HUGE price drop on some Samsung and NEC monitors

[blakerwry]

I've been meaning to get those "squiggle" lights for awhile... 1) energy savings 2) heat production and 3) bulb life are my main motivations.. I currently have 4 40 watt incandecent bulbs in my ceiling fan and I'm sure I could use say 10 to 20 watt flourecents to do the same job.

 

[iGary]

BTW, almost all the lighting in our house now is flourescent.

OK, for you and Blakerwry, it's SPELLIN' POLICE time: FLUORESCENT

I've read that within about a decade white LEDs will take over most home lighting functions. Right now they're still too costly, and only about as efficient as a bulb... ...although today most white LEDs give off a very white light with a slight tinge of blue which is very close to either a mercury-vapor arc lamp or discharge headlights...

I have a little Brinkman LED flashligt that I bought about a year ago at a Walmart for... er... US$11.00 or so. Just for the hell of it, I once left this Brinkmann LED flashlight running continuously for over a day, and it didn't even seem to phase its 2 AA batteries at all!

 

[Dozer]

I use a switchable Xenon/led headlamp for my outdoor adventures. The Xenon is fantastic for night excursions in the backcountry, but there's nothing quite like the soft blue glow of the LED for reading, cooking, and general nighttime backcountry chores. And iGary is quite right, in LED mode it consumes very little power.

And it's also great for working on PCs, the Jeep, finding your way to the bathroom at night ...all hands-free. The down side, the cost is about $39. But the utility is worth it, IMHO. As far as a value light, iGary found the ticket--I may have to run out to Wally World and find one!

 

[Mercutio]

Bah. Halogen is the way to go. Fluorescent lights play havok with LAN cables and monitors.

"But Halogen bulbs get so hot, Merc!"

So what? Don't touch them, or put a plastic shield between the bulb and the outside world, if you're worried about safety issues.

LED isn't really here yet. Halogen is.

 

[jtr1962]

I've been meaning to get those "squiggle" lights for awhile... 1) energy savings 2) heat production and 3) bulb life are my main motivations.. I currently have 4 40 watt incandecent bulbs in my ceiling fan and I'm sure I could use say 10 to 20 watt flourecents to do the same job.

For point of comparison, I have some 23-watt squiggle fluorescents(OK, iGary?) that give off the light of a 100-watt incandescent bulb, last 8000 hours(instead of 750), and only cost me $4 each(a bargain when you consider that bulbs run at least $1 and this replaces about 11 of them). The same company sells 13-watt versions that give the same light as 60 watts, so you could be using only 52 watts instead of 160, and have about 1.5 times the light, or go with the 23 watt version and have 2.5 times the light(but still use less power). The light is of much better quality than a bulb as well, even though they should also produce them in cool white varieties. Am I the only one in the world who likes cool white fluorescents better than warm white ones? And I like white LEDs even better. Their light is best described as ethereal.

I don't know why standard base incandescent bulbs for general home use are even sold any more. They don't make any sense from either an economic, waste disposal, or energy usage standpoint. The only time incandescents make sense is when you need a concentrated point source of light, and nothing in general home lighting falls into this category. We still need a replacement for those small base chandelier bulbs. However, those may have to wait for white LEDs since those are a point source whereas fluorescents are not. Still, you don't need a point source in a chandelier. It looks nice but you don't really have to have it. Ultra-miniature squiggle fluorescents, anyone?

Likewise, I don't know why disposable batteries are still sold(here I go even more off-topic). What is so hard about sticking a few cells in a charger when they run down? I think in Europe they already have a timetable to phase them out. The US should follow suit.

 

[Cliptin]

And I like white LEDs even better. Their light is best described as ethereal.

I appreciate the fluorescent bulbs they are producing now that produce a more natural light. "Normal" cool white bulbs give a pastey, morgue like palor. They don't show true color. Therefor it will be awhile 'til you see wide spread use in the mall.

 

[Splash]

This household pretty much is Halogen exclusive, save for a couple of "squiggle" (?!?) fluorescent bulbs in places where the lighting requirements are such that they may need to stay on for extended periods of time (garage area). The colour temperature of halogen is fairly close to that of the sun.

As for recent Compact Fluorescent Spiral lighting ("squiggle lights") bulbs, the latest GE bulbs are simply downright compact! They are smaller than a standard incadescent yet produce as much or more light. They are relatively inexpensive and usually come in 2-pack cartons at US$9.99 for a 2-pack of 40-watt or 60-watt equivalent bulbs.

 

[jtr1962]

I appreciate the fluorescent bulbs they are producing now that produce a more natural light. "Normal" cool white bulbs give a pastey, morgue like palor. They don't show true color. Therefor it will be awhile 'til you see wide spread use in the mall.

As I said, the warm whites are not bad, much better than a standard incandescent anyway. In fact, the light coming from the "squiggles" seems to approximate halogen pretty well, so at least it's a fairly "good" type of incandescent lighting that they try to approximate, not those awful bulbs that give you eyestrain. The only thing that I find annoying is that they make a nice white lamp shade look like a dingy yellow, almost the same as a bulb(no doubt to please the bulb lovers). A cool white doesn't do that, and properly done, renders colors as accurately or better.

Some so-called cool white fluorescent tubes actually have a greenish tinge, and that's what gives the "pasty" appearance. All the ones I buy here make me look about the same as I do in regular sunlight. Bulbs tend to make people look too red. I suppose it's all a matter of preference.

The best lighting thus far that I've seen are those mercury vapor arc lamps that are often used in parking lots, gas stations, or outside stores. They give a nice white light with just a hint of blue, sort of like the sun would appear outside the atmosphere. Colors look very nice, and they're actually more efficient than fluorescents, although still too pricey for general home use. Coincidentally, white LEDs give off the exact same type of light, which is why I can't wait until they are used for general home lighting.

The worst lighting by far are those sodium vapor street lights we have here in NYC. They give off an awful yellow light that completely alters the colors of everything. Green cars look brown, red looks like black, etc. Why they changed to those from mercury vapor starting in the 1970s is beyond me. They're just horrible.

 

[jtr1962]

This household pretty much is Halogen exclusive, save for a couple of "squiggle" (?!?) fluorescent bulbs in places where the lighting requirements are such that they may need to stay on for extended periods of time (garage area). The colour temperature of halogen is fairly close to that of the sun.

As for recent Compact Fluorescent Spiral lighting ("squiggle lights") bulbs, the latest GE bulbs are simply downright compact! They are smaller than a standard incadescent yet produce as much or more light. They are relatively inexpensive and usually come in 2-pack cartons at US$9.99 for a 2-pack of 40-watt or 60-watt equivalent bulbs.

I guess "squiggle" was the first word that came to me to describe those. Not as accurate as "spiral" but it conveys a similar picture. And yes, it's amazing how much better and cheaper those spirals have gotten. I remember when they cost $25 and were much larger than a bulb(they weren't "spirals" then, just U-tubes). The light coming off the 23-watt ones I have is so intense it hurts to look at it. If not for the shape, I would think it was a halogen(very similar type of light). The last hurdle left to cross is to make small base spiral fluorescents for chandeliers and night lights. It's not just the energy saving feature that I like, but also that you change them less often, and that's good when a bulb is in a hard to reach place.

 

[jtr1962]

Here's some FAQs about white LEDs that I just found:

http://www.caves.org.uk/led/led-myths.html

Some other interesting links:

http://www.osram-os.com/news/news_luzern.html

http://www.ccrane.com/120_volt_white_led_bulb.asp

http://www.osram-os.com/news/news_worldpremiere.html

http://www.e-insite.net/semiconductor/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA165020

http://www.sandia.gov/media/NewsRel/NR2002/LEDS2.htm

http://www.eren.doe.gov/news/archive.cfm/date_enn={d '2002-04-24'}

The last link needs to be pasted into your browser address bar. For some reason it doesn't work the usual way.

 

[Splash]

...A cool white doesn't do that, and properly done, renders colors as accurately or better...Some so-called cool white fluorescent tubes actually have a greenish tinge, and that's what gives the "pasty" appearance...

The secret is all in the phosphors used. (Remember, we talked about phosphors once before in this thread before it went off-topic! -- that was long persistence versus medium-long persistence phosphors.) Fluorescent lighting with blue-ish phosphors is the least expensive to make.

...The worst lighting by far are those sodium vapor street lights we have here in NYC. They give off an awful yellow light that completely alters the colors of everything... ...They're just horrible.

Those eerie "gold" sodium streetlamps are used wherever fog is a problem. I first saw those in use in the late 1960s. Yes, I hate the quality of light they produce, but they most definitely work better than mercury vapour lamps during mist or foggy conditions.

 

[Buck]

Those eerie "gold" sodium streetlamps are used wherever fog is a problem. I first saw those in use in the late 1960s. Yes, I hate the quality of light they produce, but they most definitely work better than mercury vapour lamps during mist or foggy conditions.

Indeed.

 

[GIANT]

Here's some FAQs about white LEDs that I just found: ...

Being that I'm at work now, where I keep up with various lighting issues (engineering, design, etc...) on a regular basis among plenty of other things here, I have a list of device and facility illumination resources for research when needed.

Here's one that you may find interesting.


http://www.iaeel.org/

 

[Adcadet]

I use a switchable Xenon/led headlamp for my outdoor adventures. The Xenon is fantastic for night excursions in the backcountry, but there's nothing quite like the soft blue glow of the LED for reading, cooking, and general nighttime backcountry chores. And iGary is quite right, in LED mode it consumes very little power.

And it's also great for working on PCs, the Jeep, finding your way to the bathroom at night ...all hands-free. The down side, the cost is about $39. But the utility is worth it, IMHO. As far as a value light, iGary found the ticket--I may have to run out to Wally World and find one!

I'm getting a similar do-hicky, only with a red light at work to do my midnight vaginal smears. Nothing like blasting some poor rat with a ton of white light in the middle of the night right before poking her privates.

 

[jtr1962]

Here's one that you may find interesting.

http://www.iaeel.org/

Thanks for the link. That site contains a wealth of information and I spent a good three hours reading articles. I found out why utilities choose sodium street lights(because the only selection criteria was lm/watt), and why they stink(has to do with differences in day and night vision). Also, that some people are hypersensitive to fluorescent lights flickering at normal AC frequencies even though they can't pick up the flickering visually. And a whole bunch more.

I also found out about a new type of LED that recycles the wasted photons and reemits them at another wavelength without phosphors. By emitting blue(primary) and orange(secondary), you get white light, and the theoretical efficiency is 330 lm/watt(for current phosphor-based white LEDs the theoretical maximum is 280 lm/watt). For comparison, incandescents are 10 to 20 lm/watt, and fluorescents are 60 to 95 lm/watt. Even if it only reaches 50% efficiency it'll better anything that exists by a huge margin.