Just grousing

[monophoto]

A lot of people don't like the 'new' LED light bulbs. I'm not one of them - I like the fact that bulbs are available that use significantly less energy without generating so must wasted heat.

But shopping for a light bulb has become entirely too complicated. Indoor versus all weather, form factor, equivalent power rating, light output in lumens, color temperature, dimmable or not, etc. And there is a corollary to Murphy's Law that says that the store will never have the specific combination you need.

Wife greeted me this morning with news that the bulb in one of the breakfast room POTS had burned out, so I go to the hardware store for a replacement. I didn't know that 65w indoor LED flood lights came in both 3" (BR30) and 4" (BR40) diameters, and of course I got the wrong one. That's OK - I just replaced the lamp in both of the POTS, and stashed the good one in the shop as a replacement for the POT over the kitchen sink. I did learn that they now have bulbs with a switch on the side that allows you to select the desired color temperature - that's a welcome innovation and eliminates one variable.

 

[Woodchipper]

It's a lot more complicated now. Used to work in Lowe's electrical 25 years ago. Now the lighting and bulb displays are high tech.
Just think, if it wasn't for Thomas Edison, we would be watching TV by candlelight.

 

[rixstix]

Yep, especially IF they last a while before burning out. The Costco bulbs last about 3 months with occasional use & less time on daily, longer use when they are in an enclosed fixture. The wrong temperature can really foul up the look of a room. I now make sure the bulb is enclosed rated.

All of our bulbs are now LED more for the sake of being able to use a smaller generator for power outages. The house can "get by" on 120 volt only 2kw inverter generator; though It's a bit more comfortable to use the 4 kw inverter gen.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

I find them way too sharp, and the light is too pointed - it doesn't wash the room like old bulbs did. My favourite are mini cfl bulbs

 

[KenB259]

A lot of people don't like the 'new' LED light bulbs. I'm not one of them - I like the fact that bulbs are available that use significantly less energy without generating so must wasted heat.

But shopping for a light bulb has become entirely too complicated. Indoor versus all weather, form factor, equivalent power rating, light output in lumens, color temperature, dimmable or not, etc. And there is a corollary to Murphy's Law that says that the store will never have the specific combination you need.

Wife greeted me this morning with news that the bulb in one of the breakfast room POTS had burned out, so I go to the hardware store for a replacement. I didn't know that 65w indoor LED flood lights came in both 3" (BR30) and 4" (BR40) diameters, and of course I got the wrong one. That's OK - I just replaced the lamp in both of the POTS, and stashed the good one in the shop as a replacement for the POT over the kitchen sink. I did learn that they now have bulbs with a switch on the side that allows you to select the desired color temperature - that's a welcome innovation and eliminates one variable.

One stupid question, what does "POTS", stand for?

 

[Alan Morrison]

One stupid question, what does "POTS", stand for?

You asked before I did!

 

[monophoto]

One stupid question, what does "POTS", stand for?

Recessed lights, aka Pot Lights.

 

[leehljp]

Light colors change with aging! When LEDs came out in home centers, I was living in Japan and noticed immediately what your OP first line says: "use significantly less energy without generating so must wasted heat." I changed all of our light bulbs out with LEDs and our electric bill in the summer was cut in half. For our house in the USA, I did the same when I came home and again the electric bill dropped in the summer after changing the bulbs out.

There was one problem with the LEDs for me. I tried different K bulbs - 3000°, 4000°, 5000° and 6000°. I settled on 5000K all around, first in Japan. Then I came home in 2011 and bought 5000K bulbs here (USA). Over the next two or three years, I was dissatisfied with the 5000K bulbs here in the USA. I almost bought 6000K bulbs for replacements but held off. The 5000K looked like the few 4000K that I had purchased and used in Japan. I had come to the conclusion that the "K" labels were not strict standards.

THEN in 2023, I had cataract surgery and suddenly the 5000K bulbs quit looking like 4000K that I had in Japan. Aging and specifically cataracts change the colors of lights!

 

[bsshog40]

I actually like the leds. I first changed out all our bulbs in our rv. Much brighter plus the old bulbs were actually causing burns in the plastic housings. We also had two undercabinet flourescent lights in our kitchen and one was burned out. Replaced those with leds. They can be put on dim for a nightlight in the kitchen and bright when needed. I put 6 5k 48" leds in my shop. Bright as daylight in there. All 6 may use all of 3 amps combined.

 

[monophoto]

THEN in 2023, I had cataract surgery and suddenly the 5000K bulbs quit looking like 4000K that I had in Japan. Aging and specifically cataracts change the colors of lights!

Very true - cataracts are a condition in which the natural lens in the eye becomes cloudy, and that cloudiness tends to have a yellow tint. But when cataracts are removed and replaced with un-tinted interocular implants, normal color perception is restored.

My eye doctor also explained that cloudy lens are very slightly heavier than normal lenses, so that if you develop a cataract in one eye but not the other, the eye with the cataract will sag slightly, causes that eye to not focus at the same point as the normal eye. That is why one of the side effects of having a cataract is that your vision isn't as sharp, and when you have the corrective surgery, that problem goes away.

 

[Lew]

THEN in 2023, I had cataract surgery and suddenly the 5000K bulbs quit looking like 4000K that I had in Japan. Aging and specifically cataracts change the colors of lights!

I painted my living room with a color called Cream In My Coffee. I argued with my daughter for several years that it was a light tan color hence the coffee in the name. She said it was white hence the cream in the name. After cataract surgery I had to call and admit that for the first time in my life I was wrong. It is white.