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

[amcpacer]

I have tried a few LED lights around the house such as a flashlight and an automotive trouble light. I find them to have a very short lifespan. The same with CFL lights. They are so expensive and have a terribly short lifespan. It is too bad it costs more to use less energy. It is much cheaper to simply use incadescent bulbs due to a lower purchase price and they last many times longer than any CFL or LED. Perhaps it is a plan from the energy corporations to turn us against more eco friendly lighting solutions.

[bennelson]

Hey AMCPacer,

Sorry you've had bad luck with CFL & LEDs. There are some bad brands and quality varies a LOT!

Unfortunately, when there is demand for products like these, there comes to be a lot of production, and often it is poor quality.

What brand, and where it's made makes a BIG difference!

[WisJim]

We have bought both automotive and household LED bulbs from Super Bright LEDs SUPER BRIGHT LEDS home (I think this was mentioned before) and have had good luck with them. Some are 2 years old or more, and no failures yet.

[bennelson]

I know several people who have ordered from Super Bright LEDs. Everyone has been pretty happy with them.

[dcwp]

This sounds great, I've been waiting for reasonable LED or PhoLED for a long time. I'm still not totally comfortable with the CFLs given the high amount of mercury and disposal problems.

Has anyone here used LED replacements with a dimmer switch? My wife has a mini-halogen track light in our bedroom that is brighter than the sun and nearly as hot. We put it on a dimmer switch so that I can adjust it to a reasonable level when I use it, but it is still sucking up massive amounts of energy. That would be my first target for LED replacements, but I'd still like to use the dimmer.

Thanks!

[Daox]

I'm not trying to deter you from LEDs, but why not just use lower wattage bulbs?

BTW the mercury and CFL issue is really mute. Many of your major home improvment stores will recycle your dead CFLs. Also, watt for watt, over the lifespan of the bulb, an incandescent will put more mercury into the environment than a CFL will.

[bennelson]

I would imagine you would need very different circuitry to dim a LED. It's an electronic device, where voltage is very important.

Standard dimmers just drop the voltage to the bulb, and a dumb incandescent light just goes dimmer.

Keep in mind that dimmers are GOOD for standard bulbs. They can greatly extend the life of a normal bulb. My father has a sunroom on his house with a high vaulted ceiling. All the bulbs out there are incandescent, but on a dimmer switch. I don't think he has changed a bulb in ten years. Yes, I am serious...

Of course they are still using WAY more energy than LEDs or CFLs, but at least they are staying out of landfills!

[dcwp]

Thanks for the input. Our town is allegedly developing a CFL recycling program. Until that time I've got a little collection of old bulbs. Even with the mercury issue I've been happy to gather them. What I worry about is that a lot of other people in the town may be switching over for cost savings or the green sheen, but likely tossing them in the trash. A very long-lived light source that is cheap and less toxic (LED) would be a wonderful change.

Lower-wattage bulbs for the mini-halogen would be the obvious solution, but the wife loves her track light and especially the intensity of light it puts off. It's the only one we've got right now so I'm willing to accept it.

I had sort of suspected that a different system would be required to dim an LED. I suppose I'll be able to make the switch when LEDs are mainstreamed enough that I can find a stylish LED track light that will come with domestic peace. Hopefully not too long!

[PlaysWithMatches]

Online searches for Wal-Mart are worthless, you can't even get the same price in-store, if you manage to find what you're looking for.

[bennelson]

I agree that the on-line search is bad. I just stumbled on these bulbs at the larger of the two stores that are in my greater area.

dcwp - The current LED bulb I am playing with from the store is a 12V tracklight bulb! If the track lights you are using right now use the small, 12V bi-pin base, you can swap them right out! (You could even experiment with what your dimmer does to it!)