Lights of America Super LED 4W LED light bulbs from Costco

[Brian]

As I posted in another thread (which I will link to this one) the main bathroom in our new home has a four bulb light bar into which the landlord had installed globe style 9W CFLs. I am a big fan of CFLs in general and usually convert all lights in our house to them in order to save energy.

These particular CFLs tho, were a giant PIA because they seemed to take a long time to "brighten" and it could be pretty dark in the bathroom until they warmed up. So since this bathroom is most often used by the kids and therefore most often left with the lights on, I decided these would be the first bulbs I would replace with LEDs.

I was in my local COSTCO a few days ago and found these LEDs with rebate for under $15 for 3. I replaced them and here are the pictures, All of the pics were taken with the same camera, with the same settings in a bathroom with no windows.

Here is a picture of the package taken with the light from the four 9w CFLs after they had warmed up.



Here is a picture of the package taken with the light from three 4w LEDs, no warm up necesary .



Here is a picture of the different bulbs side by side.



So, more light in the room, 12w energy consumption vs 36w, and no more waiting for the light to brighten. I am pretty satisfied. If I ge any where near the 13,500 hour life these LEDs claim it will be even better .

Brian

[Geodude]

Excellent!  I'm a big fan of LEDs and am converting the entire house as bulbs burn out.  Even though the higher output bulbs are $25 (40w-60w equivalent) they pay for themselves with lower energy costs and longevity.  They'll only get cheaper as time goes by as well.

[parrothead]

Thanks for posting this.  I, too, have been less than satisfied with the CFL globes in our bathrooms.  The warm up time is annoying and the lamp life is much less than the other CFLs we have around the house.  I think I'll pick some LEDs up at Costco this weekend.

[Coley]

I'm sincerely glad that this has worked out for you. 

But, just for discussion you know what this comes very close to illustrating, if not being a perfect example?  The "Rebound Effect."  That is the theory that energy efficiency has never and never will do anything to conserve energy, because the more efficient we get, the more we decide is acceptable to use.  Since the 1960's, refrigerators have become hugely more efficient. Thus, they've become a lot bigger, and now we put them in the garage and basement, etc., just as one example.  Overall, this trend has been consistent throughout time.

In the old days in your house, Dad (Brian) would have yelled at the kids "Turn off the damn lights; I'm not trying to make the electric company rich."

Now we've got these great new technologies, so we'll just leave them on all the time. 

[yooperguy]

This thread rings true with my household too.  Switched to CFL bulbs in my house not because I like the light they give off but because I cannot get my kids to shut off the lights!  Please - no lectures on how to get them to do it.     I obeyed my parents or paid the price.  But try as I might I can't get mine to do it.  And...  I'd rather have them only burning 13 watts vs. 60 or more.

The bathroom vanity globes have been annoying in the same way you described.  I don't know what it is about them vs. some of the more "regular" CFL's.  Also had them in our chandelier above the dining room table.  They were small and shaped like the "candle flame" and they were even worse.  I finally had to change those out and while I was at it, I installed a dimmer switch for my wife.  I know I know... those use the same energy dimmed as they do full bright.  But we just couldn't take it any more.

I've learned more about LED's on this site than I ever would have without it!  Funny - remember back in the 70s when the only digital watch you could get (or calculator) was LED? 

[parrothead]

I'm sincerely glad that this has worked out for you. 

But, just for discussion you know what this comes very close to illustrating, if not being a perfect example?  The "Rebound Effect."  That is the theory that energy efficiency has never and never will do anything to conserve energy, because the more efficient we get, the more we decide is acceptable to use.  Since the 1960's, refrigerators have become hugely more efficient. Thus, they've become a lot bigger, and now we put them in the garage and basement, etc., just as one example.  Overall, this trend has been consistent throughout time.

In the old days in your house, Dad (Brian) would have yelled at the kids "Turn off the damn lights; I'm not trying to make the electric company rich."

Now we've got these great new technologies, so we'll just leave them on all the time. 

Not really.  Personally, my energy use has dropped consistently over the years (my home is now virtually all CFLs, one modest-sized refer, etc. to keep my usage down in our energy supplier's "Tier 1").  My family knows they will pay if they don't help conserve (I have never been above leveling monetary penalties if my DSs' actions result in higher costs for me).

On a larger scale, conservation has significantly cut our region's need for additional power plants.  There is an argument right now over a peaker plant that is under construction near us.  The need for it has largly been eliminated since it began construction through conservation efforts.

[Oz and Us]

On a larger scale, conservation has significantly cut our region's need for additional power plants.

Which may or may not be a good thing.  Here in Ontario there was such a panic a few years ago over the possibility of the province facing rolling brownouts and blackouts on a regular basis that conservation efforts went into high gear.  The result? ... Hydro One now frequently has to PAY neighbouring US states up to $1,000,000 a day to take our excess energy because we users are now not using enough energy!  Gee, guess who gets to pay that million bucks a day? ... yeah, you're right, the citizens of Ontario who were told just a few short years ago that energy Armageddon was just around the corner if we didn't all play an active role in reducing our personal energy consumption.  Look where that got us.

[wavery]

In the old days in your house, Dad (Brian) would have yelled at the kids "Turn off the damn lights; I'm not trying to make the electric company rich."

Boy.... does that bring back memories........ when Dad would yell that..... I threw a nickle down the stairs. It became a family tradition....... Dad even found it funny but he sure didn't return my nickles....... 

[MrBigDog2U]

We bought some of these to use in our bedroom lamps. They give off a very white light which will take some getting used to if you're used to the yellow-ish color given off by incandescent bulbs and some CFLs. We also bought some of the smaller base style to use in our bedroom ceiling fixture. That one makes a big difference because we had been using CFLs in that and they gave off almost no light when first turned on.

[Baytoven]

Thanks Brian.  I especially appreciate the pictures.  I've been thinking about trying the Costco LEDs in our bathroom.

We actually like a whiter light than most people; we don't care for regular incandescents.  Our CFLs are 4100 K.  I looked at those LED packages and couldn't find a color temperature.  Does it say somewhere inside the package or on the bulbs?

The warm up time is annoying and the lamp life is much less than the other CFLs we have around the house.

That's why we still have incandescents in our bathroom.  Since it's the only bathroom in the house, it gets frequent use, mostly short cycles in which CFLs wouldn't have time to warm up.  Add to that, the lifespan of CFLs doesn't respond well to short cycles. 

We have a hall light that gets long cycles and is flashed.  It's a CFL for now, but I'd love to get an LED into it so I don't have to worry about flashing shortening the lifespan.

We also have incandescent bulbs in a ceiling fan with a dimmer.  LEDs would be compatible with the dimmer, but I'm reluctant to try such expensive bulbs in a fixture that experiences so much vibration.  LEDs don't seem particularly sturdy.  Anyone have any experience with LEDs in ceiling fans?  That fixture is lit comparatively little anyway, so the potential savings might not be worth the initial investment experiment.

[parrothead]

We also have incandescent bulbs in a ceiling fan with a dimmer.  LEDs would be compatible with the dimmer, but I'm reluctant to try such expensive bulbs in a fixture that experiences so much vibration.  LEDs don't seem particularly sturdy.  Anyone have any experience with LEDs in ceiling fans?  That fixture is lit comparatively little anyway, so the potential savings might not be worth the initial investment experiment.

LEDs are pretty sturdy.  The lights on my bicycle are all LEDs and they get banged around quite a bit with no ill effects.  However the rest of the components on the household types might be less robust.

[Brian]

Thanks Brian.  I especially appreciate the pictures.  I've been thinking about trying the Costco LEDs in our bathroom.

We actually like a whiter light than most people; we don't care for regular incandescents.  Our CFLs are 4100 K.  I looked at those LED packages and couldn't find a color temperature.  Does it say somewhere inside the package or on the bulbs?

You are welcome. I really love this stuff as I am an unrepentant cheapskate and any chance I have to save a few pennies on the electric bill, I take.

On the package it says 3000k which is on the "warm" side of the warm-cool scale. I guess the light is whiter than the CFLs they replaced, it is hard to tell because there is so much more light . If it were me I would probably run just two bulbs, but since DD96 and DD01 are the primary users of the bathroom and they like it bright, I will leave as is.


Brian

[beacher]

...... If I get any where near the 13,500 hour life these LEDs claim it will be even better .

Brian

Unfortunately, the weakest part of LED lightbulbs running on AC current is the voltage converter circuit.  The LEDs will very likely last their intended design life.  However, something in the voltage converter circuit will fail far before the LEDs 13,500 hour life.

[Brian]

...... If I get any where near the 13,500 hour life these LEDs claim it will be even better .

Brian

Unfortunately, the weakest part of LED lightbulbs running on AC current is the voltage converter circuit.  The LEDs will very likely last their intended design life.  However, something in the voltage converter circuit will fail far before the LEDs 13,500 hour life.

It looks like I read the package wrong, it actually states 15000 hour life . Whatever, it does have a 3 year warranty, and Costco's liberal return policy is legendary, so I will save the package and the receipt and if they fail in 3 years and a day, I will call it good .

Brian

[Geodude]

Our kids looked at the life span of our LEDs and asked for them to be left to them as part of their inheritance.