AUG 01

What's interesting to me is that the efficiency of these bulbs is far below what we'd once hoped. While they are dimmable, long-lived, and instant-on, it seems that this first generation of standard bulb replacements is no more efficient than the typical CFL.

i agree, very disappointing. I have a 23watt dimmable cfl that's 100watt equivalent. it cost 6$

What these press releases don't tell you is that these devices have substantial heat-sinks to dissipate the heat generated by the diode. A lot of electrical energy is still being converted into waste heat.

Don't be so negative guys, like any new product line these LED bulbs will get better and cheaper over the next few years. They already have one important advantage over CFLs in their lack of poison mercury.

The elimination of mercury is just by itself the reason to make the switch. Never mind the huge room for energy efficiency improvement!

This generation of LEDs might dissipate heat, but how is that relative to other light sources such as Halogen, Incandescent, CFL, etc at a 100w incandescent equivalent? Anybody want to make a chart comparing lifespan (hours), energy efficiency per lumen, toxicity of materials used, volume of typical product, and price (compare this in relation to history, 5-10 year increments).
provide links too, please.
I'd do this myself tonight, but I gotta get the kids to sleep. And the wife is ill.
I am just trying to get a clear picture of how things seem to be changing over time.

Good news, but they still consume too much energy.

Yah!!! For LED lights!!! About time GE introduced more of their innovative products to the public. LED awesome and more durable than incandescent bulbs. If you work up the math, LEDS lights will not only last longer it will also save so much money in lighting your home.

I can only talk about my personal experience and I'm tired of turning on an incandescent bulb and it popping.... waste of money and energy hogs. Read an interesting article on www.solartown.com/learning/sol...they-shine that showed me more design possibilities with solar lights.

Rock on GE and LED Lights

Still they have to get better if the environmentis going to profit from it. Many of this bulb are turned into bulb waste on our landfils and not recykled.

Daniel Esteban
www.environmentinfocus.com
"writer and editor with focus towards environmental issues and problems"

I know most folks have their lights on for more then 3 hours per day...so the 20 year 'life span' is really closer to 5-8 years. Still, not bad. AND, if one goes out, you do not have to call in a haz-mat crew to dispose of the bulb like you do for CFLs.

I agree that they have to get a lot more efficient before I buy them regularly. The one place they would have a big advantage for me in in the outside front porch light which is the only place I don't get 7 to 9 years of life from my CFL'S. As far as the mercury, all bulbs in my house are CFL's and I have more mercury in my teeth than I have in all the bulbs combined.

Another advantage of LED Bulbs is that they do not suffer a reduced life span when switched on/off frequently. Lights in bathrooms/toilets may not be on as long but will be switched on/off more often. This also the same for PIR activated lights, which will be switched frequently. How many times can you switch a CFL on/off before it fails?

50W, 60W and 70W bulb replacements available from www.ledpolar.com/led-light-bulbs/ efficiency for these is about 54lm/W. Also the above bulb will give a beam angle of around 150deg to 120deg, but traditional filament light bulbs give a much wider beam angle of at least 270degrees. Though only a matter of time before LED bulb beam angle available similar to a traditional bulb.

I would certainly like to switch to LED types but not at the current cost.
I know; we get the same story that we will save that back in the long run in decreased operational costs. That story really gives me pause to wonder just how stupid the power companies and manufacturers really thing the average consumer is. Yes; in theory less power consumption will lead to lower energy costs but in practice it doesn't work that way.
Think of it like this. Your power company needs x dollars of revenue to operate. Now we put in energy saving bulbs. What happens to their revenue? Obviously it drops and if it drops below the required revenue levels then the only way they can get back to the level they need is to increase the cost per unit to the consumer. That folks is reality. The only place where there is a saving at all is to the environment and even those figures are way out of line from the actual savings. Remember that statistics can be used to show anything the statistical geniuses want to show. They could be used to show savings and the same stats could just as easily be used to show higher costs simply by including all the stats and not just the subset they use to show the savings.