LED light bulbs are a relative newcomer to the lighting market. As such, they still have a few issues that hamper widespread use, especially on the home market:
- High quality, white LEDs are still expensive to produce
- The light given by home market bulbs is often tinted slightly blue
Point 1 results in two things: LED light bulbs are somewhat expensive, and/or often radiate low levels of light. Point 2 is a showstopper for many everyday lighting situations.
So, does this mean LED bulbs are a total waste of time; a dead-end technology? In my opinion, the answer is no.
Firstly, extensive research is being done to deal with both of these problems.
Secondly, as more LED bulbs are sold, the economy of scale should do its thing and get us either cheaper bulbs at the current quality or better bulbs at the current prices. Both alternatives will probably appear.
Thirdly, even though LED bulbs in many/most situations can’t be used as like for like replacements for incandescents, there are situations in which they’re good enough – in some cases even preferable.
And fourthly, while LED light bulbs have comparable or better energy efficiency performance than CFL bulbs, they don’t contain the dangerous and environmentally damaging mercury that CFLs do – see my post Light bulbs are hazardous waste for more details on this subject.
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Uses for LED light bulbs
Generally speaking, a LED bulb is good for situations where a few of the following apply:
- Limited power is available, for example in small installations based on solar energy or wind power (LED bulbs use very little electricity)
- A small amount of light is needed
- Blue tinted light is acceptable
- A robust bulb is needed (LED bulbs are more hardy than the alternatives, especially against vibration)
- The socket for the bulb is hard to get to (LED bulbs have a long lifetime)
A few examples:
- Lighting in storage cabinets
- Garages and garage door openers
- Nightlights
- Refrigerator light
I recently swapped the 15 watt incandescent bulb in my fridge for a 1 watt LED bulb. The bluish tint was certainly noticeable right after having swapped out the old bulb, but I soon got used to it.
The next thing I noticed was that where the old bulb had been radiating heat (not exactly ideal inside a refrigerator), the new LED bulb wasn’t radiating any heat at all. So, not only is it spending less electricity generating light, it’s also not generating heat that the refrigerator subsequently has to use electricity to get rid of.
As an additional bonus, the long life of the LED bulb means I won’t have to change it for years to come – at which time the refrigerator will probably be worn out anyway.
For an even better way to use less energy for lighting, have a look at Switching the lights off really does save energy.
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This post was tagged with: appliances, LED lamps, LED light bulbs, light bulbs, lighting
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Very informative post. Never really thought of chaging out the light in my fridge, but it does maake sense.
Question :
What is the strongest wattage on LED bulbs and what does it compare to with CFLs and incandescent?
@Yanic A: Thanks for commenting
I haven’t really done a thorough search for the strongest wattage for LED bulbs. However, the highest wattage I’ve seen on one is 13 watts. This was on the (esthetically displeasing) EvoLux S 13 Watt LED. I haven’t tried it myself, but the manufacturer claims it gives out as much light as an incandescent bulb at 100 watts. It’s also quite pricey. Then again, if it does last as long as claimed, you should recoup the cost and save a decent amount on the total life of the bulb.
A more affordable alternative is the Designers Edge L-611 6 Watt LED bulb, which is designed to replace 25 watt and 40 watt incandescents.
The tricky thing about these comparisons is that the technology is different and can’t really be compared directly. An incandescent bulb will always draw what it says on the box, give or take a tiny percentage. It’s simple technology, and has no hidden or semi-hidden loads.
Now, for CFLs and LED bulbs, things aren’t always that clear-cut. Both of these bulbs have some components that emit light, as well as some components that enable the light-emitters to do their stuff. (For a closer look at the difference between the different types of bulbs and tubes, have a look at Light bulbs: from energy waste to energy saving).
Both of these component types draw power. Regrettably, on some LED bulbs only the power load of the former type of components are listed on the box. Which means that the actual electricity use might be higher than what it says. This is, not surprisingly, more common on cheap bulbs.
A good example of this is the LED bulb I have in my refrigerator. The packaging and the bulb socket says it’s a 1 watt bulb. Which is probably true, if you look at what the actual light emitters (LEDs) inside the bulb draws. However, when I plug it into my trusty energy meter, it’s displayed as drawing 4 watts. Which means the control circuitry draws 3 watts – 3 times more than the LED. Which kind of sucks. Then again, this was a dirt-cheap bulb (about 6 US dollars, the brand is NorthLight), 4 watts is still fairly low and it gives a fully adequate amount of light for my refrigerator.
More expensive bulbs from reputable brands typically list the whole actual power draw of the bulb in operation.