LED Light Bulbs

[Ace of Pop]

Can You buy them here yet.?.

[Ace of Pop]

LED LIGHT BULBS.

[villagefarang]

Sure, I have several installed and purchased at normal lighting shops.

[MJCM]

[Crossy]

Absolutely, even Tesco have them.

You can also get LED 'fluorescent' tubes and fittings for the round ceiling lights.

EDIT If you are out in the sticks I would scatter surge arrestors around if you don't already have them, the low-cost Chinese units (most of them) can be a bit fragile when it comes to iffy power.

[TheCruncher]

And are they any good?

[Crossy]

And are they any good?

See my edit above

[Tywais]

I also have some I got at Tesco Lotus. Believe 4 watt version and it is bright. Use one as a back light behind my plasma tv for ambiance.

[MJCM]

<snip>

EDIT If you are out in the sticks I would scatter surge arrestors around if you don't already have them, the low-cost Chinese units (most of them) can be a bit fragile when it comes to iffy power.

I am in the sticks and I have "iffy" power, but the ones I use (see the Picture in post #4) are still going strong for already almost 6-8 months (new build).

I also have them fitted in "enclosed" fixtures (which is normally a No-No for LED's) but again not yet 1 of them has failed, however YMMV

[Crossy]

Absolutely, even Tesco have them.

You can also get LED 'fluorescent' tubes and fittings for the round ceiling lights.

Is there any advantage ..?......Longevity, better light...?

Reduced power consumption, only slightly if you already use CFLs or electronic ballasts with fluorescent tubes, significantly longer life assuming the bad power doesn't get them.

[eeeya]

I bought about 25 Lamptan dimmable LED lights had a few die quite quickly though. might have been because i used them with an incompatible dimmer switch

[Crossy]

On the "bad power" front, they're pretty bomb proof when it comes to under / over voltage and brown-outs, it's lightning induced surges that can be the kiss of death.

[lopburi3]

Actually have not seen available from Lotus (but mostly buy online now and they do not show online) but have bought in Home Pro and Big C. First generation from China was crap (very well made/heavy material but did not work long) - new models seem much better and cheaper and much less heat loss. They are good in recessed fixtures as light is pointed down instead of all around.

[wpcoe]

I bought some dimmable LED bulbs, but the old dimmer switches (which work with incandescents) don't seem to regulate them. What type of dimmer switch should I ask for (at, say, HomePro) that will work with LED?

[chiang mai]

I changed all my bulbs to LED's, seven security lights (5W bulbs) around the house stay on overnight, plus typical usage inside the house, monthly electric bill is never over 1,100 baht and that's running two pumps and the usual assortment of devices and gadgets - my garden perimeter wall houses thirty five, five watt bulbs, also on for a couple of hours each evening, very cost effective and rated at over 25,000 hours usage. The only downside I can see is that because they burn cold there's no residual heat from them when the weather turns cold.

Re: dimmer: I'm told you can't dim LED's, we wanted to but the electrician said nada.

[MJCM]

Re: Dimmable LED's some good info here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/799973-dimmable-e27-led-bulbs/

[Thorgal]

Absolutely, even Tesco have them.

You can also get LED 'fluorescent' tubes and fittings for the round ceiling lights.

Is there any advantage ..?......Longevity, better light...?

Constant current LED's have longer lifetime than constant voltage LED's, this is due to the lower temperatures.

The bulbs should have cooling fins/ribs in aluminium.

The choice of LED-driver is also important for the lifetime. Power capacity should be higher than required power of your bulbs to avoid full load of the driver.

220v LED market is booming, but the 12v, 24v market which requires separate driver modules is still in early stages. Only specialised LED/DIY shops have western equivalent models available, but are overpriced for the moment.

LED bulbs have a greater variety in color, lumen, and light angles than the traditional systems.

Anyway, they are also much safer in the 12 or 24v ranges.

[chiang mai]

Be careful when buying LED's, make sure you are certain which colour you really like/need, white light or softer yellow, we got that wrong and it was an expensive mistake to correct. Also, it's helpful to ignore wattage and instead buy based on the lumens value of the bulb, we found that 9 watts was actually far too bright for our needs and have used mostly 5 watts.

[MJCM]

Be careful when buying LED's, make sure you are certain which colour you really like/need, white light or softer yellow, we got that wrong and it was an expensive mistake to correct. Also, it's helpful to ignore wattage and instead buy based on the lumens value of the bulb, we found that 9 watts was actually far too bright for our needs and have used mostly 5 watts.

Good advice, but we just went and bought 2 of each, different colors, different wattage, and tried them and if we didn't like them we tried the other ones, and don't worry even the ones we didn't like in one place we used them in other places (nothing goes to waste )

We also used mostly 5 watts, initially we thought 7-9 watts are oke, but we also settled (in most cases) for the 5 watts as the 7-9 watts are very bright. Please note: the 5 watts LED (I have) are equivalent to a 40 Watt ordinary bulb

[IMHO]

I have more LED bulbs than I can count.

TBH, I never did see any meaningful difference in my power bills over the compact fluorescent bulbs I used before - the energy I use for lighting is tiny compared to things like AC's, pool pumps, water pumps etc.

The only real benefits for me have been:

1) The ability to choose the exact color temperature (shade of color) I like the most. For me that's 4000K-4500K - somewhere halfway between "warm white" (which can look nice, but try to cook to steak with it) and daylight (which looks like a hospital).

2) The ability to choose how the light pattern works. Only a few of my lights do I actually want 360 degrees of light - in some areas I use bulbs with only 30 degrees spread for a nice effect.

3) I haven't had to change any bulbs for over 3 years now.

3 years ago when I bought mine, there wasn't much available at reasonable prices here, so I learnt a lot through trial and error with China vendors. Thai vendors might be better now, but I expect it will be a lot of years before I have to test them

[TheCruncher]

I also have some I got at Tesco Lotus. Believe 4 watt version and it is bright. Use one as a back light behind my plasma tv for ambiance.

Does the back light behind the plasma make much improvement in viewing experience?

I have a desktop lamp next to the screen at one side, does this have the same effect or not?

[fstarbkk]

Absolutely, even Tesco have them.

You can also get LED 'fluorescent' tubes and fittings for the round ceiling lights.

Is there any advantage ..?......Longevity, better light...?

The rated lifespan is significantly better for LED. But for me, the main benefit is the much more natural color spectrum of both the "Warm" (2700-3000K) and the "Daylight" (4500-5500K) versions, compared to fluorescents (see pic below).

The extreme spikes in fluorescent (CFL) lights, cause different colors to be unnaturally bright and others to be too dark. That's also the reason why people's skin tones tend to look a bit unhealthy under fluorescent lights.

[Tywais]

I also have some I got at Tesco Lotus. Believe 4 watt version and it is bright. Use one as a back light behind my plasma tv for ambiance.

Does the back light behind the plasma make much improvement in viewing experience?

I have a desktop lamp next to the screen at one side, does this have the same effect or not?

For me it does. Front/top lights obviously are a problem with glare, either off the screen or direct to the eyes. I have it on the floor behind the screen and lights the wall up behind it reducing sudden contrasts and more relaxing on the eyes.

Not easy to quantify it with this photo of the effect. The 4W led is actually brighter than I usually have for the background light. Previously I had a 25W incandescent bulb on a dimmer but the bulb burned out taking the dimmer with it so replaced it with a LED light.

[Cpkt8]

Which brand of LED light bulb is more reliable and lasting in Thailand?

In Singapore I usually buy Phillips.

[Crossy]

Which brand of LED light bulb is more reliable and lasting in Thailand?

In Singapore I usually buy Phillips.

It's a fairly young mass-market here, we've had good reliability from Eve products but Philps should be as good here as they are elsewhere.

As I noted earlier it's poor power supply, particularly lightning surges, that are the big killers.

[IMHO]

I also have some I got at Tesco Lotus. Believe 4 watt version and it is bright. Use one as a back light behind my plasma tv for ambiance.

Does the back light behind the plasma make much improvement in viewing experience?

I have a desktop lamp next to the screen at one side, does this have the same effect or not?

For me it does. Front/top lights obviously are a problem with glare, either off the screen or direct to the eyes. I have it on the floor behind the screen and lights the wall up behind it reducing sudden contrasts and more relaxing on the eyes.

Not easy to quantify it with this photo of the effect. The 4W led is actually brighter than I usually have for the background light. Previously I had a 25W incandescent bulb on a dimmer but the bulb burned out taking the dimmer with it so replaced it with a LED light.

Backlight.jpg

If that's a 4W LED behind your screen, your screen is probably too bright and is fatiguing as a result

[Crossy]

I've put one of these http://www.mynpe.com/mynpe/more.php?data=116450101022&quantity=1&c=class2 on the mains connector of all our LED and electronic fluorescent ballasts when I replaced dead units.

Sleeve the wires of course.

For 11 Baht and a few minutes work it has to be worth it.

[samuijimmy]

I have been using some Philips brand for at least six months now, no problems...(yet! ) I find they throw better distribution of light...

I prefer the "white light" rather than the "warm light" seems to be to each their own on that....

Tesco and Big C has them...

[Tywais]

I also have some I got at Tesco Lotus. Believe 4 watt version and it is bright. Use one as a back light behind my plasma tv for ambiance.

Does the back light behind the plasma make much improvement in viewing experience?

I have a desktop lamp next to the screen at one side, does this have the same effect or not?

For me it does. Front/top lights obviously are a problem with glare, either off the screen or direct to the eyes. I have it on the floor behind the screen and lights the wall up behind it reducing sudden contrasts and more relaxing on the eyes.

Not easy to quantify it with this photo of the effect. The 4W led is actually brighter than I usually have for the background light. Previously I had a 25W incandescent bulb on a dimmer but the bulb burned out taking the dimmer with it so replaced it with a LED light.

Backlight.jpg

If that's a 4W LED behind your screen, your screen is probably too bright and is fatiguing as a result

The photo is not showing the real environment due to the high contrasts of the screen and background. The background is actually quite a bit brighter and the screen shows on the camera as over bright but it's not really.

That is also a Philips 4W LED light 350 lumen. Says on the box 15 year life expectancy and 87% energy saving.

[4evermaat]

I've put one of these http://www.mynpe.com/mynpe/more.php?data=116450101022&quantity=1&c=class2 on the mains connector of all our LED and electronic fluorescent ballasts when I replaced dead units.

Sleeve the wires of course.

For 11 Baht and a few minutes work it has to be worth it.

What does that do?

I suspect i've lost 2 (cfl?) bulbs due to faulty power after several months no issues. The bulbs only worked occassionally. I thought the wiring went bad. I bought a new led 3w bulb and all was well.

Are fluorescent bulbs cheaper or more economical than led bulb? I'm wondering if putting in a regular led 3/5w screw bulb x2 would be better than repairing the fluor bulb end holder and possibly the fluor bulb itself.

I might post another thread about the power breaker chipping out frequently with nearby construction work. That ruined one of my bulbs so that it would only work after not being used for a while as well as the fluor bulb started taking several minutes to come on. Tried to take a broom to it to nudge it on and...well you can see the photo.