New Crop of LED Filament Bulbs Look Almost Exactly Like Incandescents

An anonymous reader writes A recent article posted on a green building site gives a detailed analysis of a creative new kind of LED bulb that has been popping up Europe and Asia over the last year. They look almost exactly like Tungsten filament bulbs, require no heat sink, and offer extremely high efficiencies in the 100-120 lm/W range. The article describes their construction, compares them to conventional LED bulbs, and describes the result of a report by the Swedish Energey Agency that analyzed the performance of several brands of these these bulbs on the European market. Particularly interesting are links to teardown videos.

Comments

The retro bulbs look fantastic.

[mellon]

We have a bunch of these--had to mail order them, since they aren't available at retail yet. They look very realistic, and produce a nice warm light. I wouldn't want them for my only lighting, but compared to the old fake edison bulbs, they are fantastic--no stupid excess of heat, and much more efficient.

Re:The retro bulbs look fantastic.

[Khomar]

I am curious if they still have the property of not attracting insects. One of the things we discovered while in Texas is that LED bulbs were great for outdoor lighting when you didn't want to attract insects like a normal light bulb inevitably does. Apparently, it has to do with the LED lights not transmitting light at certain frequencies. With a warmer light, they may be transmitting frequencies now that will attract insects. It would be great for indoor lighting, but it loses the benefit when used outdoors.

Re:My LED bulb didn't last!

[Greyfox]

Really? I've been replacing bulbs with LEDs for the last 3 years. I have 5 now that are 3 years old and one that's been on constantly for 2 years and have not had any fail yet.

I'm gearing up for phase 2, which involves replacing 4 or 5 of the big CFL tube bulbs with LED replacements. The current tube bulbs are at least that old, too. I'm going to have to rewire a bunch of ballasts to put the new LED lights in. The LED tubes in the store put out easily as much light as the CFLs they're replacing. So, um, maybe you just have shitty power or something.

Re:This is a bug not a feature

[Alomex]

The conclusion that your childens' stated preference is based on color alone is non-sequitur, at best. At worst, it's a blatant red herring.

Except for the minor fact that they said so themselves. Here's the quote again for your benefit "they describe it as artificially yellow".

I also gave evidence that this has happened before, when we transitioned from gas light to incandescent light. Lastly even today people prefer the somewhat whiter hue of halogen over regular incandescent yellow, indicating that the present yellow isn't really all that is made to be.

Now, and here's something you don't seem to be aware of, constructing an argument is different than a logical proof. E.g. "he had a gun, motive and opportunity. He was at the scene of the crime and was seen running away after shoots were fired". It does not logically follow that the person did the crime and it would be a logical fallacy to state as much, yet it is the reasonable and logical conclusion nonetheless.

Re:My LED bulb didn't last!

[Harlequin80]

Same here. I don't have a single CFL or incandescent left in the house except for the light that is in my oven and the lights in my bathroom heatlamps. The one in our stairwell is on 24/7. I have not had a single one flicker or dim let alone blow.

I replaced all our light fittings with sealed unit flush mounts. They cost me $25 AU from a retail store. I went for day light white though rather than the yellow, takes a little getting used to but now I would struggle to go back to warm white.