Experience with Philips Ambient LED in the home

[JChenault]

Like many of you I have been playing around with LED bulbs in the home. While I have had good success in a few applications like under counter task lighting, I had not found anything that I really liked for replacing a plain old incandescent A lamp.

Well - that has changed. at LDI last year Philips was showing a bulb which looked funny, ( it has a very YELLOW appearance) but seemed like it might bear further investigation. I never saw one in the local stores, but I ran into it on amazon the other day.

Amazon.com: PHILIPS Endura LED 12.5 Watt A-Shape A19 LED Dimmable Light Bulb ~ 60 watt incandescent equivalent: Home Improvement

I got two and tried them in a ceiling unit, and I have to say that I am very happy. The color temperature is a very warm 2700K. Skin tones look good to my eye. It seems that it takes a fraction of a second longer to turn on that the old incandescent unit did, but it gets to full bright immediately.

I am a happy camper.

If you are looking for an LED to replace your standard 60 to 75 watt A lamp - you should give these a look.

 

[EBB]

I have a random question about LED lamps in domestic fixtures. If you have a power surge or something happen in your house- or at least on that circuit, how much damage will occur to the LED itself. Is there some fuse or something inside it that can protect your investment? Or is it just like any old lamp and you have to toss it?

 

[tk2k]

I have a random question about LED lamps in domestic fixtures. If you have a power surge or something happen in your house- or at least on that circuit, how much damage will occur to the LED itself. Is there some fuse or something inside it that can protect your investment? Or is it just like any old lamp and you have to toss it?

I've had several surges in the house (at least, had to replace several surge protectors) and our leds have never gone out. We've got some Phillips as well. One thing I will say is they lose their color temp as you dim them down, they get cooler

 

[JD]

Got one of those burning over my head as we speak. Pleasant lamp, beats the heck out of the stupid CFLs. I don't have it on a dimmer so I am not sure of those results. They have come way down in price, so I may add a few more. I remember a youtube video of someone taking one apart. UV LEDs inside with those yellow phosphate shell segments. At first I though it was some kind of color correction attempt, but apparently, that's just the natural color of the phosphate they use. Very close to incandescent, at least to the eye. None of that "hint of green." Happy with them.

 

[derekleffew]

... One thing I will say is they lose their color temp as you dim them down, they get cooler

? Inverse amber-drift?

Amazon.com: PHILIPS Endura LED 12.5 Watt A-Shape A19 LED Dimmable Light Bulb ~ 60 watt incandescent equivalent: Home Improvement

$29 for a light bulb? Not in my lifetime! They'll have to pry the incandescent A-lamp from my cold dead hands.

Seriously (I'm too lazy to do the math) how long for the payback, at $0.11 per kWh?

 

[tk2k]

? Inverse amber-drift?

$29 for a light bulb? Not in my lifetime! They'll have to pry the incandescent A-lamp from my cold dead hands.

Seriously (I'm too lazy to do the math) how long for the payback, at $0.11 per kWh?

Weird huh on the inverse amber, it messes with your brain since we expect the amber drift...

Anyway, the math works out extremely well. Life is supposed to be 20 years (25k hours, at $30 a bulb vs a CFL of $8 each, lifespan is 8,000 hours (that's generous) it very much works out in just bulb cost alone.

If you are using incandescents it's even bigger savings. $2 per bulb is not uncommon, with a 1000-2000 hour lifespan you're saving between $20 and $40 in bulb cost alone, not even including electricity cost

25,000 * 13 = 325000 watt hours = $50.38 of my electrical bill (in Massachusetts 15.5 cents)
25,000 * 60 = 1.5 million watt hours = $252.50 again based at 15.5 cents, which is what I pay in MA
Add in bulb charges and you can see why every parking garage in american is in the process of converting to LEDs


So, yes, in your lifetime

 

[Edrick]

I just did a retrofit for a rental property for one of my clients. The philips series of bulbs are quite amazing.

 

[derekleffew]

Okay, I did the math.

Ignoring some (possibly) important factors (quality of light, amount of illumination, heat load, labor for lamp changes, et al), my payback at 11¢/kWh would be 3.4 years. Your payback at 15.5 would be 2.5 years.

Here's how I calculated it: The cost of use per hour: (cost of lamp/rated life)+(wattage x cost of kWh). Compare the two to find the savings per hour. Divide the initial cost difference by the savings per hour to determine the break even hours. Divide that by 4 hours per day to determine years.

Now the only bulbs in my household that regularly see 4 hours of use per day are my porch lights, and I have qualms about exposing a $30 LED lamp to the outdoor temperature extremes. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[sk8rsdad]

Since LEDs are more efficient when cool you just might see better results in cold weather. Assuming the envelope is sealed then the weather won't make much difference. I recall one test of LED traffic lights that had issues with icing up because they didn't generate enough heat to melt the ice. I'm not sure if that would be much of a concern for a porch light.

 

[tk2k]

Now the only bulbs in my household that regularly see 4 hours of use per day are my porch lights, and I have qualms about exposing a $30 LED lamp to the outdoor temperature extremes. Anyone have any experience with this?

Funny, this is one of the only electronics i've found which doesn't specify an operations climate

And yup, they had to put heaters in the ones in Boston

 

[FMEng]

Funny, this is one of the only electronics i've found which doesn't specify an operations climate

And yup, they had to put heaters in the ones in Boston

Is the heater for keeping the LED within operating temperature or for deicing the lens?

 

[chausman]

Is the heater for keeping the LED within operating temperature or for deicing the lens?

De-ice the lens.

The Consumerist » Power-Saving LED Traffic Lights Can’t Melt Snow, Cause Accident
LED traffic lights don't melt snow, ice buildup | Wichita Eagle
City seeks help from motorists to identify ice-encrusted traffic lights | Universal Hub

as just a few examples.

 

[techieman33]

Just be careful putting them in an enclosed space, they can cook themselves to death just like a CFL.

 

[Edrick]

The place the heat comes from with an LED is the driver. Traffic lights drivers are remotely located hence the icing issue.

 

[headcrab]

Any PN junction exhibits power loss. LEDs will generate heat; high power LEDs will naturally generate more. I would expect there to be more heat produced in the LED array than in the driver, assuming its a decent driver and not just a resistor.

 

[Edrick]

Fromt what I know LEDs do generate some heat also, but not nearly as much as their incandescent counterparts.

 

[tjrobb]

We are looking to those exact lamps for our lobby. We have a test burn in our basement now, love the light quality. If anyone wants, I can get a side by side by side of incandescent, CFL, and LED down there. Quite revealing.

 

[BillESC]

My garage is lit with LED fluorescent lamps. This a non HVAC space and there have been no issues.

 

[techieman33]

My garage is lit with LED fluorescent lamps. This a non HVAC space and there have been no issues.

That's plenty of air space for them. I was referring to putting them in a small globe like on a ceiling fan.

 

[jonliles]

Now the only bulbs in my household that regularly see 4 hours of use per day are my porch lights, and I have qualms about exposing a $30 LED lamp to the outdoor temperature extremes. Anyone have any experience with this?

I have 2 Phillips Exterior Flood lights that I bought 3 years ago, at $80 each at the local big box. The are on from 6PM to midnight everyday. I'm not overlly thrilled with the color of the light (they are extremely bright white to the blue range), but they have more than adequately illuminate my backyard. In that same location, I was replace the lamp in each socket at least twice a year ( the filaments get bounced around alot by slamming doors and children and they tend to fail often). To quantify that, I did by outdoor rated LED Floods.

0.09 per KWH is my current rate (Marietta GA, Cobb EMC). They consume each 18W vs the 100W floods I had. At 100W each assuming - including replacement costs, my cost was about $190. At 18 W each for the LEDs, only 1 set purchased in that same time frame, my cost is $181. Over the 3 year period, the LEDs have been cheaper than the tradiotnal 100W pars. Now, I can buy that same lamp for <40.00ea for a projected 3 year cost of $101.00 vs $190. Now I am replacing the 2 other outdoor flood pairs (4 lamps) I have. More out of pocket up front, but cheaper overall in the intermediate term.