Rusted Sky

Since they only use 1% of the energy as seen on Mythbusters... that means we get to light up *everything* in the house for the same price! Soon our homes will be one continuous riot of lights blinding us even during the daytime... just think of all the places you could use 'just a little extra light' and the world will be transformed!

Or the next computer you buy will eat up the savings because of its energy needs.... *sigh* so much for that bright idea.

I prefer the dark. But I better start stockpiling incandescent light bulbs before they are banned like California is proposing.

On the other hand, sometimes you WANT a little waste heat; one reason LEDs haven't replaced automobile headlights, even on superluxury cars, is because, since they don't put out much waste heat, they do not melt ice off the lenses as incandescents do. (This could be dealt with by something else to supply heat, of course.) Also, the Mattel Easy-Bake Oven has always used a 100w bulb as a heat source....

John C -

From what I understand, there's still some waste heat from the really high-wattage LEDs. I don't think icing would be much of a problem - and even if it were, thin transparent resistor films could be put on to keep them warm.

J.

Hammer -

Given enough time, anything not forbidden in CA will be mandatory...

J.

AJacksonian -

Well, I could use a bit more light in places, and a bit less in others.

Don't know I'd go to multiple kilowatt bulb equivalents in each room, though...

J.

As for the main question of what happens once they are 'everywhere'?

Well, the MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) is much higher, which just means that when you start to reach the minimum range of that *mean* you will see people buying replacements. Currently the MTBF is so low for incandescents that we take the norm of constant replacement as a given. Longer-life incandescents have not meant the end of that industry nor will CFLs mean the end of that industry nor will ultra-long life LEDs mean the end of that industry. The MTBF is *higher* but not infinite. That could mean that the shelf space devoted to lighting will get *smaller* but not disappear as specialty lighting will always have a place on the shelf. Increasing the MTBF does not mean an end to industry, just a different replacement cycle.

This is *not* a zero-sum concept of replace once and never need it again. It is one of replace now and instead of 2 months it becomes 2-5 years, but replace it you *will*. Getting everyone to put those in is a huge chore since people get accustomed to constant replacement, which is the problem CFLs have in getting a major foothold: people see higher price and do not associate that with longer life. Thus CFLs 'cost too much' when their per-month cost is as low and your time spent replacing them drops drastically. Your time has a non-zero cost, but is rarely factored into buying decisions.

And I could endorse having fewer shelves devoted to junk light-bulbs and endorse, wholeheartedly, many specialty bulbs that take forever to get to that have a low MTBF... like those idiotic bulbs built into my above stove microwave! Those babies have a MTBF measured in days: I gave up on them and cannot find a long-life replacement for them anywhere. 'Specialty incandescent'! Ack! I would gladly pay $5 apiece for ones that lasted 2 years just to get rid of the hassle of replacement, which I have given up on because my time spent has a cost to it, and the benefit is minimal for the time invested. Get me LED replacements for those suckers and I will be eternally grateful!

I just swapped out two of those myself, oddly enough. They seem to last about 8 months, and the replacements are $2 each... quite annoying!

There's an oddity with our halogen light pucks in our kitchen - SOME of the sockets have the odd tendency to burn brighter than others and thus need replacing due to burnout more often. We've got some that haven't had any problems in almost a year, some that I've got to replace pretty much monthly. It seems to make a difference, too, whether the power is on or off when swapping the things out.

Of course, I buy the bulbs on EBay in bulk, so it's hard to tell about the quality...

J.

J - The engineer who designed a hood fan with 5 screws required to get to light bulbs needs some sort of torture... I am now hitting the various sites looking for, as far as I can tell, E17 replacement bulbs, no longer than 3" long. I can get incandescents, but those are the suckers that have been dying quickly. Absolutely absurd!

That problem with different receptacles having different bulb life? Gots that, too! The basement directional lights have that problem, and one obviously has a very minor heat sensitive fault that makes it blink with an incandescent. Throw in a CFL and it stays on with lower heat output. Don't even get me started on the now empty sockets for the bulbs over the bathroom mirrors! Ack! Empty sockets because I just got tired of replacing the damned things and screwed in a conventional CFL... looks are not important, light is important as well as lack of heat.

Now I am seriously thinking about a wide LED to replace the lovely, multi-socket kitchen overhead... well, both of them... why one was made standard and the other with tube FLs is beyond me. Couldn't standardize, I guess.... Mind you I plan on moving this year, so I am tempted to just do the old quick-fix and leave it to the next patsy... owner!

All of them work, but there are times when lighting a candle does have its appeal, and cursing the manufacturers of 'builders grade' material.

Re designers who don't take replacement issues into account... seal 'em up in a container with phillips screws, and give them a flathead screwdriver to get themselves out!

J.