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re: Modern light bulbs - sick of the b.s.

Posted on 5/30/21 at 9:49 pm to
Posted by TigerGM
Member since Nov 2014
1026 posts
Posted on 5/30/21 at 9:49 pm to
quote:

Yep, it's a scam. I put all LED bulbs in our house 6 years ago and I've easily replaced them all multiple times. But hey, you save 58 cents on your electric bill annually even though the bulbs are like 5x the cost of normal ones


This is a first world problem for sure. At least we have electricity and running water but we are bitching about a lightbulb that last 2 years hahahahah ohhhhh the humaaaannitttty!!!!!
Posted by tiggerfan02 2021
HSV
Member since Jan 2021
2931 posts
Posted on 5/30/21 at 9:49 pm to
quote:

All that extra heat from incandescents is the electricity they burn but don't convert to light.



And the trade-off for that is it's great in the winter, but sucks in the summer.

Given my experience with LEDs, I would prefer CFLs any day all day 24/7/365.

They are the best of both worlds between LED/incandescent from my years of swapping light bulbs in evry room of multiple houses.
If you want sheer durability, the electrician who wired our house when we built it in 2004 used all 130v commercial rated incandescent bulbs through the whole house. Over half of them have never been replaced. That is getting your $$$ worth.
Posted by Korkstand
Member since Nov 2003
28727 posts
Posted on 5/30/21 at 10:06 pm to
quote:

Yep, it's a scam. I put all LED bulbs in our house 6 years ago and I've easily replaced them all multiple times. But hey, you save 58 cents on your electric bill annually even though the bulbs are like 5x the cost of normal ones
If what you claim is anywhere near accurate, and if you've tried different brands of quality bulbs, then you've got some serious electrical problems at your house or you're putting bulbs in recessed or enclosed fixtures which weren't designed for that purpose.

I know that haters love hyperbole ("58 cents annually"), but a single LED bulb will save you 58 cents after about 100 hours of use. There are probably 30 bulbs in my house that are on 16 hours per day, saving me nearly $3 per day. Legit $1,000 per year savings for me. And opposite your supposed experience, I haven't spent hardly any time at all breaking out the ladder changing bulbs. Last time I did that it was to change an old incandescent that burned out that I missed when I was putting in LEDs.
Posted by armsdealer
Member since Feb 2016
11533 posts
Posted on 5/30/21 at 10:44 pm to
You can buy led lightbulbs from Entergy for $.25 and the ones they sell are pretty good. Not the best, but the best are several dollars each.

Another OK bulb are the ones they sell at Dollar tree. The color isn't the best but they are bright and last a long time, they are good for areas you don't use as much.

The reason LED bulbs are so crappy is because they are cheaply made, LED's in more expensive applications, the exact same diodes, work fine for many thousands of hours.

If you want good old fashioned light bulbs you can get commercial filament bulbs from places like 1000 bulbs. They last WAY longer than the crap bulbs you use to buy in box stores because they are not designed with planned obsolescence in mind, they are designed to just plain work in commercial settings. In the areas I want the best quality of light, I use the commercial old fashioned bulbs. Mainly the kitchen, dining and bedroom.
Posted by chinese58
NELA. after 30 years in Dallas.
Member since Jun 2004
30521 posts
Posted on 5/30/21 at 11:03 pm to
quote:

you save 58 cents on your electric bill annually even though the bulbs are like 5x the cost of normal ones
Finding out billionaires like Bill Gates started investing in solar energy and fake meat manufacturers helped me to understand how some of the legislation barring the old products gets pushed through. You know the politicians, that went along, will all get their kickbacks when that kind of legislation passes.
Posted by Langland
Trumplandia
Member since Apr 2014
15382 posts
Posted on 5/30/21 at 11:05 pm to
I got the led ones at Walmart. Mother frickers flicker.
Posted by J Murdah
Member since Jun 2008
39791 posts
Posted on 5/30/21 at 11:06 pm to
shite man I got bigger problems to worry about than light bulbs
Posted by Joshjrn
Baton Rouge
Member since Dec 2008
27213 posts
Posted on 5/30/21 at 11:14 pm to
quote:

Installing LED bulbs in recessed or enclosed fixtures without making sure the bulbs are rated for that service. LED’s are more sensitive to heat than incandescents, despite the fact that they run much cooler. Many people experience failures because they install run-of-the-mill LED bulbs inside recessed can lights or enclosed track fixtures with no ventilation.


Glad I read the entire thread before posting. Saved me some typing.

LED lightbulbs are amazing. Don’t buy the cheapest available, and only use the right bulb for the situation, and they last for years, saving you a substantial amount of money in the process. fricking troglodytes.
Posted by MorgusTheMagnificent
Louisiana
Member since Dec 2014
1859 posts
Posted on 5/30/21 at 11:17 pm to
Don’t buy the cheap led’s. I spent $9.00 per bulb for my recessed lights, 10+ years ago, and not 1 has gone out
Posted by Tall Tiger
Dixie
Member since Sep 2007
3281 posts
Posted on 5/30/21 at 11:27 pm to
You must have bought some cheap low quality stuff.

I put Feit LED exterior lights on my house in 2014. They run from dusk to dawn every day. None have burned out going on 7+ years.

I like the 3000K warm light LEDs. Same shade of light as the old incandescent.
Posted by Bawcephus
Member since Jul 2018
2747 posts
Posted on 5/31/21 at 12:23 am to
I couldnt care less about price, longevity, etc.

Bought a house that had a metric frick ton of recessed lighting. All were incandescent (60w). Changed them all to LED because I didn't want to get a tan INSIDE. The heat they put off was ridiculous.
Posted by M. A. Ryland
silver spring, MD
Member since Dec 2005
2051 posts
Posted on 5/31/21 at 1:55 am to
quote:

Light bulbs are the original scam. Edison's first bulb is still burning. Look it up.


It is easy to make a light bulb that will last forever... Just make it hit a relatively low temperature.
Of course, then you don't get much light and the light you do get is sickly orange.

A bright white efficient incandescent light bulb is necessarily running at a high temperature, which means it will eventually burn out.
Posted by gpburdell
ATL
Member since Jun 2015
1425 posts
Posted on 5/31/21 at 4:21 am to
For most lighting I use Cree LEDs. At my old place, I had Cree bulbs last over 5 years before I moved. This included outdoor ones that were on all night for 10-12 hours every day.

In my current place, I've replaced every bulb with an LED when I moved in. Most are Cree, few LIFX and Phillips specialty bulbs. I have about 20 indoor bulbs that are on smart switches that turn on every evening for 6-8 hours and my outdoors ones are on dusk to dawn. I haven't had one failure in 3 years so far.

My mom did have one Cree bulb that failed within a year but chalk that up to bad luck. Cree does offer a 10 year warranty on their bulbs if you buy from an authorized retailer like Home Depot or Amazon.


Posted by LSUFreek
Greater New Orleans
Member since Jan 2007
14794 posts
Posted on 5/31/21 at 6:46 am to
I just watched a video of an "everlasting" incandescent light bulb that has been running for 120 years in a firehouse.

By all accounts, early incandescent light-bulb manufacturers got together and decided everlasting light bulbs were not a good business model and decided to shorten the life of a bulb from Forever to 50 days, even fining each other if one broke the rules.

Modern light bulbs do have a longer life, but just knowing they could be made to last forever makes "22 year bulbs" that only last two seem like the new business model.
Posted by Tigris
Mexican Home
Member since Jul 2005
12374 posts
Posted on 5/31/21 at 7:27 am to
quote:

I have over 100 in one house (of various types, most medium Edison) and I have replaced one in just over 5 years based on my Amazon order date.


Similar experience, I built new just over 5 years ago. 70 new bulbs per my rough count. Only one has failed. Before I built I replaced the bulbs in my old house and had a fairly high failure rate, but I bought the cheapest off-brand bulbs I could find. Only legit name brand bulbs went into the new house.

My electric bill averages around $110 in Florida, for 1,850 ft2. Put me down as happy with modern bulbs.
Posted by RetiredSaintsLsuFan
NW Arkansas
Member since Jun 2020
1592 posts
Posted on 5/31/21 at 7:39 am to
In my new home I checked the recessed lights and there was a LED board? instead of a light bulb. The LED light bulbs in the vanity lights and the kitchen drop lights are clear where you can see the filaments. These flicker all the time and I am thinking about replacing them.
Posted by eatpie
Kentucky
Member since Aug 2018
1151 posts
Posted on 5/31/21 at 8:01 am to
Individual brands of LED bulbs are not tested to determine their longevity. The "lifetime" claims are based upon several studies in perfectly controlled environments, with the bulbs and circuit board made of the highest quality materials and workmanship.

In reality, the LED can and will last as long as the lifetime claims, under those specific conditions, but all mass produced LED bulbs are made with the lowest, cost efficient materials and construction.

You will never get the cost to savings even close to even. As typical, the government pushed for the energy efficiency of LED and approved/encouraged the fraudulent generic claims.

Exactly the same with those massive wind turbines going up around the country. Yes, wind power is a gold standard renewable resource. Yes, the energy is "clean". In reality and practice, wind turbines do not produce enough energy in their lifetime to offset the energy used to manufacture, install and maintain them, not even close. And from what I've learned, the turbined are not recyclable, ultimately being buried in massive landfills.

A laudable goal, no doubt. LED bulbs and wind turbines could eventually develop into net neutral technology, but not likely before a newer, better, cheaper and more sustainable replacemnt is discovered.
Posted by HubbaBubba
F_uck Joe Biden, TX
Member since Oct 2010
45860 posts
Posted on 5/31/21 at 8:22 am to
I have the same issue with those shaped like small incandescent lamps used in light fixtures..but, I replaced all the floods in my house and outside my house over four years ago and not a single one has failed.

Inside, they eliminate the heat build-up from 25 cans of 100W lights, and outside, I calculated the electricity cost of the eight lights on the outside that stay on eight hours a night. At 100W, the cost was $192 a year just for those 8 lights. In four and half years, that's $864.

The annual cost of using the LED replacements is around $33, so over the same 4.5 years, I've saved $715 on electrical costs, just for those 8 bulbs. They cost me about $50 for all 8. I'd say that's a good investment. It's harder to calculate the savings on the rest of the lamps in the house, but the highest bill we ever had was over $800 one month back around 2015. Since then, we've replaced all the AC units with high SEER rating units, and all lamps with LED. Last summer, we never reached $350 in electrical costs.
Posted by ArkLaTexTiger
Houston
Member since Nov 2009
2473 posts
Posted on 5/31/21 at 8:30 am to
Look for bulbs that meet the Energy Star requirements:

https://www.energystar.gov/products/lighting_fans/light_bulbs/key_product_criteria

I've had good performance from EcoSmart, Philips and Cree LED bulbs from Home Depot.
Posted by UltimaParadox
Huntsville
Member since Nov 2008
40888 posts
Posted on 5/31/21 at 9:35 am to
Leds can definitely last that long. However the Edison screw base kills the ultra cheap transformers most of the bulbs use.

Changing the fixture to one where it can cool easier will allow them to last much longer.
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