LED lighting goes mainstream! It's at Wal-Mart!

[bennelson]

I stopped at Wal-Mart today. (Had to buy VHS tapes)

Swinging through the automotive department to look at battery chargers, then through hardware on the way out, I saw LED lightbulbs!

They had 3 and 5 watt spotlights as well as those little ones for mini-track lighting.

Prices were reasonable compared to LED lights I have bought before, $15ish for the 3 watt and $20 for the 5 watt. I purchased one 5-watt floodlight.

I tried it out at home over my sink. It is much brighter than my C.Crane bulb.

I paid significantly more for my C. Crane bulb than the Wal-Mart one. In fact, I think the price on the C. Crane bulbs have come down since I bought mine.

5 Watts at 120 volts is quite a bit of light from an LED bulb.

The brand was "Lights of America". The address on the box listed it as being a Californian company - not a Chinese one!.

Just think how much energy you could save in a year by using LED lighting instead of incandescent!

Now, these bulbs are not perfect for everything - they are spotlights, so they work great in your recessed lights, and not so good in a plain lamp with a shade.

Only time will tell the quality and actual lifetime of these bulbs. So far, my experience with LED bulbs are that they are extremely durable and long lasting.

Check 'em out next time you get a chance!

[azraelswrd]

They are a bit harsh for some eyes if they're like my LED flashlights, but yeah, as spotlights sounds right for them.

[cfg83]

bennelson -

My only word of caution is to make sure to keep your receipts. I got one like this at geeks.com on sale for $6 :

CC VIVID LED Light Bulb


But, it died on me in under 6 months, .

CarloSW2

[Johnny Mullet]

I am a mechanic who relies on lighting when getting under a vehicle or inspecting something. I have used many kind and many styles of lights (I am talking about flashlights) and have come to the conclusion that LED's look cool, put out great light, and use less energy, but they are not reliable in my opinion.

I guess for home application, they may be fine, but it seems to me that LED's cannot handle shock or rough use over time. Also the heavy truck industry was using LED lighting on almost everything, but even though most of them have a good warranty, it seems we replace a lot more LED's than standard filament bulbs.

I bought an LED MiniMag flashlight which is more than double the price of a standard MiniMag and have returned it to the tool man 3 times now for replacement in less than 6 months. They seem just as unreliable as the Stylus Streamlight pocket flashlight.

My 2 cents on LED lighting.

[MazdaMatt]

I work in the electronics industry. Their longevity is directly proportional to how far away from China they are made. Don't blame the LED, it is most likely the shoddy solder connection it or the shoddy components used to drive it.

[IndyIan]

A 5 watt LED must be quite the light! We just use LED camping head lights for all our night time barn work and I calculated they are less than 1/3 of a watt judging by battery use and are very bright.
Maybe adding a diffuser would help the 5W be more useful. We have switched over to all compact florescent except for the interior stove light and the outdoor lights so it might be a year or two before we can try a LED bulb. Do they have a low temperature rating? Our head lamps seem to do fine at -25C.
Ian

[bennelson]

There is a minimum temperature marked on the box. I think it is -20F.

I am using these inside my house, so I don't see that as a problem.

I like the idea of a diffuser. LED bulbs run so cool, it would be easy to put something right in front of it without worries of fire.

I also noticed that this bulb is much less blueish than the C.Crane bulb that I had. It is less orange than my "warm white" compact fluorescent bulbs. It's actually a pretty nice color.

[RH77]

I don't shop at Wal-Mart for personal reasons.

When another supplier offers an inexpensive, automotive LED solution, I'll be willing to try it.

RH77

[bennelson]

Yeah, I know some people have a beef with Wal-Mart.

I was excited though, because if Wal-Mart is doing something, other retailers will soon follow! In this case, in a good way.

[Unheard]

Look at the GeoBulb! Its the first LED bulb i am impressed with as a replacement over standard bulbs

The first 60-watt direct replacement, Premium Quality High Brightness (PQ-HB) bulb that uses less than 8 watts. The GeoBulb is the same size as a conventional incandescent bulb suitable for direct replacement in any indoor open fixture. It puts out more light than a standard 60-watt bulb but uses less than 8 watts. LED bulbs last 3 years of continuous use or 10 years at about 8 hours per day. Every part of the GeoBulb is built for long lasting durability. The GeoBulb is the first bulb built to withstand 10 years of use.

I don't shop at Wal-Mart for personal reasons.

When another supplier offers an inexpensive, automotive LED solution, I'll be willing to try it.

RH77

Take a look at Ultra LEDs the are based in the UK but even with postage they would not cost much. That is if they stock the bulbs you want Ultra Bright Leds and Led products at bargain prices with super fast delivery - by Ultra Leds U.K they are the lowers cost i have come across on the entire web. A Group Buy would reduce cost of the items and postage