US introduces $60 LED light bulb (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

A prize-winning light bulb that lasts for 20 years is going on sale in the US on Sunday - also known as Earth Day.

Made by Dutch electronics giant Philips, the bulb swaps filaments for light-emitting diodes to provide illumination.

Using LEDs endows the light with a long life and a hefty price tag. The first versions are set to cost $60 (£37).

Philips has arranged discounts with shops that will sell the bulb meaning some could buy it for only $20 (£12).
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Production of 100 watt bulbs has ceased in the US and Europe. Production of of 60 watt bulbs has been stopped in Europe and is being phased out in the US. From 2014, incandescent bulbs of 40 watts or above will be banned in the US.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17788178

[XemaSab]

1. $20 and I'd buy it

$60... is excessive.

[txlibdem]

8. You'll be able to get them for that price

or maybe just a little more.

But even at $60 the bulb would pay for itself before it wore out. I'll never buy another incandescent or CFL again. It's LED only for me.

PS, to calculate how many years it would take to pay for itself (and then start generating profit for you) depends on your electric rates, how many hours per day the light will be on, etc.

I pay 12 cents per kilowatt hour where I live. This bulb would pay for itself in 7 years if I paid $60 for it -- and it lasts for 20 years. Win, win.

[Kennah]

2. For now, I'll stick with CFLs and recycle them at Big Box hardware stores free

[Sherman A1]

3. Agreed

I will want to fully understand just how these bulbs will be better that CFL's before I spend that much on them. I am sure that they are far better than incandescent, but I have nothing but CFL's now, so I can wait a bit.

[longship]

6. Lifetime, energy use and recycle factors

LED bulbs have huge lifetimes. AFAIK, the limit isn't the LED's themselves but the circuitry to interface with 120 volt AC power, that's also part of their expense since LEDs only need a few volts DC.

LEDs only need a trickle of power even compared to CFLs. Again, some power is lost to convert 120 VAC to operating DC voltage of the LEDs. Even that can be made fairy efficient, I suppose. Maybe it would be better to separate this step down voltage and conversion to DC centrally in a house so that all lighting would have a separate DC source. Sure would bring the cost down.

AFAIK, LED lights have no recycle issues.

[caraher]

9. This brings up something I've wondered...

What fraction of the electricity a typical household uses would best be delivered as DC power? If you have a solar photovoltaic array you're getting DC straight from the panels, and if you wanted to light something with that the best choice would seem to be DC for the LEDs directly. Similarly, if you walk around any home, almost every piece of electronics has a rectifier in it someplace.

The advantage of AC is mainly that it's easy to step voltages up and down with transformers. This ability to easily generate high voltages helps limit transmission losses by reducing the current needed to deliver power over long distances, but for electricity produced where it's being consumed this isn't really an important factor.

[longship]

11. Standards would help here

For instance, all power supplies in most electronics today require +- 5 volts and +- 12 volts. (+- means both positive and negative voltages might be required). Digital circuits almost always require only +5V.

If I were designing an energy efficient house, I would centralize rectification at the point AC power comes into the house, and distribute the power to the various devices, lights, etc. I would bet that if one could reduce losses there would be significant savings.

Unfortunately, try to buy a computer, TV, refridgerator, air conditioning, or other appliance that ran on DC. There would have to be cooperation by manufacturers. I could build a computer that did this, but if one went without some of the other things -- the fridge and central heating would be a problem -- you could easily do it.

[madokie]

10. I have my house wired where I could do that

Each ceiling light is on its own circuit with at least one receptacle in each room likewise. I was thinking along these lines when I rewired this new/old house we purchased at a sheriffs auction.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. With a value like that, you'd have people unscrewing and taking those light bulbs

with them when they moved.

[madokie]

5. People already do that now

or used to back when I was single moving from one rental to another.

[Dead_Parrot]

14. Hell, the last person in my my house did that...

...and they were incandescents.
Git.

[txlibdem]

7. It'll pay for itself in just a few years

The bulb puts out 900+ lumens (average for 60 watt incandescent is 840) but it only uses 9.7 watts.

http://www.lightingprize.org/60watttest.stm

I own one of the early Philips LED bulbs and I love it. LED bulbs have none of the problems of CFLs, the biggest of which is toxic Mercury used in CFL bulbs.

I'll never buy another CFL, it's LEDs only for me from here on out.

[hunter]

12. So far I've got 2 LED can lights, both "scratch & dent" rejects from high-end construction projects.

The price of LEDs is still intimidating to me, especially when I can buy subsidized compact fluorescents for a dollar.

[OnlinePoker]

13. I don't know where they're getting their figures from.

Home Depot has the Philips 12w (60w equivalent) on in a 4 pack for $98. This is the type I bought and they are fantastic with great light. They also have on the 8w (40w equiv) in a 4 pack for $85, the 17w (75w equiv) in a 4 for $156, and, for some reason, the 10w (60w equiv and award winner - probably the one from the article) in a single pack for $50. These prices include free delivery. For the energy savings of the 8w over 10w, the cost doesn't justify the extra $25 a bulb.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/Search?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&keyword=philips%20led&Ns=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL

[caraher]

15. I guess those are "list" prices

The 4-pack price is getting into the right neighborhood!