scross
join:2002-09-13
Cordova, TN | [Green ] Walmart gets aggressive on LED bulb pricing Walmart gets aggressive on LED light bulb pricing with new line starting under $9
»www.theverge.com/2013/10/3/47986···-pricing |
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 pikePremium,MVM
join:2001-02-01
Washington, DC
kudos:3
1 recommendation | Great, because every time Walmart forces lower prices on their suppliers, quality takes off. 
That news article reads like a press release. Is that typical of the Verge?
I appreciate the article and it's nice to see LED prices dropping but this isn't good news. As nunya  has pointed out on several occasions, when LEDs start to hit mass market the quality is going to tank just as we saw with CFLs. The promised ROI in energy savings, even with the lower initial cost, will be non existent when users are constantly replacing poorly manufactured lamps. |
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robbinPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX
kudos:1 | said by pike:when LEDs start to hit mass market the quality is going to tank Hmmm -- has that happened with computers over the last 25 years or LCD TVs over the last 10? |
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 Lurch77Premium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4 | Lets keep it apple to apples. It has happened with CFL bulbs. |
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robbinPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX
kudos:1 | A candle emits light but is not an apples to apples comparison to incandesant light. LEDs are semi-conductors so the comparison to other semi-conductor devices seems appropriate. |
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Lurch77Premium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4
1 recommendation | I do hope you're right. My gut tells me we will not be seeing the quality and longevity we have been promised over the years. We have already seen issues with many LED bulbs. Hopefully those were growing pains and everything will work out. |
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| reply to scross
That's good news. Hopefully states the subsidized them will have them around $2-3 each since they are $9 right now. |
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| reply to scross
I bought several of the $8.88 60W LED bulbs from Walmart about 2 months ago. So far I am impressed. They are no where near as hot as the old style bulbs and are instant on unlike some CFL's that I have. |
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 SparkChaserPremium
join:2000-06-06
Downingtown, PA
kudos:3
1 recommendation | reply to scross
Local HD is selling the Cree 60W@$8 and the 40W@$5
The Cree is the best I've seen of the low price LED. I haven't seen the W*mart. |
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AsherNPremium
join:2010-08-23
Thornhill, ON
1 recommendation | reply to robbin
said by robbin:A candle emits light but is not an apples to apples comparison to incandesant light. LEDs are semi-conductors so the comparison to other semi-conductor devices seems appropriate.
It's not the LED quality that is the big concern. It's the rest of the circuitry.
The cost of the light is not so much the LED itself, but the rest of the stuff that's in the unit. Given a certain quality, there is only so cheap it can be manufactured. That's why you see many electronic devices reach a certain price level and not go cheaper. More features are usually added, almost all software implementation, but the manufacturing cost is fixed. LED lights have no software, so once critical mass has been achieved, the only way to lower prices is to drop quality. |
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 fartnesscomputersoc dot comPremium
join:2003-03-25
Look Outside | reply to SparkChaser
said by SparkChaser:Local HD is selling the Cree 60W@$8 and the 40W@$5
The Cree is the best I've seen of the low price LED. I haven't seen the W*mart.
HD here has the 60W for almost $13 and the 40W for almost $10. I bought two 60W for my dimmer and kept the receipt in case the price goes down or my buyers remorse sets in even more. They did get rid of the "buzz" noise I'd hear on this dimmer with CFLs (I know I shouldn't have used them), incandesants and heavy duty incandesants. That part makes me happy at least. I won't see cost savings for probably 10 years. That's why I'm not "upgrading" my other CFLs around the house yet. I bought the CFLs that are instant on (I think GE from HD) and am happy with them. They turn on instantly and produce enough light, then get brighter. |
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1 edit | reply to AsherN
said by AsherN:said by robbin:A candle emits light but is not an apples to apples comparison to incandesant light. LEDs are semi-conductors so the comparison to other semi-conductor devices seems appropriate.
It's not the LED quality that is the big concern. It's the rest of the circuitry. The cost of the light is not so much the LED itself, but the rest of the stuff that's in the unit. Given a certain quality, there is only so cheap it can be manufactured. That's why you see many electronic devices reach a certain price level and not go cheaper. More features are usually added, almost all software implementation, but the manufacturing cost is fixed. LED lights have no software, so once critical mass has been achieved, the only way to lower prices is to drop quality. To a degree prices are fix but the more they sell the more they buy materials so the bigger bulk discount they can get again to a point. Companies can redesign how they work as well to reduce the required components. Components get better over time as well so costs can drop there. Even the assembly process improves over time most likely from human to automation. Working in a billion dollar manufacturing company I see how we reduce costs (Six Sigma) yet still meet the high FAA regs with flying colors. Part of what we do is LED lights as well. We design them from scratch for custom applications like the Blackhawk tail rotor retrofit, F-35 JSF, UCAV, or 787 mood lights. |
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 ProtusMoseImmortal. Eternal.Premium
join:2001-10-03
Bellevue, NE
kudos:4 | reply to pike
I thought the CFLs were supposed to last 10 years? I have bulbs in my house that were there before I put CFLs in and have outburned them side by side. |
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bbear2Premium
join:2003-10-06
94045
kudos:3 | The thing about CFLs is they don't like to be cycled on/off/on/off/on. It's the starting and warming up that wears them out. If you can train yourself to turn them on and leave them on at least 10-15 mins, they will last much longer. I have many of the $0.25 variety at 21W, 23W, and 28W lasting 4 years and still going strong. |
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 Anonymous_AnonymousPremium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
kudos:2 | Halogen bulb are better |
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SparkChaserPremium
join:2000-06-06
Downingtown, PA
kudos:3 | Than? Why? |
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Wyngs
join:2010-02-20
Coos Bay, OR | reply to ProtusMose
Well, they certainly last long enough for me. I bought my first CFL when it was near $40 a long time ago. Over the years I have lost three. I was replacing an incandescent bulb somewhere in the house at least twice monthly. |
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 djrobxPremium
join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
kudos:2
 ·VOIPo
 ·Verizon Wireless..
 ·Time Warner Cable
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| reply to robbin
said by robbin:A candle emits light but is not an apples to apples comparison to incandesant light. LEDs are semi-conductors so the comparison to other semi-conductor devices seems appropriate.
I put in LED landscape lighting last year. In under a year I already have an issue with one bulb that blinks like a turn signal. I also had one of my interior EcoSmart LED bulbs fail.
If cost cutting causes these issues to become more common, it's definitely not a good thing.
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Anonymous_AnonymousPremium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Time Warner Cable
4 edits | reply to SparkChaser
1) it's more eco friendly compared to a CFL bulb (see #2)
2) No chance of heavy metals getting in the water.
3) People leave CFL's on 24/7 which in turns cause more green house gases because of increased power usage.
4) no flickering of bulb or warm up time, works in ALL temperatures |
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 leiboldPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
kudos:8
 ·SONIC.NET
| I suggest that you look up the definition of halogen before you praise it too much for its eco friendliness. Halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine) are all toxic elements. In very small doses they can be (and frequently are) used to disinfect but they are all deadly in larger quantity. As such they aren't all that different from mercury.
--
Got some spare cpu cycles ? Join Team Helix or Team Starfire! |
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Anonymous_AnonymousPremium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Time Warner Cable
3 edits | said by leibold:I suggest that you look up the definition of halogen before you praise it too much for its eco friendliness. Halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine) are all toxic elements. In very small doses they can be (and frequently are) used to disinfect but they are all deadly in larger quantity. As such they aren't all that different from mercury.
General Electric claims that none of the materials making up their halogen lamps would cause the lamps to be classified as hazardous waste
who here recycles the CFLS they use?
Answer: no one there for a lot of mercury is being released into the atmosphere.
maybe a deposit fee should be charged to encourage recycling |
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| reply to scross
I have a CFL over my kitchen sink that we leave on 24/7. Never know in the middle of the night when you want to go get something to drink or whatever, plus the animals food and water is in the kitchen.
Anyway it's starting to periodically flicker, so I guess it's time to replace it. Think the LED would really save money over CFL? Its a flood light looking bulb because it fits in the can light over the sink perfectly. I guess I can put a regular bulb in there and have all the extra blank space around the bulb in the can...
Thing is that one review says that the LED base gets really hot. My understanding is heat is wasted energy. OK so if the light only takes a very minimum amount of power to work, what about all the wasted energy in heat output or the transformer loss, because I sure know that LED doesn't run on 120V.... so something is drastically stepping that down. |
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leiboldPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
kudos:8 Reviews:
·SONIC.NET
| LED lights save energy compared to incandescent (including halogen) lights but are on a similar level of efficiency as CFL.
With the current low cost of CFL bulbs it is hard to safe money with an LED bulb even if the longevity claims of LED bulbs were true (which I'm very much doubting). There clearly are advantages to LED lighting but cost saving over CFL is not one of them, at least not at this point in time.
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Got some spare cpu cycles ? Join Team Helix or Team Starfire! |
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 KA3SGM- -... ...- -Premium
join:2006-01-17
West Chester, PA
kudos:1
·Verizon FiOS
| reply to scross
The point a lot of people are missing, is that the LED's are mostly DIMMABLE, whereas most CFL's are not.
Plus, the color temperature of LED's don't shift really bad when dimmed, as compared to a dimmable CFL.
You can put the higher Lumen LED's in, and keep them dimmed as low as you want, but only turn them up when you need the most amount of light.
Extra energy savings most of the time, full brightness in an instant, but only when you need it.
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ROCK 'TIL SUNSET |
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Anonymous_AnonymousPremium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Time Warner Cable
| reply to leibold
said by leibold:I suggest that you look up the definition of halogen before you praise it too much for its eco friendliness. Halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine) are all toxic elements. In very small doses they can be (and frequently are) used to disinfect but they are all deadly in larger quantity. As such they aren't all that different from mercury.
Fluorine is the thirteenth most common element in Earth's crust, comprising between 600 and 700 ppm of the crust by mass
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Live Free or Die Hard... |
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Lurch77Premium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4
1 edit | reply to Anonymous_
said by Anonymous_:3) People leave CFL's on 24/7 which in turns cause more green house gases because of increased power usage.
I don't leave my CFLs on 24/7. But even if I did, I'd like to see the energy usage between a CFL and a halogen. I'm too lazy to look it up, but I'd bet a CFL or LED uses as much energy in 24 hours as an equivalent halogen does in a few hours. A great deal of halogen bulb energy is lost as heat. This makes for two issues. Low lighting efficiency compared to other type of bulbs, and you have a lot of extra heat being put into your structure. Depending on the season you now have extra heat load on the structure that needs to be handled, which uses more energy.
This article from 2007 foreseen the future. And it is not halogen. »www.smh.com.au/news/environment/···498.html |
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| reply to KA3SGM
I have four dimmable CFL's in our ceiling fan/light fixture. They work just fine, and I can assure you, they are dimmable. They cost more, but again, they can be dimmed. Bought them at the local big box home center. |
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