Ugh. electric bill. LED flashlight that'll light a room?

[KDOG3]

Lets' just say I'm looking for a LED flashlight that will run off rechargeables that will run for up to 12hrs and light a room up nicely. My plan is to take the light/batteries to work and charge up the batts there and then use the light at night when I need it. I have a 2 D-cell Mag body here. I also have 4 energizer nimh AAs' and charger sitting here that need a job to do. I'm thinking 3-4 well heatsinked Cree Q5s would do the job nicely. Maybe I could find a way to mount 3 DX cree drop ins in that 2D mag. I have one of those Coleman 4AA camping lights, but thats' pretty weak, it has 3 5mm leds in it. It will run forever, but just not bright enough. Might have to look around Walmart, Target and Lowes. I say that 2C Cree task force light in Lowes the other day. Would need a rechargeable kit though. Well suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm using those CFLs' in everylight in the house but apparently still not good enough...that and electric heat - which I shut off at am looking at other options. Well fire away!

 

[scottaw]

The guys in the "fixed lighting" may have some led ideas that would work better than your CFL's. My bills are getting a bit high as well, even with CFL's but making sure everyone shuts things off saves a lot more than you think.

 

[KDOG3]

The thought just dawned on me that I could just get one of those cheap rechargeable spotlights and use that. LOL.

 

[meuge]

Lets' just say I'm looking for a LED flashlight that will run off rechargeables that will run for up to 12hrs and light a room up nicely. My plan is to take the light/batteries to work and charge up the batts there and then use the light at night when I need it. I have a 2 D-cell Mag body here. I also have 4 energizer nimh AAs' and charger sitting here that need a job to do. I'm thinking 3-4 well heatsinked Cree Q5s would do the job nicely. Maybe I could find a way to mount 3 DX cree drop ins in that 2D mag. I have one of those Coleman 4AA camping lights, but thats' pretty weak, it has 3 5mm leds in it. It will run forever, but just not bright enough. Might have to look around Walmart, Target and Lowes. I say that 2C Cree task force light in Lowes the other day. Would need a rechargeable kit though. Well suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm using those CFLs'o in everylight in the house but apparently still not good enough...that and electric heat - which I shut off at am looking at other options. Well fire away!

A 100-W incad is usually the least amount of light I'd like in a room I am actively occupying. That amounts to about 1700 lumens... or 17 lumens/watt.

A 23-watt CFL puts out about 1500 lumens, which puts it at about 65 lumens/watt... which is already getting into LED territory... and I certainly like the tint better (on good CFLs). You'd need 15 Seoul U-bin LEDs driven at 350mA to put out 1500 emitter lumens at 100lumens/watt... which will cost you SIGNIFICANTLY more than a $3 General Electric CFL bulb, while only saving 30-40% of electricity. If you're going to be using rechargeable batteries, as opposed to driving the bulbs through the grid, you're going to lose electricity in the conversions, and probably wind up saving no money at all, compared to a CFL.

Get CFLs for interior lighting (the new generation turns on instantly, and generally does not flicker like the 5-year-old ones)... and here's another tip - if you don't need 1000 lumens in a room, you're not in the room, and the lights should be off.

 

[SEMIJim]

I'm sorry, KDOG3, no offense intended, really, but this has to one of the silliest ideas I've ever heard. To save money on electricity, you're going to charge-up batteries at work and use flashlights at home? Beside the fact you'll be stealing electricity from your employer, were you successful at this, it just doesn't strike me as a very civilized way to live. It's probably not going to amount to much of a cost-savings, either, even if your employer is footing the electric bill, what with wear-and-tear on flashlights and batteries.

Better, I think, to turn the lights off when you leave a room. Use CFLs where you can. (I can't use them hardly anywhere.)

You said you have electric heat. (Isn't electric absolutely the most expensive way to heat there is?) Do you also have electric range and oven, electric clothes dryer, electric water heater, by any chance? I assume you have one or more TVs, sound systems and computers. Do you shut them off when not in use? If you have battery chargers for anything: Do you realize most of them draw power even when not charging anything?

Have you upgraded windows and doors for better insulation? Made sure whatever cracks are sealed that can be sealed? Installed those insulation things behind the plates of all outside-wall outlets and switches? Added another 6 inches of insulation to the attic?

Have you turned the thermostat down? (Blows my mind to see people turn the thermostat up to 76F [24C] in the winter-time, and down to 70F [21C] in the summer-time - just the opposite of what they should be doing.)

Jim

 

[LED-holic]

I keep my thermostat at 68 in winter and bundle up, and 78 in summer. Is that what most folks do?

 

[ValhallaPrime]

Hey guys,

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/

This guy's site is a little wacky sometimes, but he has some great resources in his site for saving energy, and all his recommends are fact-based.

Seriously dude, lighting a room is the ABSOLUTE least of your worries in electric consumption. Here in Delaware, one of my 13Watt CFL's costs about $0.16 per HUNDRED hours of usage in electricity. My heater in the bathroom uses that in a bit less than an hour.


Pick up a kill-a-watt device (google it), and go look around your house for the big offenders. Most of the lighting in our 3-story townhouse is CFL's....and I know that a spaceheater in the bathroom on medium (900W) in the morning for 1.5 hrs is more than all the lights that are used in the house in 3 days.

 

[LEDninja]

A 23W CFL * 12 hours * 30 days = 8KWH/month.
At 5 cents/KWH that is 40 cents per month.
Allowing for a 23W CFL drawing more than 23W and your electric bill being more than 5 cents/KWH it is still less than $1 a month.
Is it worth the trouble to save $1 a month?

I do not think you really need to run a 23W CFL (100W incan equivalent) for 12 hours a night - more like 4 to 6 hours. The rest of the night you only need LED nite lites. (Actually LED nite lites are not that efficient.) Do you turn off lights behind you when you leave a room?

Lighting usually takes the least amount of energy in a household electric bill. Take a look at other electric appliances and see where else you can save.
Any electric heaters;
Washers and dryers; (cold water wash, hang dry)
Refrigerators and freezers; (Only 1 fridge please.)
Stoves, ovens, microwaves; (Use microwave instead of oven)
TVs, DVD players, VCRs, computers; (note the power supplies are always on to allow use of the remote and computer power supplies pushed past 200W at the turn of the century and the bigger ones are close to 500W now). There was a recommendation to turn off the device, then hit the switch on the power bar. (Don't work on devices that rely on a built in clock.)

 

[WadeF]

While we're on the topic, anyone know how much power the LED nightlights use? I assume they vary from brand to brand. I have them all over the house, mainly because they are cool, and I was hoping they weren't using much power.

 

[AndyTiedye]

Where flashlights CAN save electricity is by allowing us to more comfortably turn off lights we are not using.

If people routinely carry flashlights, they only need to light up the room they are in, not the whole house.


LED Christmas lights are MUCH more efficient than incandescent ones, btw.

 

[2xTrinity]

LED Christmas lights are MUCH more efficient than incandescent ones, btw.

This is a good point. Also, when you're in a house with electric heat, if you are actually using the heater at the time, then no turning of lights/devices to save power is useless -- every watt-hour wasted by those devices heats the room just as cost-effectively as the heater. In rooms that have to be air-conditioned, the situation is reversed -- electric waste in air-conditioned space costs you even more as it adds load to the A/C.

Electricity wasted outdoors on the other hand is always wasted, no matter what.

 

[KDOG3]

I live by myself, I don't own any TVs, computers (I'm on my parents PC). I don't even have telephone service. I'm not kidding. My bill this month was $343. I have a cell phone as my primary phone which I charge in my vehicle or at work. As far as "stealing my employers electricity" its' not stealing (at least in this case) since they know about it. Its huge factory and everyone and their brother is charging their phone, mp3 player etc... The bosses know and don't care.

I realize its sounds silly, but its winter and I need heat more than light wouldn't you agree? Don't want pipes to freeze... I do believe its the electric heat that is eating electricity. Its in the ceiling - I guess heat coils. I've turned that off. Gonna look for other options. Like I said, I have CFLs in every socket in the house, 13W'ers. But if I can save that power it will still help. Keep in mind, I'm just exploring options right now

 

[WadeF]

$343? Ouch. How big is your place? Do you have an electric water heater, old fridge, or anything else that maybe using more power than it should? What temp is your hot water heater set to?

I wonder if you could hire an electrician to just come in and check to see if anything is using more power than it should be.

 

[Carpenter]

Are you in a duplex or something bigger? Do you have a breaker panel for your place? Maybe something is wired wrong and one of your neighbors is tapping into your electric panel. I've heard of this happening before.

Maybe turn off everything in your panel one evening when your neighbors are home and see if anyone can't get something to work. If so, then call the landlord and raise a stink about it. + you get to use your flashlights while waiting to see if your neighnor still has heat and hot water.

 

[LEDninja]

While we're on the topic, anyone know how much power the LED nightlights use? I assume they vary from brand to brand. I have them all over the house, mainly because they are cool, and I was hoping they weren't using much power.

The cheap 5mm led household bulbs just convert AC into DC with a rectifier then use a dropping resister and one or more leds in series. 120VAC RMS has a peak of 170VDC. 5mm leds are rated for 20mA. 170V*.02A=3.4W. Does not matter if it is 1 LED or 36 LED. (The 50 LED bulbs have 2 strings of 25 LEDs in parallel and will pull 7W)
Some of the more expensive bulbs use solid state power supplies which may or may not be more efficient.

I am using 1 watt warm white led bulb instead of the 5mm LED nite lites. It is just as cool to the touch as the LED nite lites, nicer tint, much brighter, and should last longer.

 

[bitslammer]

Get a hot water heater blanket and wrap any and all exposed plumbing with pipe insulation, especially the hot water pipes. You can get 6-8' lengths of foam pipe wrap for a few bucks. The heat loss from pipes and an under insulated HW heater can add up to a big loss.

If you can't afford new windows then at least check all windows/door/openings and make sure you have them well sealed. I just got new double storm doors on the lower level of my house and the difference is HUGE. The main doors are now warm to the touch where they were bone chilling cold last year. I also bought the foam strips and touched up all doors, vents, etc., to make sure no cold air was leaking in.

I guess I'm lucky in that at ~1700sq/ft I've been able to keep heating & cooling bills under $150. That is largely due to new windows, doors, heat pump, and AC. I plan to stay here long enough that I'll make the $$$ back on those things in utility bill savings and increased resale value if I decide to move.

My next project will be to add more insulation to the attic and investigate adding an insert to the fireplace. The insert will certainly help but I'm doing that mainly because the open fireplace really sucks the warm air right out of the house so it's only practical to enjoy it when it's above say 35*F.

I have CFLs all over and even a few LED bulbs. The only incans are in my refrigerator, oven, and dryer. The appliances are all <3yr old and I'm sure have also helped knock down my electric cost substantially.

While it's not practical to do that all at once find out where your biggest losses are and start attacking those.

 

[SEMIJim]

My bill this month was $343.

I realize its sounds silly, but its winter and I need heat more than light wouldn't you agree? Don't want pipes to freeze... I do believe its the electric heat that is eating electricity. Its in the ceiling - I guess heat coils.

Well, this is going way OT, but...

Sounds like radiant heat. You do realize, I hope, that you're supposed to turn that off for rooms you're not currently occupying, right? E.g.: When you're in the kitchen, turn it on only in the kitchen. When you're in the family room: Only on in the family room. IOW: It's a bit like the lighting: Turn it on only in the room you're currently occupying. Sounds like a hassle, and potentially uncomfortable, to me, but that's the way it's supposed to be used.

I've turned that off.

So, ah, how're you staying warm?

Gonna look for other options.

Well, barring replacing the system with a forced-air geothermal heat pump system (hideously expensive to buy and install), I'd say ditch the electric heat and install a forced-air natural gas heating system. But that would be expensive, initially, too.

As others have pointed out: You're really not going to save an appreciable amount by turning off the lights. At least not unless you've been running them very irresponsibly.

Btw: Are you certain you're using all the electricity for which you're paying? Have you turned everything off and confirmed the meter stops running? $343/mo. sure sounds like a lot. Fall hasn't been that God-awful cold, TTBOMK. In fact: An on-line acquaintance tells me the NJ area has experienced a warmer-than-normal fall until just recently? We have gas heat and appliances, but we've got a water bed--the heater for which is rated at 1500W; two computers that run full-time (one's a server); a wall full of entertainment system; we're on a well, so we pump our own water; there are the motors on the furnace, clothes and dish washers, and the clothes dryer; there's a sump well that runs occasionally... there are outside motion-activated flood lights, the electric garage door opener, and we're heating and lighting a 1400 sq. ft. + basement ranch. Our last electric bill (pre-Christmas-lighting) was well less than 1/2 yours. Something sounds amiss with your situation.

Jim

 

[txmatt]

As others have said, lighting is a tiny portion of your electric bill, especially if you've switched to CFL lights. While tinkering with LED's is fun, it's not going to make much of a dent in your ~$350 electric bill.

If you have access to you electric meter, turn off everything you can and go see if your meter is turning. Start writing down the meter readings weekly or monthly so you know that the utility company readings are correct.

The top energy usage items in a home are heating/cooling, hot water, and refrigerator. It sounds like you're addressing the heating by setting it lower. Make sure your hot water heater isn't cranked up to scalding. A new fridge can actually have a pretty short payback period if you're replacing an old electricity hog. If you have a dishwaser, turn off water heat and drying heat.

Your time and effort and money will be much better spent going after the big-hitter electric consuming devices.

 

[James S]

even if you had a 100 watt bulb shining round the clock in every room it would still amount to only a fraction of that utility bill.

You've got to run some heat as you say to keep the pipes from freezing, and electric heat both sucks and blows... but I agree that something fishy is going on. check for big orange extension cords running from your outdoor outlet into your neighbors nice warm well lit place...

You certainly could spend that kind of money with electric heat, but it sure doesn't sound like you are.

 

[jaymasta]

I was watching a show on power saving the other day, and it was showing an average household and how much power was being used with everything off, but all of the appliances, tvs, stereos, power bars etc on standy by mode, and with everything turned off the house was consuming drawing about 250watts, and after that I look into a few things, and my plasma tv has a "standy by" mode, and it draws 27watts while in stand by which seems a little excess to me, I know you have stated you don't have many items, but maybe smaller things need looking into, powerbars, alarm clocks whatever else might draw little bits of power here and there...