# Anyone using L.E.D.'s for the majority of their lighting yet?



## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

Anyone using L.E.D.'s for the majority of their lighting yet?

Just wondering what the innovative friends here on AE have done with LED's.


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## jnap31 (Sep 16, 2005)

not yet but i plan to when i get home.


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2006)

Not for my house lighting, but we are steadily moving all of our Maglights over to the LED conversions. The camp lanters are now all compact fluorescent.

.....Alan.


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## Dahc (Feb 14, 2006)

Is there a way to get the LED benefit of low power consumption while on grid-power? I have already switched out everything to incandescents and it did save some money but not enough. The 30% I saved right before Katrina has been negated with higher energy costs and I'm right back at $200 a month.


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

I've built a few fixtures that replaced the oil lamps. There's one in the kitchen that is a hybrid L.E.D./Flourescent unit..










The L.E.D.'s run 24/7 although I have seperate wiring that I could add a photoeye circuit to turn off during the day. There's 14 L.E.D.'s in it and they draw .210ma. which isn't much. With the 32 watt flourscent turned on it draws around 4.6 amps but it sure lights up the place..

I have a smaller flourescent fixture (16 watt) with 6 L.E.D.'s above my computer set up the same way. The L.E.D.'s give enough light for me to operate the computer at night. They use .060ma. and run 24/7..

I have a smaller fixture in the bathroom that has 4 L.E.D.'s only for a night light. It uses .030ma. and provides enough light to take care of business..


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

12vman said:


> I've built a few fixtures that replaced the oil lamps. There's one in the kitchen that is a hybrid L.E.D./Flourescent unit..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Did you build that hybrid light?


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Impressive! LEDs are pretty hard to find here except in flashlights!


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

Yes.. I built the light with some scrap lumber pieces and white paint. I used a Thin-Lite ballast to fire the bulb. Total 12 volt..

The L.E.D.'s operate on a seperate circuit. I used a 6 volt regulator and the L.E.D.'s are in sets of two, wired in series..

I usually buy my L.E.D.'s here..

http://www.opticaspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=18

Here's a pic of the light I have above my computer..










It's a Thin-Lite fixture and I added the L.E.D.'s..


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

This is a pic of some outdoor lighting that I've built. I have 4 of these along the front of my house where I park..

They consist of cheap plastic soup bowls from the Dollar Store, Those little table looking thingies that they put on pizzas so the box don't steal the cheese, (Holder for the L.E.D.'s) Plant hanger brackets from the Dollar Store, 3 L.E.D.'s, Couple of tie wraps and some hot glue..


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## Allan Mistler (Jun 1, 2004)

Geez, those are nice lights... I built one with six LED's from Radio Shack placed inside a small salsa jar that I 'frosted' with the glass bead blaster and located inside the hen house to provide 15 hours of light each day to the girls. It draws so little current that I considered it negligable when computing system draw but the girls have enough light to eat and find the nesting boxes. Total cost $20... the timer is battery powered too (1 AAA cell) so it really saves me alot of money over the incandescant I used to run.
If it looked as nice as yours 12vman I'd have attached a picture!


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Please do add a picture Allan! (I can help if posting a pictue is giving you, or anybody, problems) AE isn't about perfection its about getting the job done.


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

12vman said:


> This is a pic of some outdoor lighting that I've built. I have 4 of these along the front of my house where I park..
> 
> They consist of cheap plastic soup bowls from the Dollar Store, Those little table looking thingies that they put on pizzas so the box don't steal the cheese, (Holder for the L.E.D.'s) Plant hanger brackets from the Dollar Store, 3 L.E.D.'s, Couple of tie wraps and some hot glue..


Where in Ohio are you again 12V???


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i bought 2 18 bulb incandescent led lamps (the lamps are led and the ac is converted to dc in the bulb fixture...they just screw into a normal incandescent fixture like a normal light bulb) just to see how effective they were. they supposedly use about 20 watts, unsure of that. i felt that they were a bit dim. i think the amount of light produced could be increased by using more led lamps but it would use a similar amount of electricity to that produced by a standard flourescent or incandescent bulb. the big plus is the long life. led lights last for a long time.

maybe when i actually have a dc system in place in my home, i will try to build some fixtures like you guys have. i will be able to use as many individual led lights as i need and maybe then have some success.


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

MELOC said:


> i bought 2 18 bulb incandescent led lamps (the lamps are led and the ac is converted to dc in the bulb fixture...they just screw into a normal incandescent fixture like a normal light bulb) just to see how effective they were. they supposedly use about 20 watts, unsure of that. i felt that they were a bit dim. i think the amount of light produced could be increased by using more led lamps but it would use a similar amount of electricity to that produced by a standard flourescent or incandescent bulb. the big plus is the long life. led lights last for a long time.
> 
> maybe when i actually have a dc system in place in my home, i will try to build some fixtures like you guys have. i will be able to use as many individual led lights as i need and maybe then have some success.


Where did you buy your inc. led's from?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

someone on ebay. i would have to dig to find out for sure. much of my economy was paypal based for several months, lol.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

I think we are just about reaching the point when bright enough to replace cf bulbs will soon be a reality.Prices have dropped nicely and the white light leds are getting very bright.Last couple years have been very good for the tech,output and price wise.

Im only to flashlight tech myself.If I were offgrid I would be much more serious with LEDs.But those flashlights,I will trade less bright for the incredible battery life,they are amazing in that respect.Nice having a light that is very reliable battery charge wise when its needed.

Like your fancy homegrowns,very nice!

BooBoo


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## Allan Mistler (Jun 1, 2004)

I mentioned earlier in this thread how I built and use an LED light in my hen house, so here are a few pics...








This is a few of the girls tanning under the LED light (just kidding)









You can see the light on the roof of the coop under the ladder.









The inner workings...









The outer image through the frosted salsa jar...









This is a pic of the battery operated timer that controls the LED hen house light schedule.

These photo's respectfully submitted to inspire others to get involved with alternative energy within their own budgetary constraints... it motivates you to try new things!


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Pretty cool Al.

BooBoo


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Looks good Alan, thanks!!


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## jnap31 (Sep 16, 2005)

That was awesome what you did in the hen house, I am not much of a James bond and i tend to cut corners I would probably just hand a led flashlight with rechargeble batteries in my hen house. Though then I would have to go out in snow and cold and turn it off past my bed time, maybe if I could hook a flashlight up to a timer.


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## SkizzlePig (May 14, 2006)

I looked into LED and called a place to learn more. He salesman said that LEDs were not yet a good choice for general lighting. The light from an LED is a spotlight where general lighting requires an area light. He said LEDs were good for accent lighting and direct lighting on a piece of art. In addition, LED systems are still prohibitively expensive compared to compact fluorescents.

I don't know first hand if the lighting won't work for general lighting, because I didn't pursue it after hearing what the salesman had to say. I guess I believed him, since why would a salesman lie to NOT get the sale.  

My two cents ...


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## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

I purchased 2 -18 LED white bulbs a year ago but they are far too dim for general lighting  I now replace my CFs with them when I am planning to be gone awhile and need to leave a security light on.


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

Allan Mistler said:


> the timer is battery powered too (1 AAA cell) so it really saves me alot of money


Allan,
What timer are you using? Sounds like just what I need to get.


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

Unlikely Farmer said:


> I looked into LED and called a place to learn more. He salesman said that LEDs were not yet a good choice for general lighting. The light from an LED is a spotlight where general lighting requires an area light. He said LEDs were good for accent lighting and direct lighting on a piece of art. In addition, LED systems are still prohibitively expensive compared to compact fluorescents.


LEDs don't put out quite as many lumens per watt as compact flourescents, so if you are looking at the actual light out put per watt of electricity, compact flourescents are probably a better choice to replace "regular" light bulbs to give you similar results. LEDs seem to be a good choice for either low lever lighting or small task lighting. 

You can get quite a variety of LED "bulbs" that directly replace screw-in 12 volt or 120volt bulbs, but they aren't cheap.


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