has to screw into existing sockets and be bought cheap from Walmart, and those who don't. The first group is going to be stuck with underpowered / over priced LED bulbs, or CFLs with flaky ballasts.

Have you tried to get your 'half a dozen LED in series, glue them to a bar of aluminum, and plug a power supply into them' listed? If you can do that successfully you can start manufacturing and become a millionaire by 2012.

'I feel safer sitting in a bathtub with a DIY 12 volt LED lamp than a mains powered Incan'. I agree with that but most homes are wired with 115VAC (230VAC in many countries) instead of 12V or 24V.

In most places between laws, regulations and insurance contracts it is a lot easier to buy crappy lights than to DIY. If your house is burned down by a flaky CFL, and the insurance company finds (much safer) DIY wiring elsewhere, they will try not to pay using the non code wiring done by non certified electricians as an excuse.

There is the problem of people without the design expertise who just wanted the brightest lights. Pushing parts beyond their design limits. In flashlights it is usually burning out an LED or 2. In home lighting it can burn down a home.

 

[MarNav1]

How is it as far as heat buildup goes?

 

[blasterman]

Have you tried to get your 'half a dozen LED in series, glue them to a bar of aluminum, and plug a power supply into them' listed? If you can do that successfully you can start manufacturing and become a millionaire by 2012.

If I wanted to mass-fab lights I could probably have no less than 100 Asian electronic makers Twitter me in less than hour offering any design help I needed along with code certification. 100 might actually be conservative.

The real dilema is building something that is profitable. Consumers right now want cheap bulbs that screw into existing light sockets because they don't have money to spend anything else. Then again 5 years ago we all wanted cheap SUV's and didn't care if they got 15mpg.

If your house is burned down by a flaky CFL, and the insurance company finds (much safer) DIY wiring elsewhere, they will try not to pay using the non code wiring done by non certified electricians as an excuse.

My house was built in the 20's and has the original wiring. If it catches fire I'm not too concerned it will be blamed on my certified LED driver and 5 feet of lamp cord running at 12volt. Many of the cheaper node type 12volt converters used on millions of track lighting for instance are completey devoid of any type of certification, but I don't see a warning about them on my home owners policy.

I've also crawled through the ceilings of many commercial installations where the open ballasts used to fire the ribs of fluorescent tracks are an electical deathtrap along with flaky conduit. Yet I need to be more concerned about 12volt running off a 30watt power supply because of my insurance company?

In home lighting it can burn down a home.

Show me how a current regulated LED power supply (that also meets electronic device certifications) can magically produce enough voltage and current to start a fire.

 

[JohnR66]

Yes you should be worried. They do everything they can to avoid paying a claim. They don't outline every possible suituation in their policy.

You usually end up bickering with the adjuster until they settle partially.

It is best to avoid the big name advertised companies because, well, they suck.

 

[LEDninja]

There is the problem of people without the design expertise who just wanted the brightest lights. Pushing parts beyond their design limits. In flashlights it is usually burning out an LED or 2. In home lighting it can burn down a home.

Show me how a current regulated LED power supply (that also meets electronic device certifications) can magically produce enough voltage and current to start a fire.

I am not referring to you or McGizmo or any of the experienced builders. I am worried about people who do not know what they are doing. For example a new member recently came across a 20,000 lumen bulb and asked for help to build a portable light. 2nd post. "I only need 5 minutes of runtime." Running the batteries at 12C. I think we persuaded him to not use Li-ion. While the latest batteries can run at much higher than 2C, I do not want to push them to their limits. And does this member know how to size the wire gauge? Or the switch? It is these people I worry about trying to do a home DIY.

I have a physical handicap in my hands, not very handy, can not solder so I do not do DIY. I am stuck with buying not too bright manufactured bulbs. This is no fun as I can not get a demo.