LED*Waves LED Blog

This looks great. I just renovated my family room...

2009-12-04T12:48:46.632-05:00

This looks great. I just renovated my family room to include LED for the track lighting. I'm not sure what kind they are maybe you can help. I got them from

http://www.saviolighting.com/MR16-LED-26-Degree-p/sv-10407-09.htm

Nonetheless, they have not changed the way my space looks. Plus I'm saving tons on cooling and electricity.

I just finished a kitchen remodel with LED recesse...

2009-11-11T20:51:37.899-05:00

I just finished a kitchen remodel with LED recessed lighting rather than fluorescent or standard incandescent lighting. Nine cans total in the space, for a total power consumption of 100 Watts(!). CFL's and incandescents would have required 14 cans in the same space to put out as much lighting -- and with CFL's at twice the power consumption, (23W for CFL vs. 12W LED), I would have been at 200W for CFL's, or 450W for incandescent (assuming 50W ea.).

And the color temp is 2700°K to simulate incandescent. Most excellent -- no heat to add to the heat sources already in the kitchen, with a color spectrum that I think is better than anything else out there.

Of course, it is funny (peculiar) that our local utility company (PG&E) does not offer any rebates on this lighting -- they only seem to know about those horrid CFL's -- whose spectrum is not continuous, and hence never look as good as either incandescent or LED.

Also unlike CFL's, the LED lights are dimmable without changing the color spectrum -- not all the way as with incandescent (at least with the design I used from Cree Lighting) -- and when these LED lights are dimmed, there is some amount of flicker noticed when objects are in motion. It seems that these lights are pulsed with longer "off" periods when dimmed than when at full brightness. Hopefully this will improve as new designs enter into the market, but the plusses for me far outweigh this small minus.

I also used LED lighting for the under-cabinet lights -- light bars that do dim all the way down, without flicker, and are also at 2700°K color temperature. These are spectacular, and make everything sparkle -- an added unexpected benefit. With 30+ ft. of under cabinet lighting, this too is around 100 Watts of power. These came from Environmental Lights.com, who provide you with all the necessary transformer and light switch options so you can hook up a successful light bank.

I did not intend to pursue such a high-tech option for kitchen lighting, but the technology is finally maturing to the point that it is becoming viable.

Hi Anonymous, thanks for your comment. I am writin...

2009-10-13T11:53:58.939-04:00

Hi Anonymous, thanks for your comment. I am writing this several months later, having taken over as blogmaster.

Whilst it's true that the better power profile of LEDs means that the savings is not so dramatic in applications where they are used only occasionally, you should also bear in mind that LEDs last far longer than incandescents. In an application like the one you are describing, an LED would last for decades.

Personally (this doesn't necessarily reflect the views of my employer), I am not in favor of banning incandescents. LEDs are semiconductor based, at some point, the price/performance curve will just make incandescents irrelevant -- I would rather see the market deal with this.

As for CFLs, here at LED Waves, we believe that they are the 8-Track cassette of lighting. They are made using mercury, which requires special disposal. If one breaks, it puts a fine mist of toxic mercury in the air and surrounding surfaces. We think this is an eco-tragedy waiting to happen.

Thanks again for your comment.

I'll be happy when this tech comes down in price a...

2009-09-16T17:42:32.807-04:00

I'll be happy when this tech comes down in price a bit. $110 is a bit steep for this; unfortunately it won't come down in price until more people buy them. But I love the concept.

There are places where only incandescent lights ma...

2009-08-31T17:30:47.305-04:00

There are places where only incandescent lights make sense.

In come locations, such as in closets, lights are on only briefly, so the inefficiency of incandescent lights doesn't matter. Also, turning compact fluorescent lamps on and off frequently greatly shortens their life.

I would favor banning incandescent lights of more than 40 watts. However, incandescent lamps of 40 watts or less should remain available so that people can use them in places where they are on for only a few minutes a day.

I am very much impressed by your blog, you can fin...

2009-07-08T03:28:45.365-04:00

I am very much impressed by your blog, you can find more Bar Cabinets from spacify.com

We also use these LED Technologies ... These are f...

2009-06-30T06:26:10.242-04:00

We also use these LED Technologies ...
These are fantastik

Nice blog, here is some more information on Home L...

2009-06-10T17:53:19.264-04:00

Nice blog, here is some more information on Home Lighting.

What cities have gotten grants for LED programs? ...

2009-06-08T18:12:37.303-04:00

What cities have gotten grants for LED programs?

Jack Burlin
fiat.lux@sbcglobal.net

This nanocrystal LED is great technology. However...

2009-05-02T17:23:00.000-04:00

This nanocrystal LED is great technology. However, the statement "current white LEDs are 30-60 lumens/watt" is a gross misrepresentation of current technology which is already over 100 lumens/watt for lighting applications. This choice of numbers casts speculation over the whole article.

With LED lighting using so much less wattage,and e...

2009-04-30T17:07:00.000-04:00

With LED lighting using so much less wattage,and each light bulb requiring it's own transformer to step down the current (very impractical), do you see the home / building of the future using a master transformer and a 12 Watt (example) wiring scheme instead of today's 110/220?

This trend will only continue and I personally fee...

2009-04-02T14:49:00.000-04:00

This trend will only continue and I personally feel that solar will become even more of critical component with all the initiatives being put in place by the government.

Check out this company: www.inovussolar.com

LED's are a great technology, but still far from b...

2009-04-02T11:16:00.000-04:00

LED's are a great technology, but still far from being ready for mass utilization especially in outdoor lighting applications. DOE studies still show HPS has the most efficacy (lumens per watt). HPS is not pretty, but the most effective for roadways.

Danke für diese hilfreiche Seite. Machen Sie weite...

2009-03-26T11:34:00.000-04:00

Danke für diese hilfreiche Seite. Machen Sie weiter so.
Thank You for this helpful site. Keep on doing this.
Ihr LEDmeile.de Team / Your LEDmeile.de Team

A big breakthrough in LED technology has just crea...

2009-03-14T16:05:00.000-04:00

A big breakthrough in LED technology has just created the ability to retrofit existing street lights, thus saving the cost of poles and fixtures and only replacing the bulb and the powersource. It cuts the per unit cost by well over 50%.

We've written about it at our Greener Minds blog.
http://www.GreenerMinds.blogspot.com

You might want to correct the acronym in your arti...

2008-12-01T13:14:00.000-05:00

You might want to correct the acronym in your article to DOE. The US Department of Energy acronym is not DOP.

I guess these are just for the Asian market? I did...

2008-11-27T19:14:00.000-05:00

I guess these are just for the Asian market? I didn't see any cUL, ETL, cETL, CSA or UL certification mentioned.

Same for most of your LED bulbs.

Also, certain LED driver products only have CE mark. So only good for European market.

Would be good idea to mention which products are certified for the North American market.

--Concerned

I am very glad to see this situation. The efficien...

2008-11-23T20:58:00.000-05:00

I am very glad to see this situation. The efficient future seems to be inspired.
--www.yeemadesign.com

Keep up the good work.

2008-11-10T15:20:00.000-05:00

Keep up the good work.

Thanx dude for great information sharing,how about...

2008-08-06T23:04:00.000-04:00

Thanx dude for great information sharing,how about using LED display for decoration purposes,sounds absurd but it's a fact that people do that!!

Traditional stage lighting equipment (halogen bulb...

2008-07-18T13:42:00.000-04:00

Traditional stage lighting equipment (halogen bulb, etc.) would generate A LOT of heat. The new lighting system should be safer to operate, too.

Is it true that the standard payback time is under...

2008-07-14T14:53:00.000-04:00

Is it true that the standard payback time is under 24 months?

the issue of energy conservation came up at our la...

2008-07-07T17:00:00.000-04:00

the issue of energy conservation came up at our last council meeting. LEDs seem like an excellent option. thanks for the information

Thank you for sharing this insight. We have been t...

2008-07-02T15:06:00.000-04:00

Thank you for sharing this insight. We have been thinking of switching a few of our branches over to all LED lighting and it seems feasible. Better yet the calculations we have done show that we are going to save a lot of money, especially as energy costs continue to rise. Hope to work with one of your associates soon.

I'll tell you what I think is the the most excitin...

2008-07-02T15:02:00.000-04:00

I'll tell you what I think is the the most exciting part of your " LED Revolution" is the control of your lights with the ability to have your lights change color and programed to do different things. This means that every club, lounge, bar and rec room can have a Vegas style light show if the save a little money and put in a little time. The other thing is you can put these little strips every where. This is a great development.

MM