Future of non-IC lights

[tjbnwi]

I used to think that until someone in the auto industry told me about the effort they make to keep headlamp LED's cool, with cooling fins and such. There are lots of LED's out there that are less efficient than CFL's.

I believe you miss heard, they most likely said HID.

Here are LED headlamp bulbs, no cooling fins;

http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale/led+headlight+bulb.html

You will find the same with the rest of the auto bulbs. No fins.

Look at all the LED's in automotive/truck tail/running/signaling lights in use today.

LED's are getting much better and do not contain mercury. I'll use an LED over a CFL, any day. There are many on the market now with higher foot candle to consumption than CFL'S.

Tom

[BeachBoy]

And Home Depot has some 40w Edison base LED bulbs for around $10.

[charles]

I believe you miss heard, they most likely said HID.

Tom

No, I remember because it surprised me, the same way it's surprising you guys.

[MarkMc]

Having cooling fins does not mean they are hotter/less efficient. LED's are, generally, more sensitive to heat so having a means to keep them burning cooler keeps their life, like any electronic device, maximized. The large cooling fins could well be put on to help dissipate proximate heat inputs from the engine/cooling system ...or frictional induction from insect collisions at high speed.

[charles]

Good point, but I know I've seen LED bulbs at Wal Mart that are less efficient than fluorescent. Which is not to say that all LEDs are crap - at some point this decade I expect to be buying nothing but LEDs.

[tjbnwi]

No, I remember because it surprised me, the same way it's surprising you guys.

Who ever said it needs to do some checking. You may be miss understanding their reference to heat and how it needs to be rear dissipated. They do not "project" much heat.

A 60 watt equivalent LED produces 3.4 BTU's per hour, a 60 watt incandescent is 85 BTU's per hour.

Grab hold of an on halogen 55 watt headlamp bulb, does not take it long to reach 325°, do the same with a 55 watt LED headlamp. After you're treated for the halogen burns, report back.

Tom

[MarkMc]

Good point, but I know I've seen LED bulbs at Wal Mart that are less efficient than fluorescent. Which is not to say that all LEDs are crap - at some point this decade I expect to be buying nothing but LEDs.

It's easy to say that. Please flush it out a bit. $:watt, $:lumen, lumen:watt. Did you know all steel hammers bend nails?

[charles]

Fluorescent efficiency tops out at about 100 lumens per watt. This LED bulb is 33 l/w:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunmia-1.5...-Bulb/14472543

BTW, I have also seen CFL's that trip the thermal limiter on 30 yo recessed cans.

[David Meiland]

A lot of those installed by the electric co-op here are in the 50-60 lumens/watt range.

http://springlightcfl.com/FileUpload...ht_Catalog.pdf

[tjbnwi]

Fluorescent efficiency tops out at about 100 lumens per watt. This LED bulb is 33 l/w:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunmia-1.5...-Bulb/14472543

BTW, I have also seen CFL's that trip the thermal limiter on 30 yo recessed cans.

Wally World is not he place for quality products.

The bulbs I use are in the 75-90 lumen per watt range. Life expectancy is 25,000 hours.

Tom

[David Meiland]

Tom, got a link?

[MarkMc]

Fluorescent efficiency tops out at about 100 lumens per watt. This LED bulb is 33 l/w:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunmia-1.5...-Bulb/14472543

BTW, I have also seen CFL's that trip the thermal limiter on 30 yo recessed cans.

And does Wallyworld have a comparable size and shape CFL?

http://www.nlb.org/index.cfm?cdid=10747&pid=10213

It's still difficult to make the broad statement w/o taking in to consideration the other factors in a bulbs design as well as the fixture and application/use and serviceability. Of course we all know a car is faster than a horse, too. ;)

[charles]

Wally World is not he place for quality products.

Tom

Agreed, but somebody asked me to give an example.

And does Wallyworld have a comparable size and shape CFL?

http://www.nlb.org/index.cfm?cdid=10747&pid=10213

It's still difficult to make the broad statement w/o taking in to consideration the other factors in a bulbs design as well as the fixture and application/use and serviceability. Of course we all know a car is faster than a horse, too. ;)

I'll let you do the research on that. I didn't make a broad statement, I said some LED bulbs are crap.

[tjbnwi]

David,

Here's the link;

http://store.earthled.com/products/e...led-light-bulb

Charles,

I agree, some LED bulbs are junk.

tom

[bobkni]

The reason for the heat is not the bulbs but the step down transformer inside the bulb. Led's are all 2 or 3 v I believe ( if I remember correctly, from the explanation given to me by a electrical engineer yesterday ). If you notice how heavy the 120v led bulbs are compared to the low voltage bulbs, it's because of the weight of the transformer.
You can buy a low volt fixture with 10 led's for $18 but a 120 v with 1 to 3 bulbs are $30.