Looking into converting the whole house over to LED light bulbs. Any input?

[JettaKnight]

You are using an incompatible dimmer, CountryBoy. I had the same issue with my garage. I installed an occupancy sensor to turn the lights on/off automatically. But when the motion would turn off, the LEDs (and I think the CFLs ) would continue a weird, dim glow.

I had to add an extra load to fix it. (I changed one bulb to a 40w incandescent and they stopped)

New sensors have a neutral line instead of using a small trickle of current through the load to power the sensor. That technique worked great when the tungsten would let some current through without any effect, but those days are over.

That's why every switchbox should have a neutral run to it. I think that's code in the latest NEC.

 

[saleen4971]

i havee a mix of cree and phillips. zero issues with any of them.

in the automotive community (aftermarket retrofitting) cree and phillips are the two go-to names.

it is worth noting that i was at HD the other day, and the phillips slim style "60 watt equivalent" LED bulbs were going for 2.97 a pop, so i grabbed half a dozen my new house is all LED and CFL now - come fixtures are either too narrow for the phillips, or use a GU24 base (wtf)

even in my apartment, i saw a noticable change in my IPL bills by switching to LED.

 

[Sheepdog Gear]

Sure hope I'm happy with these....

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Jeezopeez, how many lamps do you have in that mansion there, dude? You know you won't be having to replace them any time soon, right?

 

[Sheepdog Gear]

Jeezopeez, how many lamps do you have in that mansion there, dude? You know you won't be having to replace them any time soon, right?

Well, not so much a mansion. Ha ha! Every flush mount ceiling light takes 3 A19's. Then there's all the BR30 can lights, (mainly in the basement). The kitchen, dining room, and foyer take quite a few. I also decided to get 5 extra of each for spares. Probably a dumb move considering the "shouldn't" burn out. I realize the payoff won't be right away.

I also did the research and made sure I have lower Kelvin in the living rooms, kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms. Higher Kelvin in the laundry, office, garage, and kid's play room. That's what I'm most worried about. Color temperature can ruin a house.

 

[JettaKnight]

Wow.

It might be better to replace those three lamp Edison fixtures with new fixtures are integrated LED, not screw-in.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Ok, not so bad then. It got me thinking through the house and ballparking how many lamps and fixtures I have. All my recessed lights are one at a time, the only thing I added to was I put quads in the basement, but 2 100W incandescents were seriously weak down there.

 

[Sheepdog Gear]

Wow.

It might be better to replace those three lamp Edison fixtures with new fixtures are integrated LED, not screw-in.

The Edisons, (also LED) are going in these....

I thought about just getting the flush mount fixtures in LED, (and yes it would have been cheaper) but if it fails, the whole thing has to get replaced. Not only that, my wattage / lumen / Kelvin choices would be very limited.

 

[steverino]

Go to Home Depot and view the LED lighting display. The different color temperatures are easy to see and evaluate. You will probably want a warmer white for indoors but a cooler temperature for the garage. Get advice from the clerk on brands, they have a good selection with more being available over time. You can do one room at a time for cost although I have seen Ace Hardware having sales on LEDs in the past few months. However, they are still expensive. Also, there a ratio of Lumen output to electricity watts that varies per bulb. The key is the most lumens per watt. Don't go by the "watt equivalent" on the packaging. It is a guide but the lumens is what governs the actual output.

 

[Sheepdog Gear]

Go to Home Depot and view the LED lighting display. The different color temperatures are easy to see and evaluate. You will probably want a warmer white for indoors but a cooler temperature for the garage. Get advice from the clerk on brands, they have a good selection with more being available over time. You can do one room at a time for cost although I have seen Ace Hardware having sales on LEDs in the past few months. However, they are still expensive. Also, there a ratio of Lumen output to electricity watts that varies per bulb. The key is the most lumens per watt. Don't go by the "watt equivalent" on the packaging. It is a guide but the lumens is what governs the actual output.

This is true and I've gone to Lowe's to compare. But nothing really compares to how you will perceive the temperatures in your own home, with your own furniture, and with your own colors.

 

[JettaKnight]

The Edisons, (also LED) are going in these....

The old style glowing filament are really cool.


Actually, when I said 'Edison' I was referring to the medium Edison screw base (E26), which all of those lamps you bought are.

Hopefully, with the long life of LEDs, we can start to gain from freedom from that restriction.

 

[Sheepdog Gear]

The old style glowing filament are really cool.


Actually, when I said 'Edison' I was referring to the medium Edison screw base (E26), which all of those lamps you bought are.

Hopefully, with the long life of LEDs, we can start to gain from freedom from that restriction.

Oh. Sorry. Ha ha!

 

[Scout]

Heh, yeah for a factory or warehouse or something you definitely want the mercury vapor or high pressure sodium. Both very efficient, each fixture costs more but you need a lot fewer of them.

I work in a factory and we've been switching to t5 fluorescents.