Hyper Cheap LED Bulb - worth the pain?

[Shubham1401]

For me, LEDs can't be a direct replacement for tubelights. Reason being LED is a 'point source' of light whereas a tubelight is 'diffused'. What I mean to say is that when you have a bulb running it casts a shadow of objects in the room. This is because the light comes from one source so different sides of the objects are unevenly lit.
Whereas, the shadow effect is much less prominent in tubelights.

I like LED bulbs for the rooms where i don't actually sit but still like it lit. Like passages, halls etc.
Wish we have LED tubelights soon.

 

[toocool6600]

just received my 14w bulbs Extremely sorry i misguided everyone. 1 14w bulb = 82w t5 tube.

Buy and check yourself

Since when a t5 is 82 watts?

Why not use 1 18 watt led tube light to replace a t5? Instead of 2 14 watts bulbs which unevenly distributed light

Will come out cheaper........ No?

 

[kidrow]

For me, LEDs can't be a direct replacement for tubelights. Reason being LED is a 'point source' of light whereas a tubelight is 'diffused'. What I mean to say is that when you have a bulb running it casts a shadow of objects in the room. This is because the light comes from one source so different sides of the objects are unevenly lit.
Whereas, the shadow effect is much less prominent in tubelights.

I like LED bulbs for the rooms where i don't actually sit but still like it lit. Like passages, halls etc.
Wish we have LED tubelights soon.

Hey, thanks for mentioning this. This is what I wanted others' opinions on as well. Do others agree with this assessment?

Though I myself haven't switched over to cfl/led, I notice that the quality of light isn't the same when I visit others' homes. I don't know if this is due to utilizing relatively low lumen output bulbs, or the nature of the technology (area vs spot).

& if the above assessment is correct, is there anything akin to a tubelight (insofar as the type of illumination is concerned, viz. area vs spot illumination) that utilizes led technology?

Thanks.

 

[Criminal]

& if the above assessment is correct, is there anything akin to a tubelight (insofar as the type of illumination is concerned, viz. area vs spot illumination) that utilizes led technology?

Wish we have LED tubelights soon.

LED tubelights have been available for couple of years now. so far, i've replaced 2 T5s with 2 19W LED tubelights. waiting for 9 other T5s to conk off.

 

[Crapmypants]

im also considering buying a bunch of led bulbs but don't know about which ones are the reliable brands. any suggestions?

 

[PH0ENiX]

im also considering buying a bunch of led bulbs but don't know about which ones are the reliable brands. any suggestions?

Everady is my favourite excellent lumens,build quality followed by philips

 

[Crapmypants]

Everady is my favourite excellent lumens,build quality followed by philips

thanks! just the advice i was looking for
was considering eveready too but was on the fence about it. will pick some up asap.

 

[blr_p]

Lots of hype around LED's. save money and they last long. What do they actually consume ? nobody measures. Just parroting specs is useless.

LED's are at their most efficient when they run cool. A bulb isn't the best configuration for that, strip lighting will be more efficient. Course this isn't always practical. So efficiency will vary.

Power factor ? is that ever mentioned in the specs. Cheaper LED's have lower power factors. So double whatever watts it says on the box. Same applies to CFL's.

Life of these lights is another point. They always quote the life of the led itself, conveniently ignoring that the driving circuity isn't going to last as long. Because if one component conks out your led is gone, you cannot fix it. Same nonsense with CFL's, whats worse is the damn light intensity decreases over time. Do you use a light meter to ensure the brightness stays consistent over time. if you could replace the driving circuity some how then you really have a longer lasting light. Who sells these kits in India ? they are available abroad. Again easier to do with strip lighting, bulbs are self contained. if your break even period requires up to two years then your lights only start to save you money AFTER that point.

I have a hard time seeing the lumens figures for these products and hoe reliable they even are, what are people using to assess how bright something is. bulbs with similar specs dont always output the same lumens.

The actual quality of light, how blue are they. What is the quality of light these things put out. CRI etc. 80 is crap, 90 is better but costs much more.

And to save myself these headaches i stick to incandescents. They can last up to 3 months, they can die withing days or weeks but are a damn side cheaper and give a better quality of light. I dont run hundreds of lights so whatever extra they consume isn't going to break the bank.

 

[rdst_1]

Frankly, if it wasn't the govt selling LED bulbs for cheap and most of my tube lights dying within a few days, I wouldn't have even considered an LED bulb. But these 100 bucks LED bulbs have made the cost of entry cheap and with a much higher reliability than regular tube lights. I also have a low voltage issue at my home so LED makes more sense.

I would however like to shift to LED tubelights later if they give light as a normal tubelight and the cost of entry becomes cheaper.

 

[blr_p]

How low can LED handle, the tubelights & CFL's can handle as low as 150V. Running them like that for long isn't going to be good for longevity though.

 

[rdst_1]

How low can LED handle, the tubelights & CFL's can handle as low as 150V. Running them like that for long isn't going to be good for longevity though.

I still had the old type tubelights over here in my village with chokes. So whenever the voltage is low, they just fail to switch on. Plus no one provides warranty on tube lights while these LED bulbs for a 100 bucks come with a 3 yr warranty.
The voltage issue should be sorted soon as I have requested for a new transformer to be installed near my house and soon a 3-phase connection will be installed as well. That 3-phase line will not be used by any house nearby and hence voltage issue will get sorted.

 

[Criminal]

I still had the old type tubelights over here in my village with chokes. So whenever the voltage is low, they just fail to switch on.

I wanted to ask you about it as you mentioned this issue earlier as well. Does your tube flicker when you switch it on, regardless of the voltage? If yes, then you've been using something which was outdated at least a decade ago. We started using electronic ballasts from 2002. Since then, the tubes would just switch on like bulbs - no flickering - instant on. But in hilly areas, we had to use voltage stabilizers till 1998.

We moved to 28w tubes in 2009~10. And from the last 2 years, we started to replace dying 28w florescent tubes with 19w LED tubes. The important thing to notice is that we were 'forced' to buy LED tubes because people stopped stocking ballasts for T5 tubes in my area! we never wanted to invest in costly LED tubes as a T5 ballast for Rs 100 would've just worked fine.

You'll find LED bulbs everywhere because they take less storage in shops and yield more profits for the shop-owners. T5 florescent tubes are so ungainly and LED tubes are probably too costly for people in your area.

How low can LED handle, the tubelights & CFL's can handle as low as 150V.

It all depends on the quality and type of the driver circuit. I've seen 5 drivers going bad but only 3 LEDs in the last 4~5 years. These were not 3 bulbs as whole the actual tiny 1w LEDs grouped inside. i just soldered new LEDs and never had to replace the whole unit. i have concealed/flushed LEDs with separate driver units and heat sinks.

I make my own LED drivers as well. In my case, a 2w LED on homemade driver lasted 1 year of continuous operation. All the lights and low power devices in my house are connected to inverter; so this was truly a non-stop operation. Mine was a constant voltage driver but if you use a constant current driver, then you can really use the LEDs for their full lifetime.

LEDs need constant current to operate at their best luminosity. In short, use constant current driver when you know how many LEDs you have and in which configuration (series or parallel). When dealing with arbitrary numbers (e.g., in strips), it's better to use constant voltage driver.

So, to answer your question, LEDs can handle low voltages pretty easily because they always get the same amount of voltage/current from the driver. This driver is just like your laptop charger - which can operate on low voltages and safeguards the laptop in case of fluctuations etc. Infact, you can use safely your 12~15VDC laptop charger to power LED strips. LEDs need DC. AC LEDs may take time to become commonplace.

 

[satyanjoy]

I wanted to ask you about it as you mentioned this issue earlier as well. Does your tube flicker when you switch it on, regardless of the voltage? If yes, then you've been using something which was outdated at least a decade ago. We started using electronic ballasts from 2002. Since then, the tubes would just switch on like bulbs - no flickering - instant on. But in hilly areas, we had to use voltage stabilizers till 1998.

We moved to 28w tubes in 2009~10. And from the last 2 years, we started to replace dying 28w florescent tubes with 19w LED tubes. The important thing to notice is that we were 'forced' to buy LED tubes because people stopped stocking ballasts for T5 tubes in my area! we never wanted to invest in costly LED tubes as a T5 ballast for Rs 100 would've just worked fine.

You'll find LED bulbs everywhere because they take less storage in shops and yield more profits for the shop-owners. T5 florescent tubes are so ungainly and LED tubes are probably too costly for people in your area.


It all depends on the quality and type of the driver circuit. I've seen 5 drivers going bad but only 3 LEDs in the last 4~5 years. These were not 3 bulbs as whole the actual tiny 1w LEDs grouped inside. i just soldered new LEDs and never had to replace the whole unit. i have concealed/flushed LEDs with separate driver units and heat sinks.

I make my own LED drivers as well. In my case, a 2w LED on homemade driver lasted 1 year of continuous operation. All the lights and low power devices in my house are connected to inverter; so this was truly a non-stop operation. Mine was a constant voltage driver but if you use a constant current driver, then you can really use the LEDs for their full lifetime.

LEDs need constant current to operate at their best luminosity. In short, use constant current driver when you know how many LEDs you have and in which configuration (series or parallel). When dealing with arbitrary numbers (e.g., in strips), it's better to use constant voltage driver.

So, to answer your question, LEDs can handle low voltages pretty easily because they always get the same amount of voltage/current from the driver. This driver is just like your laptop charger - which can operate on low voltages and safeguards the laptop in case of fluctuations etc. Infact, you can use safely your 12~15VDC laptop charger to power LED strips. LEDs need DC. AC LEDs may take time to become commonplace.

noob questions - so we need to purchase the driver separately to increase lifespan or it come inbuilt?

 

[rdst_1]

I wanted to ask you about it as you mentioned this issue earlier as well. Does your tube flicker when you switch it on, regardless of the voltage? If yes, then you've been using something which was outdated at least a decade ago. We started using electronic ballasts from 2002. Since then, the tubes would just switch on like bulbs - no flickering - instant on. But in hilly areas, we had to use voltage stabilizers till 1998.

We moved to 28w tubes in 2009~10. And from the last 2 years, we started to replace dying 28w florescent tubes with 19w LED tubes. The important thing to notice is that we were 'forced' to buy LED tubes because people stopped stocking ballasts for T5 tubes in my area! we never wanted to invest in costly LED tubes as a T5 ballast for Rs 100 would've just worked fine.

You'll find LED bulbs everywhere because they take less storage in shops and yield more profits for the shop-owners. T5 florescent tubes are so ungainly and LED tubes are probably too costly for people in your area.


It all depends on the quality and type of the driver circuit. I've seen 5 drivers going bad but only 3 LEDs in the last 4~5 years. These were not 3 bulbs as whole the actual tiny 1w LEDs grouped inside. i just soldered new LEDs and never had to replace the whole unit. i have concealed/flushed LEDs with separate driver units and heat sinks.

I make my own LED drivers as well. In my case, a 2w LED on homemade driver lasted 1 year of continuous operation. All the lights and low power devices in my house are connected to inverter; so this was truly a non-stop operation. Mine was a constant voltage driver but if you use a constant current driver, then you can really use the LEDs for their full lifetime.

LEDs need constant current to operate at their best luminosity. In short, use constant current driver when you know how many LEDs you have and in which configuration (series or parallel). When dealing with arbitrary numbers (e.g., in strips), it's better to use constant voltage driver.

So, to answer your question, LEDs can handle low voltages pretty easily because they always get the same amount of voltage/current from the driver. This driver is just like your laptop charger - which can operate on low voltages and safeguards the laptop in case of fluctuations etc. Infact, you can use safely your 12~15VDC laptop charger to power LED strips. LEDs need DC. AC LEDs may take time to become commonplace.

Actually this house in our village, which we have moved to recently, was built in 90s. So we are using old technology for sure. One tube of ours does use the electronic choke that you have mentioned and it does switch on instantly. Only the older tubes are troubled by the low voltage.
My house is last on a single-phase line and we are pretty heavy users especially in the winter months considering the cold weather in Himachal. I was contemplating getting a big Home Voltage Stabilizer but one of our relatives is an XEN in the electricity department and is getting a transformer installed near us. I will soon get a commercial 3-phase connection as well (on which the load is much less) and then I'll get my domestic connection turned to 3-phase as well.
I was interested in your concealed LEDs idea as I can get heat sinks fabricated through a friend of mine who is interested in doing this as well. We are building a whole new floor and gonna renovate this house as well so I wanted to use some modern lighting methods rather than just tubelights.

 

[singenaadam]

Got two LEDs in the AP Govt scheme. The light is too harsh/acute for our liking. We need to switch on two LEDs in the room for reasonable comfort.

 

[Criminal]

noob questions - so we need to purchase the driver separately to increase lifespan or it come inbuilt?

all the LED bulb purchases mentioned on this thread have drivers and heatsinks built-in. these LED bulbs are meant to replace the incandescent or CFL bulbs and they use the same standard indian bulb receptacle - B22/bayonet. so, you don't need to purchase anything extra if your LED bulb looks like this: http://www.amazon.in/dp/B016W0ZH5E

I will soon get a commercial 3-phase connection as well (on which the load is much less) and then I'll get my domestic connection turned to 3-phase as well.

we have 3-phase connection at home but we are not utilizing it properly (thanks to our electrician). most of the times we don't realize that the power is out because we have pretty much everything on inverter. i'll invest in an automatic phase changer as power problems are only going to rise in the future.

I was interested in your concealed LEDs idea as I can get heat sinks fabricated through a friend of mine who is interested in doing this as well.

you don't have to fabricate the heatsinks as you get them in the same package. moreover, it'll be difficult for DIY if you want round LEDs/heatsinks. i am not able to attach pictures, so checkout the link below. however, you'll have the choice to choose your own driver.

LEDs and heatsinks: http://www.fischerelektronik.de/fil.../images/pressemitteilungen/LED_Kundenspez.jpg

concealed/flushed LEDs don't jut out from the receptacle and therefore you might've to use plenty of them... because unless you have very high ceilings, they'll act like spotlights! also, they don't use B22 receptacles and have their own enclosures.

you can also see in the above picture how LEDs are soldered to PCBs and then stuck onto heatsinks. you can replace these individual LEDs and also the drivers. such LEDs are meant for a long time investment as each part is individually serviceable .

 

[blr_p]

It all depends on the quality and type of the driver circuit. I've seen 5 drivers going bad but only 3 LEDs in the last 4~5 years. These were not 3 bulbs as whole the actual tiny 1w LEDs grouped inside. i just soldered new LEDs and never had to replace the whole unit. i have concealed/flushed LEDs with separate driver units and heat sinks.

I make my own LED drivers as well. In my case, a 2w LED on homemade driver lasted 1 year of continuous operation. All the lights and low power devices in my house are connected to inverter; so this was truly a non-stop operation. Mine was a constant voltage driver but if you use a constant current driver, then you can really use the LEDs for their full lifetime.

LEDs need constant current to operate at their best luminosity. In short, use constant current driver when you know how many LEDs you have and in which configuration (series or parallel). When dealing with arbitrary numbers (e.g., in strips), it's better to use constant voltage driver.

So, to answer your question, LEDs can handle low voltages pretty easily because they always get the same amount of voltage/current from the driver. This driver is just like your laptop charger - which can operate on low voltages and safeguards the laptop in case of fluctuations etc. Infact, you can use safely your 12~15VDC laptop charger to power LED strips. LEDs need DC. AC LEDs may take time to become commonplace.

Very good, do you have anything to comment on in terms of power consumption of these devices over time ?

do they continue to consume as little as stated on the box. How would one measure it.

 

[rdst_1]

Very good, do you have anything to comment on in terms of power consumption of these devices over time ?

do they continue to consume as little as stated on the box. How would one measure it.

Syska does list PF as well as CR for their products. I checked out a few on their website and PF is usually 0.9-0.95 and CR is above 80.

 

[satyanjoy]

all the LED bulb purchases mentioned on this thread have drivers and heatsinks built-in. these LED bulbs are meant to replace the incandescent or CFL bulbs and they use the same standard indian bulb receptacle - B22/bayonet. so, you don't need to purchase anything extra if your LED bulb looks like this: http://www.amazon.in/dp/B016W0ZH5E

thanks...which brand do you suggest - Syska, Philips, Wirpo, Eveready

 

[Criminal]

Very good, do you have anything to comment on in terms of power consumption of these devices over time ?

do they continue to consume as little as stated on the box. How would one measure it.

reputed brands won't fudge numbers.

my LEDs generate quite a lot of heat but i haven't checked them for actual power consumption. i can do that but i am just lazy. i have a power meter and i'll check out few LEDs soon.

thanks...which brand do you suggest - Syska, Philips, Wirpo, Eveready

i can't really suggest you anything because i don't use these new LED bulbs meant for B22 sockets. most of the companies share the same source, so they all might perform equally well.

i used to follow philips for their R&D around various fields and not just lighting, so i tend to have lot of philips stuff at home.