Gallery of Lights
Lamps => News about Lamps => Topic started by: rjluna2 on April 09, 2013, 07:57:13 PM
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tuesday, April 9, 2013, Business Section, page A7
Technology
Buyer warm to LED bulbs as prices fall
Dimmer-worthy, instant-on lights are more prevalent.
By John Ewoldt
McClatchy Tribune
If consumers are willing to spend $5 for a cup of coffee, how about $25 for a light bulb?
Ned Kantar of Minneapolis recently forked over that much to replace one reflector floodlight with an energy-efficient LED bulb. For the extra $10 to $15, he doesn’t have to get the ladder out nearly as often.
The LED bulb has a 20-year life span, and he’s happy with the instant-on and the warm color. “If they were $8 instead of $25, I’d have replaced all of them,” he said.
Kantar and other consumers will have to wait a couple of years for that, but an LED version of the 60-watt bulb just broke $13.
The price of LEDs is finally following the lead of high-definition TVs, said Mike Connors, CEO of Bulbs.com in Massachusetts. “They’re getting to a point where more people are willing to splurge,” he said.
Thanks to subsides from utilities, improved quality, and lower manufacturing costs, sales are expected to rise significantly this year, Connors said.
Part of the shift is by default. Since last year, incandescent bulbs are being phased out. The 75-watt and 100-watt bulbs are no longer made, and the 40- and 60-watters will be eliminated next year.
Although retailers can still sell the bulbs if they have supplies, most retailers are now stocking halogens, compact fluorescents and LEDs, with only a few incandescent choices.
Although some might say LEDs are selling for lack of a better option, Connors thinks demand for LEDs will double this year for a different reason – the availability of cheaper better bulbs.
Early adopters who were initially disappointed can now find mercury-free bulbs that do what incandescents do well – reach maximum brightness immediately and have the capability to be used with dimmers, motion detectors and enclosed fixtures.
While today’s price is a big plunge from $70 for a bulb in 2009, it still seems exorbitant for people used to paying 50 cents for incandescent.
Choosing an LED bulb
Light color: A warm light that looks like an incandescent will be about 2,700 to 3,000 kelvins. A light with 4,000 to 5,000 kelvins will appear cooler and bluer.
Brightness: Instead of wattage equivalents, look at lumens. One 60-watt LED bulb equivalent may have a brightness of 800 lumens, while another 60-watt LED bulb may have 940 lumens, which is brighter.
Life span: Some less expensive LED bulbs have a shorter life span. Better bulbs last 20,000 hours or longer.
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i agree, if the lamps were cheaper i'd buy them. i just don't want to make an investment in soemthing that hasn't been proven. LED houshold lamps haven't been on the market for the amoutn of time they're saying they last so no one can prove exactly how long the LEDs will really last. CFLs rarely make it to their rated life unless used base down and lets face it, most household light fixtures are not base down, rather they're base up or horizontal.