[intlplby]

if high-intensity LEDs are so efficient why have they not really found their way into homes and offices as lighting.....

they use less power and last longer.... wouldn't this save money on electric bills


is there a good reason why this hasn't happened?

 

[mjg]

maybe it's good buisness to sell things that break, it's a good to have consumers in an industry where things are bought upon necessity, rather then purchased once then not repeating the buisness.

or plainly, they want more money, and selling something that breaks is profitable.

 

[adhoc]

simple inertia encourages the use of lightbulb/fluorescent tube, or should i say, discourages the use of leds.

plus, afaik, single leds have a narrow light-dispersal radii - which makes them inpractical for lighting tracts, where their increased power efficiency would be the most welcome.

to attempt to solve that problem by adding additional leds would not only negate one mentioned advantage of leds (power saving), it would also render reliable QC difficult (and hence) costly, which would cancel out yet another potential benefit of switching to leds: their rapidly falling cost.

 

[Stephonovich]

Simple: LEDs are not yet bright enough to be cost effective.

There is, however, (as always), an exception, which would be Luxeons. Insanely bright LED assemblies, basically. Some of the bigger ones have been used as replacements for home lighting. It's still not cheap, but I suppose if you figure in their 100,000 hour lifespan, it evens out.

I imagine, given enough years, LEDs will become the dominant force in lighting. Give it time, just like all technology.

 

[stevesurf]

LEDs are extremely cost effective over the long term, but since we live in a cost-driven society that places more emphasis on low cost and disposing/replacing, light bulbs still rule. Light capsules are not as popular at home since people will simply not spend the additional cost, even though the low operating costs provide a faster payback.

FYI, there are companies, though that now make LED-based track lighting that, I belive will take over the halogen lamp market. If you ever want the very best in portable LED illumination, try http://www.inovalight.com/site.html?XO-ov

 

[bhd812]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephonovich Simple: LEDs are not yet bright enough to be cost effective. There is, however, (as always), an exception, which would be . Insanely bright LED assemblies, basically. Some of the bigger ones have been used as replacements for home lighting. It's still not cheap, but I suppose if you figure in their 100,000 hour lifespan, it evens out. I imagine, given enough years, LEDs will become the dominant force in lighting. Give it time, just like all technology.

I would say your wrong on the first thing. they are bright enought to be cost cost effect...they just arent at your home depot.






L.E.D. fixtures (I single unit made up of many different color L.E.D.) are now all to common for the profressional Lighting industry, there are a few reason why you (the regular consumer) has not heard about these yet.
Mostly due to patent rights in america coming from one company called color kenetics. these guys basiclly conored the market so that if any other company in america tried to manufacture a fixture they would take them to court under patent laws. this company says they basiclly invented the technolgy of l.e.d. lighting...so they screwed all of us really.

but low and behold the times are a changing here. My company just did a house install of these elation lights. we had 10 sets of eight in this house and it is controlled by a computer dmx-512 controller called the martin light jockey.

ask if you have any more questions

 

[Publius]

Also, LEDs are not significantly more efficient than existing lighting solutions - in particular, they are less power efficient than fluorescents IIRC. True-white LEDs are also a relatively recent invention, and incandescents arguably will always have a leg up in terms of "natural" light reproduction - both incandescents and the Sun radiate visible light as blackbody radiation, while LEDs are basically a couple of steps away from lasers.

I put together a large-scale (30 element) LED array a few years ago for a school project, and the light output probably didn't even match a 20W bulb.

 

[JazzJackRabbit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhd812 but low and behold the times are a changing here. My company just did a house install of these elation lights. we had 10 sets of eight in this house and it is controlled by a computer dmx-512 controller called the martin light jockey. ask if you have any more questions

Who provided the leds? Your company or the people living in the house? I'm kind of interested how much did it cost because at $900 a set this is just too expensive.

 

[bhd812]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazzJackRabbit Who provided the leds? Your company or the people living in the house? I'm kind of interested how much did it cost because at $900 a set this is just too expensive.

actually thats a good deal. think about it your getting 8 fixtures, a driver unit, I believe all the cables. for $900 msrp?

these lights change any color you want, they are amazing on a wall and what not.

you can buy then here, i never delt with this place but i use their webpage as a pricing example.
http://www.farralane.com/acatalog/El..._8_System.html

 

[JazzJackRabbit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhd812 actually thats a good deal. think about it your getting 8 fixtures, a driver unit, I believe all the cables. for $900 msrp? these lights change any color you want, they are amazing on a wall and what not. you can buy then here, i never delt with this place but i use their webpage as a pricing example. http://www.farralane.com/acatalog/El..._8_System.html

It's still pretty expensive. The only way I would consider them is if they were as bright as a regular lamp and if the long run they were less constly than regular lighting, i.e. used less watts per hour and would last 20+ years. Otherwise, IMO, it's just an expensive ornament.

 

[flecom]

why not just make your own then?

LEDs are cheap as dirt online... or ebay, you can buy them in sets of hundreds, or thousands shipped from tiwain for pennies each...

let the DIY-er inside you free

 

[Publius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flecom why not just make your own then? LEDs are cheap as dirt online... or ebay, you can buy them in sets of hundreds, or thousands shipped from tiwain for pennies each... let the DIY-er inside you free

LEDs aren't THAT cheap. Or at least the ones we care about. Individual >5000mcd LEDs run in the $2-5 range IIRC, you need close to a hundred to make a light of any reasonable intensity, and volume discounts are probably not going to get it an order of magnitude cheaper.

 

[KYTGuy]

WWW.CCrane.com has a light fixture for a desk, a standard fixture, for approx $30, and a large edison base screw-in bulb substitute for the bulb...it uses multiple LEDs and is rated for an insane number of hours of service, but it costs some $70 IIRC. You can look for yourself if you want at the link above.

 

[bhd812]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazzJackRabbit It's still pretty expensive. The only way I would consider them is if they were as bright as a regular lamp and if the long run they were less constly than regular lighting, i.e. used less watts per hour and would last 20+ years. Otherwise, IMO, it's just an expensive ornament.

until you see a install of these or other intelligent lighting I would not comment on being expensive or a ornament.

at the price of the octopod 30's you basicly paying $100. for each fixture that will change any color and last easliy into 10 years run. I know for a fact you can pay well over $300 for each halogen light that wont last a year nor it doesnt change colors.

its the need you must have.

My company recently did a lighting install in a mansion near downtown hinsdale. the lighting budget was $300,000. this house actually has a number of MARTIN MAC2000 color wash's. each one costs around $10,000..

there are patterns (gobos) that shine on the floor and wall's.
the colors change every 40 min's or so, its the most sickning house you could imagine.

 

[Elec]

Interesting for you Chicago area folks: There's actually an article on this subject in today's Tribune, on the front of the business section. It's mainly talking about one specific bulb which has a plastic enclosure and a few LEDs mounted inside.