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Bzzzzzt
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# Posted: 24 Apr 2013 20:36
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I just found these LED lights at the Home Depot.
Link To Homedepot.com
I am very happy to see LED lights that are less expensive AND that shine all over like a regular incandescent light bulb does. These are 2700K, which is the approximate color of a regular incandescent light bulb. The ones I got were a 6 watt 450 lumen replacement equivalent to a 40W Incandescent. $10 each is the best deal going for these!
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vince
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# Posted: 24 Apr 2013 23:00
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It's amazing how much those have come down in price over the last few years. Good find.
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 25 Apr 2013 12:48
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Cree one of the major producers of the component LEDs has cut their price in half in recent months. This has driven the price down. Plus, keep in mind an LED is actually a semiconductor made in a bin process.
Yields for making LEDs have greatly improved.
And, as with most consumer technologies, price pressure makes them go down. Over 30 years ago I obtain an early compact fluorescent with a edison base driver. I install this lamp in my upstair hall fixture. This light burns for about 8 hours every night. I have never changed this bulb since the day I installed it. It also cost about $30 when I got it. You can get one of these for about $3 now but they do not last like this one does.
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BCcabin
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2013 16:48
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Have been looking for leds that looks more like the incandescents for a looong time! I'll be trying these out this weekend.
Anyone ever found any small chandelier led lights with decent lighting? All I've found are glorified spot lights so far! 
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Steve961
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2013 21:07
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I recently replaced all the CFLs at my cabin with these Crees. My previous 40 watt equivalent CFL's were running over 9 watts, and these Cree's are spot on at 6 watts. This is over a 30% savings in power for me with better light quality, instant on, and no mercury concerns. With the VERY small solar power system I have at my cabin, the power savings are significant to me.
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:55
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LEDs need a driver to work. (Low voltage DC transformer) Like many CFL this is generally built into the base of the light. For things like a chandelier this makes the bulbs butt ugly but the do make versions that aren't spot lights. I believe all of the big box store sell them.
Another thing to consider is LEDs love cold but hate high heat. Heat shortens their life so really consider what type of fixture you put them in. You want something that readily rejects heat and doesn't contain it. Many LED bulbs have hate rejection fins built into them.
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Rossman
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2013 12:21
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Quoting: hueyjazz Many LED bulbs have hate rejection fins built into them.
I wish I had hate rejection fins built in... :D
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Rick004
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# Posted: 5 Jul 2013 08:27
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In an off grid application , would it be better to have an inverter and run AC lighting or go with 12 volt lighting ??
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creeky
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# Posted: 5 Jul 2013 10:02
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Rick004, it pretty much depends on the size of your system. I have a "bigger" system at 1kw and I've opted to bypass 12v and go straight to ac.
I use all led bulbs. I just installed one of the new CREE lights from HD. It's perfect. Far superior to the led lights I bought four years ago, as good as the $30 bulb two years ago and so cheap I almost wept at the cash 
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rayyy
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# Posted: 5 Jul 2013 17:09
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You tell me the light on the left is a 13 watt CFL 12 volt.Give off a pretty good 40 watts of light but is yellowing badly with age.The one on the right is a 201 LED 13 watt,12 volt.Gives me about 80 watts of nice light.I'm very happy with this bulb,although very pricey.
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ICC
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# Posted: 5 Jul 2013 17:58
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Quoting: Rick004 In an off grid application , would it be better to have an inverter and run AC lighting or go with 12 volt lighting ??
as creeky said, it depends a lot on personal choices, size of the cabin, what other uses there may be for electricty, and so on.
I have opted for a more conventional electrical system in the house, barn and other outbuildings. Everything with the inside wiring is stanradr 120/240 VAC using stacked inverters. My wants were to have as close to what is considered normal as possible. I DO have a few 12 volt lights in the original part of the cabin. That was to provide light in case the inverter crapped out. Well, it's been 10 years and the orignal inverter is going strong still, although at a different location.
IMO, and it is only my opinion, small cabins with no large demands for power, no AC at all pretty much, can work on 12 VDC.
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Rick004
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# Posted: 5 Jul 2013 19:38
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I don't think we will have much as far as usage ! The cabin will be 12x16 and the only electrical will be approx 6 led lights , 12 volt shur-flo water pump and maybe a radio and cell charger . Fridge , stove , water heater , will be propane .
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MPL
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# Posted: 18 Dec 2013 14:05
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If anybody is having trouble dimming or has "strobing" occuring with LED lamps consider a LED Transformer (Hatch 60w works well).
With replacement of old transformer or solid state transformer to LED driver you can dim with only one LED lamp on the circuit without any
problems.
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rayyy
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# Posted: 18 Dec 2013 16:55 - Edited by: rayyy
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I just ordered a set of 5 led 5 watt,12 volt bulbs on ebay.($18.69) to use out in my barn.Standard E27 bases.Cold weather doesn't affect led,s.The original CFL,12 volt,13 watt bulbs I started out with have proven to be no better than their 120 volt counterparts.They don't last very long,they get dirty, yellow and dim with age,get to hot and burn out.I love these LED warm whites Iv'e gotten.They don't generate heat so they stay clean,crisp and clear.I am 100% sold on these new generation LED,s.
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 18 Dec 2013 18:56
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Dimming LEDs is very problematic. In short, they don't do it well.
The color temperature changes greatly with dimming. They can strobe and flicker. It often takes a special dimming switch. Dimming LEDs are real expensive . If you can it may make more sense to have a two light fixture wired so you can have one or two LEDs to lamps lite. I'm sure at some point they will work out the bugs with the LEDs dimming issues.
Another thing is we need to start thinking of light output based on tungsten lights watt usage. Lumens makes the most sense but nobody knows what they are.
Color temperature is another funny thing. We accept working under blue fluorescent light 3200 - 7500K and are accustom to yellow tungsten lights at home 2500 - 2900K. Give someone something daylight at noon balanced 5000 - 5400K and they think something is wrong.
Blue is the cheapest and easiest LED to make. What they are doing now is put the LED in a globe and color correcting the light with a phosphor coating on the interior of the globe.
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cbright
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# Posted: 19 Dec 2013 08:43
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I bought a 10 pack of Cree 2700k bulbs (60w equivalent) off ebay for my cabin.... cost about $80 and this was about 4 months ago.
Costco is selling led lights cheap now. Have 4 of the 90w (13w) flood light that I have mounted hi up on my cathedral ceilings.... lights the area 14' below very well for 56 watts.
Also, the halogen replacements (50w with a 4w or 6w bulb) make prefect sense for many applications.
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ClimberKev
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# Posted: 20 Dec 2013 16:59
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I upgraded to alll LED's in my cabin a few months ago and almost went crazy from the buzzing sound coming from every bulb. It turned out that my modified sine wave inverter was the culprit. I've since upgraded to pure wave inverter and the silence has returned. My compost toilet and TV are also working better. I've noticed significantly less drain on my batteries from using the LED's.
I guess new technology can sometimes be a good thing in the backwoods.
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Storogoth
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# Posted: 26 Dec 2013 01:42
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My brother got us a couple of these for a Christmas gift because he was aware of our off grid situation and thought they might work well for us. He's pretty astute and the look really cool.
http://www.amazon.com/Lycheers-Changing-waterproof-Controller-decoration/dp/B009OVNT9 0
I have not installed them yet but the 16.4' ribbon of lights only draw 85ac watts when set at white (less than 45w at blue or red) and look like they will be a great fit at the cabin. They seem to put out a crazy amount of light and the power supply puts out 14.6v so I think that I will try and run them directly (fused) off the batteries. I will keep you posted as to how they work out. Thinking I'll install one strand as under counter diffused lighting in the kitchen area and the other as accent lighting.
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old greybeard
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# Posted: 26 Dec 2013 07:53
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Quoting: Rick004 In an off grid application , would it be better to have an inverter and run AC lighting or go with 12 volt lighting ??
Do both if you can. I run a 12v system and a 700w inverter fed AC system. I use 12v for my shower pump(bilge pump in a beer barrel), and 12 v lights and phone chargers.
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pizzadude
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2015 18:22
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There's no doubt led lighting is the cats ass when it comes to efficiency. I am careful in selecting the specific type of bulb that I prefer,, which is the brightest, and the lowest wattage possible(and I too like the warm white light).
I have not tried dimming these on my mod sine wave inverter. I would expect problems though, thanks to the reads here..
One other thing I'm surprised no one mentioned yet, nor have I seen warning labels on the packaging of the leds is the amount of heat these things produce when on for long periods of time. I was playing with a 10w, 880 lumen bulb(my favorite), bulb was on for maybe only 15 minutes,, man, I honestly couldn't grab the base for more than a second. It was wayyy too hot.
I'm not sure but I would expect the lower lumen bulbs to operate with less heat, and higher lumen bulbs to produce even more.
Take caution in the type of fixtures you use these bulbs.
An enclosed fixture could present a fire hazard......
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