how cool is that! i've never been in an LED lit room that i know of though, so i wonder what it will look like...
That sounds promising, now let's just make in happen. LEDs offer loads of benefits over CFLs (use less energy, no Hg, last longer, probably way less energy to produce).
I have very few rooms in my house that are NOT lit with LEDs. It looks like... light. LEDs surpassed CFL efficiency in early 2007, it is all gravy from here on out. Folks will grumble about the CRI - just like they did with CFL's - and then we'll move on and be happy.
I can't wait for this technology to become affordable and practical. Will we see LED headlights soon? I have switched all but one globe in my home to CF (the one is on a dimmer) and cut my lighting energy requirement by 80%. What kind of reduction can I expect to see from switching to LEDs and at what cost? Will LED globes be dim-able? If so I can knock out the last 80 watt incandescent globe too!!
Hey darelldd, where are you getting your LED lights? Last time I checked the cost of them is shocking compared to what you can get fluorescent lights for these days...
We use them on our boat and they work very well, even with the current technology. I am very much looking forward to seeing more LED lamps available for household use. Oddly enough, one of the big problems with LED lamps is dissipating heat. It seems counter-intuitive, since LEDs produce much less waste heat than conventional lamps, but ordinary incandescent lamps radiate most of the heat, where LEDs keep most of the heat right at the die. This means that they need good heat sinks, and some sort of active heat control for high output applications. The technology in this area has been developing very fast over the last few years. Tom
Soon? What about now? The LS600h L has LED low (dipped) beams The Audi A8 has LED DRLs The Audi R8 has full LED headlights (low/dipped and high beams)
They haven't followed the "Moore's Law" curve in the classic sense. For a long time they were stuck as to color and output, but now they are taking off in a big way. I suspect we are at the knee in the curve right now, with big gains being made at the moment. Tom
I was actually thinking of LEDs made per year (or the sales doubling period). Most manufactured items experience a exponential rise until some limiting factor intercedes.
Moore's law is normally used to describe the exponential growth of complexity in technical devices. In its original form, it refers to the number of transistors that can be inexpensively packed on a single integrated circuit device. Tom
I know that. That's why I put the phrase inside quotations. Was just seeing if someone knew what the trend was without making it too detailed.
I think I read somewhere that the brightness of LED lights seems to be doubling each year, but don't quote me on that. I ordered my first LED lightbulbs on Amazon.com the other day for about $30 (which was the price of one average and one smaller bulb). I've heard that they're still fairly dim and very blue. I hope that this advancement improves brightness/reduces cost soon!
You might browse this site: Better Life Goods. I haven't gotten any LEDs from there, yet, though I do buy my soap nuts through this site, and I'm very happy with them. We've discussed LEDs, but haven't made the plunge yet.
Sorry for the noob move re: bringing this thread back from the dead, but I have some practical experience here. I am an electrician in the Air Force and we have been installing LED kits into traffic signals for several years now, replacing the 100-watt incandescent bulbs normally used (side note: traffic signal incandescent bulbs are rated at 10,000 hours - triple the lifespan of a "normal" incandescent bulb). I am in the process of replacing (through attrition) all of the incandescent blue taxiway light fixtures on my airfield with blue LED units, as are most Department of Defense airfields the world over. There is a new LED street light installed at Vandenburg AFB in California that is being evaluated, and I expect the technology to be embraced purely on ROI. I have been told that the city of Chicago currently has several streets being lit with this technology. My point? I guess I just wanted you to know that portions of your government are lumbering toward progress, and I encourage you to encourage your local municipalities to take a cue from the "first adopters." I wish I had official ROI numbers with which to arm you , but all of that is above my pay grade. Incidentally, white LEDs are the most difficult to manufacture which is why they are not prevalent and are very expensive. Also, LEDs emit a very focused beam due to the teeny mirror contained inside them. Great for commercial/industrial/institutional applications but not so much for household indirect lighting. My taxiway light fixtures have a weirdo clear plastic lens that refocuses the uni-directional light into an omni-directional glow, so lensing may ultimately be the answer for consumer applications. The development of bright white LEDs for use on airport runways and in automotive applications will bring the costs down soon. In the meantime, you can string white LED Christmas light strings around your light fixtures, plugging them into the light sockets with socket adapters. Works great and looks very festive!
In Japan, there are a lot of consumer household LED's available. LEDÂÆ–¾ŠÃ‹ï Æ’GÆ’oÂ[Æ’Å’Æ’bÆ’YÂb‚ ‚©‚è‚Æ“d‹CÂÃâ€Ãµ EboxÂb¼‰º“dÂH “ŒŽÅƒ‰ƒCÆ’eÆ’bÆ’NÂiÅ â€ÂjÂb¤•iÂÉîÂbLEDÂÆ–¾ LEDÂÆ–¾,LED‚ÌŠÔÂÚÂÆ–¾ÂE“X•ÜÂÆ–¾,LEDƒ‰ƒCÆ’eÆ’Bƒ“ƒO‚̃Cƒ‹ƒAÂ[Æ’g[ILLU'ART] IDECã®高è¼Â度LED照明ユニット : 製å“Â情報 : IDEC Ken@Japan
