$4 LED bulbs to replace my dead incandescents

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That is a good deal. Interested to see if this post makes the price go up…

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I’m in the fortunate situation where the local power company (Xcel) slightly subsidizes very nice Cree units at Home Depot. Those clock in at about $6.00 each, but for the money you can’t beat them…

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Dang. Not dimmable.

Still a great price if they perform as advertised.

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Some of these bulbs are “Not Dimmable” - this may matter for your particular application. Make sure you check the details carefully.

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Canada seems to be behind the curve on this one, because all the LED bulbs I can find here range from expensive to spectacularly expensive

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Jinx. Buy me a Coke.

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Second the Cree bulbs. Just bought a bunch at Home Depot for about $4 apiece and they look great.

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Now if I can figure out a way to attach this to clothing in a fun but slightly-naughty way.

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Be careful in can light applications, especially in California where they are required to be air sealed. The sensitive electronics are at the hottest portion of the fixture and will cut lamp life dramatically.

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Just curious, why didn’t you swap the ones you didn’t use much for the ones that burnt out more quickly? I guess that goes against your “change all of them at once” plan, but then you don’t have to buy more for a while and you still have the important areas lit.

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They go on sale.

But if you’re in Ontario, be sure to get these:

http://www.hydroone.com/MyHome/SaveEnergy/2015Coupons/5_LED_general_ENG.pdf
http://www.hydroone.com/MyHome/SaveEnergy/2015Coupons/5_LED_specialty_ENG.pdf

Five dollars off per bulb. The last good LED sale had the Phillips flat bulbs down to $7 before coupon. I got a few dozen at $2 apiece and am now set for a decade or two for most of the house. Next time it happens I’m aiming to stock the rest of the house, outbuildings/workshop/guest accommodations and then I won’t need bulbs for a long dam time, plus energy saving.

And don’t buy CFL. Gosh how I hate CFL since trying LED. Worst stopgap tech ever.

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IKEA has bulbs for 7.99, I think. I grab a couple whenever I’m there.

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Exactly. In the traditional fixture-on-a-table, the heat dissipates readily. Not so in the various enclosures. We have a bunch of oddball fixtures (can lights, fully enclosed globes, lots of base-up installations). I’m willing to pay more, even without much assurance of a better product, because these LEDs just have not yet reached stability. (Nor have CFLs, for that matter – but they are well into obsolescence. Good riddance.)

I’m gambling that paying more at retail means there was a soupcon of engineering that went into the component selection, so the bulb might live its full life. Because even at a rock-bottom $4 each, I’m probably losing if they die in the first two years.

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I dunno, Zip drives were pretty awful.

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hmm. . . I guess I’ll just have to watch the sales then. Quebec does not seem to be offering incentives comparable to what Ontario is.

Probably in the long term the energy savings would more than offset the cost of the bulbs anyway, but it’s hard to think long term when I’m indebting myself today

Random question: most of the heat from LED bulbs is a result of step down transformers in the base the bulb. These are necessary because the voltage in most home lighting situations is much much higher than the bulbs need. The writing is on the wall, lighting will demand less power. When are people going to wire lighting circuits for lower currents?

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For me, I’m looking forward to 100W equivalents coming down in price. I have few fixtures in my apartment, so brightness is key. That and being in the “daylight” category. XPEOO on Amazon.ca makes some wonderful 6W bulbs that do the trick.

Can’t blame Jason though, the soft white like match the “castle atop a mountain” motif of his home perfectly. :wink:

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Probably so. I wait for the sales, hard to lay $15-$20 down on a single bulb when all my life I used incandescent until CFL was reasonable costwise.

Other benefits are pretty good. CFL’s stank my house up and put me on electrical fire alert every other time one of them failed, and I don’t know if I ever had one that lasted anywhere near the claims no matter how much it cost. Canada is too damn cold for CFLs outdoors and the LEDs seem to have no problem with it.

I guess my kids will be cool with paying for what an LED bulb is worth, because they won’t be accustomed to buying them at all except once every few decades.

Hell, if the technology continues apace, they’ll just inherit whatever bulbs I’m using when I die. The ones I got claim they’ll last 15 years the way I apply them, I wonder what the bulbs I buy in 2030 will do? Maybe my kids will just inherit those.

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I wonder what the bulbs I buy in 2030 will do?

Livestream your life to the NSA.

Maybe my kids will just inherit those.

It will be illegal for them not to.

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