LED Lighting

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1923 posts

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#645883 25-Jun-2012 13:54

Jimmy22: More likely they are cutting corners making the bulbs, don’t understand them and are trying to make a back door knock off one without knowing the critical issues with sourcing and mounting the components. There are some incomprehensibly dodgy suppliers in China right next door to state of the art ones. some brands will rise to the top of the market over time based on the exp of early adopters , i think Philips will be up there and anyone using Cree leds and the like with the right background ;)

I've worked at a place that was supplied what were eventually determined to be 'counterfeit' IC's through the regular buying source. (we're talking <$2 parts here). On investigation the most likely source of these was that they were rejects from the usual manufacturer/supplier that were 'dumped' to a different reseller. I doubt they wouldn't use similar practices for LED bulbs.

Niel

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#645921 25-Jun-2012 15:23

220V vs. 240V is only a potential issue if the product is a resistive load. Anything switch mode don't care as it is within the normal range of operation. If anyone wants to argue differently, please give an example.

Counterfeit parts is a real problem even for official supply chains. The towel rail timer I mentioned before had a counterfeit capacitor which cost less than 10c. With ICs it is often recovered parts as there is more control over rejects in the semiconductor fabrication plants.

A house needs ventilation. I was told during my studies that central heating requires approximately 10% fresh air per hour, and that was in a country where mould is not an issue and walls are made of brick. My down lights are rated CA with <5% opening, which becomes much less when I fit a Viribright LED. The heat sink screws hard up against the reflector and the remaining opening is just the gaps between the heat sink fins. I can actually feel a difference when going from a room with LEDs fitted and a room with incandescent bulbs fitted.

The worst case additional heat required for CA fittings is probably in Wellington when the wind is blowing hard causing pressure differentials (if not drafts) to suck air out through light fittings. I find if no wind then our home is significantly warmer despite the same outside ambient temperature.

You can never have enough Volvos!

Jimmy22

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#645924 25-Jun-2012 15:29

if you had to vent perhaps better to vent at floor level ? else you are discharging the hottest air in the room instead of potentially the coldest swapped for colder ? There is a house on line some where that "breathes" through its composting toilet with the rest of the house sealed , seems to work ok . I pop my windows open for 1/2 hour every day rain hail shine. Saves 600w of dehumidifier. Annnnnd back to LEDs ....

Technofreak

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#645935 25-Jun-2012 15:49

Niel:
A house needs ventilation. I was told during my studies that central heating requires approximately 10% fresh air per hour, and that was in a country where mould is not an issue and walls are made of brick. My down lights are rated CA with <5% opening, which becomes much less when I fit a Viribright LED. The heat sink screws hard up against the reflector and the remaining opening is just the gaps between the heat sink fins. I can actually feel a difference when going from a room with LEDs fitted and a room with incandescent bulbs fitted.

So you're saying the rooms with the LED's are warmer due to the smaller gaps around the fitting?

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Niel

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#645997 25-Jun-2012 17:14

Technofreak: So you're saying the rooms with the LED's are warmer due to the smaller gaps around the fitting?

Yes, much smaller gap because of larger LED bulb cuts down on draft but still enough to keep bulb cool. Notice it when I come home in the afternoon walking from one room to another. And all windows are closed, the only significant gaps are light fittings and front door, the back door is sealed.

You can never have enough Volvos!

Niel

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#646002 25-Jun-2012 17:18

Venting at floor level is not good for Summer ;-).

Payback time for the Viribright 8W LED is under 6 months at 4-5h use per day. I'm happy keeping the receipt that long in case I need to exchange it. I refuse to use CFLs for a number of reasons, primarily due to UV and light quality and fragility.

You can never have enough Volvos!

Niel

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#647845 28-Jun-2012 21:26

I've bought another 4 ViriBright 8W warm white bulbs so now I own 12. They get used a lot, between 5 and 10 hours per day. Payback is about 6 months, and I am keeping the receipts just in case. Will update here if there is any development.

To get balance on bulb infant failure, a heat lamp in our en-suite failed after exactly 6 months of about 30 to 45 minutes use per day. That is roughly 120h use when it failed. It is a Manrose branded bulb that came with a $200 Manrose fitting, not a cheap Warehouse bulb. Branded 275W heat lamp bulbs cost similar to the ViriBright 8W LED bulbs. It happens, and global economics unfortunately means sometimes there are bad batches or quality issues. Annoying, but it happens. I did choose to replace it with a cheap $5 Elto bulb, will see how that goes.

You can never have enough Volvos!

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richms

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#647857 28-Jun-2012 21:36

Worst lamps for failures I have found beyond the 50c incandesents are the really cheap 150w par38 ones that come with the really cheap sensor lights. They are about the only lamps that dont outlast those sensors however ;) and they are so orange and dim that a 80w GE will do better and not look as depressing.

Richard rich.ms

Niel

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#647899 28-Jun-2012 22:29

Friend at work has gone for 3W LEDs for his sensor light. Claims it is more than enough to see your way, like bright moonlight which is all he wants in Waitakere (West Auckland). He is the guy that did triple glazing and double thing exterior walls with 2 layers of insulation. He needs cooling in winter.

Best sensor light I've ever had is a cheap one with a 150W halogen tube. No idea where I got it from, might have been the shop that became Bunnings. Tube would last over 5 years and if sensing movement while the light is on it will reset the time-out so the light does not go off while you still need light.

You can never have enough Volvos!

richms

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#647912 28-Jun-2012 22:50

Im getting the securimax ones in the yellow box to replace the elto ones as they die now. not much more expensive and they have the decency to use stainless screws on them.

Still come with 2 junk lamps. I tried some CFL Par38's but they are like nightlights when they first turn on in winter. Waiting on some grunty LEDs to replace the incandescent with. But based on my viribright failures I might just wait a little longer.

Richard rich.ms

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#651246 5-Jul-2012 13:09

Free report on LED Lighting by consumer NZ

http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/led-cost-comparisons

Niel

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#651378 5-Jul-2012 15:39

Note the test report was with older $40 to $100 LED bulbs. No use they do not list what they tested (I guess unless you pay for the report?).

You can never have enough Volvos!

Skolink

1081 posts

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#651422 5-Jul-2012 16:43

Niel: Note the test report was with older $40 to $100 LED bulbs. No use they do not list what they tested (I guess unless you pay for the report?).

Since the test was paid for by the EECA, there is no restricted content. That's all the detail there is.

MattR

224 posts

Master Geek

#665123 1-Aug-2012 08:17

So far I've had 2 of 4 of my 11w ViriBrights fail, while 0 from 16 failure on the 8w. I don't think I'll be buying any more of the 11's :(

richms

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#665187 1-Aug-2012 09:36

I got an 11 by mistake in one batch and it was hopeless compared to the 8. Had no more failures from the viribrights and they have been getting a hell of a lot of use so I am guessing I just had some early failures on the 8's

Richard rich.ms

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