LED lighting for house

A

Arthur

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Anyone got any experience with LED lighting for domestic use? I'm renovating a place and am keen to get off the grid as far as possible (SWH, panels, inverter, etc). LED lighting seems to hold promise, though little info is available in SA.

Does this stuff actually work properly?
Reliable and longevity?
Power consumption?
Lighting quality and tone/temp - too harsh? Suitable for indirect/reflected lighting?
Brightness (eg for kitchen)?
Special fittings required?
Inside and outside?
Cost?

Any comments and pointers most appreciated.
 
Arthur said:
Anyone got any experience with LED lighting for domestic use? I'm renovating a place and am keen to get off the grid as far as possible (SWH, panels, inverter, etc). LED lighting seems to hold promise, though little info is available in SA.

Does this stuff actually work properly?
Reliable and longevity?
Power consumption?
Lighting quality and tone/temp - too harsh? Suitable for indirect/reflected lighting?
Brightness (eg for kitchen)?
Special fittings required?
Inside and outside?
Cost?

Any comments and pointers most appreciated.
Click to expand...

Try http://www.electroniclights.co.za/en/

They have a wide range of LED stuff that works with standard fittings. Power consumption is very low (lower than CFL) and lifetime is very long. LEDS are also coming out in "warm white" now which a lot of people prefer for home lighting.

Alternatively, you could mail Wayne Fourie who was quite helpful with a query I had

[email protected]

Arthur, this plan of yours is awesome, but it's not going to help you to *increase* your carbon footprint like you wanted. :p
 
Thanks, BCO. This is very helpful. I'll follow up as you suggest.

As to carbon footprint ... yeah, llife has its compromises. Hehe.
 
At watts/lumen, LED's fall way short of Flourescent or CFL bulbs, even if the "wattage" on the side is lower.

Yes, you may use 5W LED bulbs to save power, but a 11W CFL will give far more than double the light output. Rather use less CFL's than more LED's. Plus the cost is way way more than the power saving or light output.
 
Gaz{M} said:
At watts/lumen, LED's fall way short of Flourescent or CFL bulbs, even if the "wattage" on the side is lower.
Click to expand...

Not for long:

Typical indicator LEDs are designed to operate with no more than 30–60 milliwatts [mW] of electrical power. Around 1999, Philips Lumileds introduced power LEDs capable of continuous use at one watt [W]. These LEDs used much larger semiconductor die sizes to handle the large power inputs. Also, the semiconductor dies were mounted onto metal slugs to allow for heat removal from the LED die.

One of the key advantages of LED-based lighting is its high efficiency, as measured by its light output per unit power input. White LEDs quickly matched and overtook the efficiency of standard incandescent lighting systems. In 2002, Lumileds made five-watt LEDs available with a luminous efficiency of 18–22 lumens per watt [lm/W]. For comparison, a conventional 60–100 W incandescent lightbulb produces around 15 lm/W, and standard fluorescent lights produce up to 100 lm/W. A recurring problem is that efficiency will fall dramatically for increased current. This effect is known as droop and effectively limits the light output of a given LED, increasing heating more than light output for increased current.

In September 2003, a new type of blue LED was demonstrated by the company Cree, Inc. to provide 24 mW at 20 milliamperes [mA]. This produced a commercially packaged white light giving 65 lm/W at 20 mA, becoming the brightest white LED commercially available at the time, and more than four times as efficient as standard incandescents. In 2006 they demonstrated a prototype with a record white LED luminous efficiency of 131 lm/W at 20 mA. Also, Seoul Semiconductor has plans for 135 lm/W by 2007 and 145 lm/W by 2008, which would be approaching an order of magnitude improvement over standard incandescents and better even than standard fluorescents.[21] Nichia Corporation has developed a white LED with luminous efficiency of 150 lm/W at a forward current of 20 mA.[22]

It should be noted that high-power (≥ 1 W) LEDs are necessary for practical general lighting applications. Typical operating currents for these devices begin at 350 mA. The highest efficiency high-power white LED is claimed[23] by Philips Lumileds Lighting Co. with a luminous efficiency of 115 lm/W (350 mA).

Cree issued a press release on November 19, 2008 about a laboratory prototype LED achieving 161 lumens/watt at room temperature. The total output was 173 lumens, and the correlated color temperature was reported to be 4689 K.[24]
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_emitting_diode
 
The little bit I've looked at LED lights they still seem to be horribly expensive. Hopefully that will change soon.
 
LED's are good enough

Hello everybody,

I've read some of the comments and there are too many to respond to individually.

LED lights have come a long way in the last few years as far as brightness is concerned.

Please go to
www.c2r.co.za
to have a look at the range that is available in SA.

For example a fully dimmable fluorescent replacement tube that does not need a starter and ballast to work, although they will work with them. Or a fully dimmable globe.

6 Watt downlighters that give the same light as a 50 Watt halogen, in either the 12v or 220v versions. A 88% saving in electricity. The 12v version is dimmable because of the transformer.

There is also a 2 Watt downlighter that looks the same as the name brands from hardware stores, but this version gives more light, I have put them side by side in my bathroom. A 96% saving in electricity.

The lifspan is amazing:
Tube replacement is 80 000 hours.
6Watt downlighter is 30 000 hours.
BulbLED is 40 000 hours.

Yes they are expensive, but calculating a total cost of ownership
the lights will save you money in the end.

For the environment friendly people, remember
that LED's contain NO Mercury.

Imagine SA wihout any loadshedding.
Applications exist for any situation, Industrial, Commercial,
Residential.
 
MontyPython said:
Hello everybody,

I've read some of the comments and there are too many to respond to individually.

LED lights have come a long way in the last few years as far as brightness is concerned.

Please go to
www.c2r.co.za
to have a look at the range that is available in SA.

For example a fully dimmable fluorescent replacement tube that does not need a starter and ballast to work, although they will work with them. Or a fully dimmable globe.

6 Watt downlighters that give the same light as a 50 Watt halogen, in either the 12v or 220v versions. A 88% saving in electricity. The 12v version is dimmable because of the transformer.

There is also a 2 Watt downlighter that looks the same as the name brands from hardware stores, but this version gives more light, I have put them side by side in my bathroom. A 96% saving in electricity.

The lifspan is amazing:
Tube replacement is 80 000 hours.
6Watt downlighter is 30 000 hours.
BulbLED is 40 000 hours.

Yes they are expensive, but calculating a total cost of ownership
the lights will save you money in the end.

For the environment friendly people, remember
that LED's contain NO Mercury.

Imagine SA wihout any loadshedding.
Applications exist for any situation, Industrial, Commercial,
Residential.
Click to expand...

Hope you got permission from the mods to advertise!! :D

Couple of questions - will your 12V LED downlighters work on a standard 12 downlighter transformer? And where can I get pricing info from.

Thanks.
 
I was quoted between R300 and R500 for a single LED downlighter light.:eek:
 
LED's

Paulr said:
Hope you got permission from the mods to advertise!! :D

Couple of questions - will your 12V LED downlighters work on a standard 12 downlighter transformer? And where can I get pricing info from.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hello Paulr,
there are 2 types of transformers, the older coil wound big black ones, and the newer electronic ones. They will work on both. However, if you want to dim them, the old coil wound works, not the electronic ones. Email me at [email protected] , I will gladly come and demo them for you in Kempton.
 
LED's

duderoo said:
I was quoted between R300 and R500 for a single LED downlighter light.:eek:
Click to expand...

duderoo,
those prices are close to being correct, depending on either a 6 Watt or a 2 Watt downlighter. On the website is the contact details for Cape Town, please phone or email to those details.
 
To everybody,

A little something to ponder: we have to stop thinking of LED lights as consumable items. Like toilet paper, we use it, its finished, we buy more. Same as tungsten and CFL lights, because their lifespan is so short. NOT LED's.

The calculation is as follows:
Using a bulbLED (http://www.c2r.co.za/html/bulbs___down-lights.html)(scroll down) outside your front door, at 40 000 hours for a LED, at 10 hours/day, 7 days/week = 10 years.
Now using a bulbLED as a bedside lamp at 1 hour/day, 7 days/week = 100 years.
Your grandchildren will use the LED's that you will buy.

Look at your light use habits at home, analyze what lights are on for longer periods
than other lights. Change the longer ON lights first, that will have the bigger, more immediate impact in reducing your electricity bill.

The more hours per day lights burn, the better LED's become.
The higher the Rand per KW hour is, the better LED's become.

Look around at night, how many lights are on. Chop that by 50%. Imagine that right now! Then put in occupancy sensors, that switch the lights off when nobody is around.
We have them, but they are very new to us. Watch the website for them.
Now combine LED's and occupancy sensors. Imagine that electricity saving!

And tonight eskom asked for a 34% increase.

Looking forward to hearing from everybody,
Regards,
Monty.
ps: if you're not in the room, switch it off :-)
 
LED's

Arthur said:
Anyone got any experience with LED lighting for domestic use? I'm renovating a place and am keen to get off the grid as far as possible (SWH, panels, inverter, etc). LED lighting seems to hold promise, though little info is available in SA.

Does this stuff actually work properly?
Reliable and longevity?
Power consumption?
Lighting quality and tone/temp - too harsh? Suitable for indirect/reflected lighting?
Brightness (eg for kitchen)?
Special fittings required?
Inside and outside?
Cost?

Any comments and pointers most appreciated.
Click to expand...

Hello Arthur,
please contact me on [email protected] and I will gladly
show you the LED lights and answer all your questions.

in short:
they work,
30 000 hour life,
45% to 96% saving on electricity,
any colour available,
bright enough,
will work in your existing fittings,
inside and outside,
expensive, but will pay for itself.

Regards,
Jaco.
 
Arthur said:
Anyone got any experience with LED lighting for domestic use? I'm renovating a place and am keen to get off the grid as far as possible (SWH, panels, inverter, etc). LED lighting seems to hold promise, though little info is available in SA.

Does this stuff actually work properly?
Reliable and longevity?
Power consumption?
Lighting quality and tone/temp - too harsh? Suitable for indirect/reflected lighting?
Brightness (eg for kitchen)?
Special fittings required?
Inside and outside?
Cost?

Any comments and pointers most appreciated.
Click to expand...

yes they do seem to be the best solution and can reduce one's electrical bill right down, and make use of more lighting. sadly I dont know of anywhere in South Africa that uses LED lighting.


  • Reliable and longevity? = yes they are reliable and longativity (longer than the neon-types)
    Power consumption? = very very minute (more lighting)
    Lighting quality and tone/temp - too harsh? Suitable for indirect/reflected lighting? = It may depend on the LED in use
    Brightness (eg for kitchen)? = They may be more suitable for other areas of the home, the kitchen , flourecent bulbs seem to be the best, however if you design the fitting so the LEDs mount up with sufficient light it should be no problem.Reliable and longevity?
    Power consumption?
    Lighting quality and tone/temp - too harsh? Suitable for indirect/reflected lighting?
    Brightness (eg for kitchen)?
    Special fittings required?
    Inside and outside?
    Cost?

    Special fittings required? = yes/no , but one can design the main fittings to fit into the standard fittings that fit in standard fittings
    Inside and outside? = yes
    Cost? = it depends, new tech always at first seems to be of higher cost and gradualy reduces as the monopoly increases. But in the long term it would save on the costs of energy consumption..

Lotsa Love and huggles
((^_^))
 
What is the efficiency of these LED lights that are being suggested here? As in, lumens/watt?
 
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