LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

yes but HID lighting is not practical for interior home lighting. Show me a MH chandelier and I'll become a believer.

What's the problem? This would look great in your living room:

(It's a 400 watt H.I.D. fixture -- reflector and refractor lens sold separately.)

[Starving Steve]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

Bigger is always better. And atomic power is penny cheap. Hydro-electric power is also penny cheap. Power derived from natural gas-fire is penny cheap.

The more that I see of conservation, the more I think the policies stink. I don't want to live in Turd World conditions, and that is where some conservation policies and some preservation policies might lead to.

Sorry, but I don't want to hang a clothes-line outside nor gather water in a cistern. Sorry, but I do not want to preserve bird- habitat nor fish-habitat.

Look at Pakistan: they didn't even get off of their duffs to build a few dams on the Indus River. And that bunch in Pakistan took U.S. foreign-aid for decades. Then, they had the nerve to blame the Western World for their living conditions.

Here in the Western World, we used to study climate, and we use to prepare for floods and droughts and weather extremes. We did not depend upon faith in anything except for faith in ourselves. If the human population was growing, we used to plan for population growth and the needs of people.

This green bunch, the eco-frauds, have to be stopped. Maybe it is time to consume more, and to make a statement to the world about how to live.

[DToM67]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

Yeah -- I priced out a Japanese mini-split air conditioner for my Texas trailer, but at 10 cent per kwh, it wasn't worth throwing away the perfectly fine, nearly new, air conditioner that came with the trailer. I live right over the Barnett Shale Natural Gas formation, which powers most of the local electricity generators near me, so I don't expect my electricity prices to spike permanently upwards. Better to keep using the inefficient air conditioner I have until it gets old enough to replace, then perhaps get an efficient Japanese heat pump.

Ever heard of Daikin AC? They're a Japanese behemoth in the non-North American HVAC market. Daikin make really efficient heat-pumps/AC.

In relation to the conversation: Daikin recently introduced a US specific product called the "Inverter Unitary Ducted System" ...Not a mini split, but a full ducted system - like many US homes use. The air-handler is made in USA (Texas), meanwhile the AC/heatpump condenser (outdoor unit) & controlls are straight out of the international marketplace.

Slowly but surely we're getting some of the energy saving technologies, which have been in use elsewhere for years. Tankless water heaters also come to mind.

I'll have to see what the local lighting supplier has in LED lights. I have just about every fixture changed over to cfl. I've never liked the notion of throwing away a ballast each time, nor of the chemical exposure - should a bulb break.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

Daikin recently introduced a US specific product called the "Inverter Unitary Ducted System"

I might go with such a system, when my current one gets old. It would not gain me enough in cost savings to justify replacing the current one, and this particular Daikin model only seems to go to 1.5 or 2.0 "tons" of A/C. My little 'ol Texas Trailer needs 3.5 to 4.0 tons.

More likely however I will convert to a ductless split design (just the evaporators inside) heat pump, discard my inside air handler and heater, and repurpose that space for closet storage.

Those Daikin units do look well designed (see for example http://www.daikin.com/global_ac/prod...echnology.html). I just added them to my list to consider when the time comes, next to the Mitsubishi's. Thanks.

[flintlock]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

What's the problem? This would look great in your living room:

(It's a 400 watt H.I.D. fixture -- reflector and refractor lens sold separately.)

And the hum could help lull the baby to sleep!

[flintlock]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

I might go with such a system, when my current one gets old. It would not gain me enough in cost savings to justify replacing the current one, and this particular Daikin model only seems to go to 1.5 or 2.0 "tons" of A/C. My little 'ol Texas Trailer needs 3.5 to 4.0 tons.

More likely however I will convert to a ductless split design (just the evaporators inside) heat pump, discard my inside air handler and heater, and repurpose that space for closet storage.

Those Daikin units do look well designed (see for example http://www.daikin.com/global_ac/prod...echnology.html). I just added them to my list to consider when the time comes, next to the Mitsubishi's. Thanks.

Cow those mini split systems can be purchased online at significant savings. Then you can either install it yourself or pay someone to do it. Its a fairly simple install if you have the aptitude. A HVAC friend said he started buying them online because he could get them $750 cheaper than his local supplier! The one he uses is identical to the Fujitsu.

4 tons in a trailer!

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

Cow those mini split systems can be purchased online at significant savings.

Yeah - I do just about everything online. I wouldn't think of buying it anywhere else. I'd do some of the install work myself, including the wall penetrations for the evaporators. The outside electricity is already there, for the existing A/C unit. I don't know about and don't have the tools for the Freon (or whatever it is these days) charge, so would probably pay someone to do that.

The key issue is this. Would the new unit most likely last 30 to 40 years? That's how long I figure I'll be here, before I move to a pine box, six feet under (no A/C). Items that will last that long or longer can be replaced now, for "the last time." Items (e.g. refrigerators, cars) with shorter life expectancies should be used up before replacement, so as to minimize the number of replacements.

I've been assuming a 20 year life on HVAC equipment, but that's an uninformed wild guess. If correct, I can get by with one replacement, by running the one I have until it is near shot. The savings I'd get by moving early from the 13 SEER I have to the 18 or so SEER I can get with a high quality unit wouldn't pay for themselves (at 10 cents/kwh.)

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

I just bought a Sylvania Ultra High Performance Series LED at my local Lowes for $21.98. I was going to use it for a night light replacement in a perma-dark hallway, but turns out it is too bright for that. It uses 8 watts, and has the shape, size (A19) and light output of a 40 watt incandescent. It's dimmable, rated for 50,000 hours and has a 3000K color (85 CRI). Online prices, such as at Amazon, are $40 or $50.

[mooncliff]

Sylvania Ultra High Performance Series LED

Looks good! How is the color? Is it warm enough for you, not too blue?

About 400 lumens is good. The price is great.

Will send some to my cousins and ask them to test them out.

For a nightlight, even 50 lumens is probably more than enough.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

Here's a bulb similar to the above Sylvania, in specs and price, online EarthLED ZetaLux 2 - Standard 6 Watt LED Light Bulb, for $19.99 in either 2800K (Warm White) or 5000K (Cool White).

P.S. -- This ZetaLux seems to be rated for only 25,000 hours, unlike the Sylvania above at 50,000 hours. If accurate (hour ratings for CFL's are notoriously optimistic, I don't know about LEDs) this does make a difference in the total cost to run.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Sylvania Ultra High Performance Series LED

Looks good! How is the color? Is it warm enough for you, not too blue?

The color (3000K color temperature) is fine. If you didn't know better, you'd figure it was an ordinary old fashioned 40 watt incandescent light bulb.

[flintlock]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

Yeah - I do just about everything online. I wouldn't think of buying it anywhere else. I'd do some of the install work myself, including the wall penetrations for the evaporators. The outside electricity is already there, for the existing A/C unit. I don't know about and don't have the tools for the Freon (or whatever it is these days) charge, so would probably pay someone to do that.

The key issue is this. Would the new unit most likely last 30 to 40 years? That's how long I figure I'll be here, before I move to a pine box, six feet under (no A/C). Items that will last that long or longer can be replaced now, for "the last time." Items (e.g. refrigerators, cars) with shorter life expectancies should be used up before replacement, so as to minimize the number of replacements.

I've been assuming a 20 year life on HVAC equipment, but that's an uninformed wild guess. If correct, I can get by with one replacement, by running the one I have until it is near shot. The savings I'd get by moving early from the 13 SEER I have to the 18 or so SEER I can get with a high quality unit wouldn't pay for themselves (at 10 cents/kwh.)

Mini-splits may have a different life span, but in my experience, typical low quality builder grade AC units last 10-15 years. Those are usually sized at the bare minimum, so they work harder. I'd say 30 to 40 years would be wildly optimistic for any HVAC unit made today, but 20 years would be a reasonable guess. I occasionally still see old Chrysler Furnace/AC systems running 45 years later. Some say the quality of install can affect the life as well. ( Dirt and debris get into the lines, etc). Everyone I know who uses a mini-split loves them. But most I see around here are used in basements.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

It's dimmable, rated for 50,000 hours and has a 3000K color (85 CRI).

Thanks Cow. My house is full of those twisted compact flourescents except on the dimmers because they can't. Your LED will.

For me, it's a toss-up in any given situation if I am cheaper than I am lazy, or lazier than I am cheap.

The long life high efficiency bulbs satisfy both for me - less costly over the life of the lamp PLUS I only change them every year or so. I had a CFL in my garage go for 5 years, often forgotten and left to run for days a time.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: LED bulb passes 1 watt/100 lumen milestone

Mini-splits may have a different life span, but in my experience, typical low quality builder grade AC units last 10-15 years.

Yup, agreed. Thanks for the comments about HVAC lifespans.

My current builder grade A/C will have an easier life than most, thanks to the substantial upgrades I've made to my trailers insulation and the solar reflective roof I added. My A/C was still cycling on and off, easily maintaining my desired inside temperature, on the hottest afternoon this summer. I also do a good job of keeping the A/C condenser (outside) and evaporator (inside) coils clean.

So, yeah, 10 to 20 years out of the current unit, and another 10 to 20 years out of its replacement, and the odds are I won't need a third unit.

Everyone I know who uses a mini-split loves them. But most I see around here are used in basements.

When and if I put in a split unit, I'm sure it will be the first one in my trailer park.

Upgrades to heat pumps which work with the existing inside air handler, or heat pumps with an outside air handler that connect into the existing ducting, might be a little more common hereabouts. Most people don't want to completely rethink how the conditioned air gets into their living space.