THE Lighting Thread (merged)

[IslandCrow]

I am not sure where I am going on the issue of back-up lighting. But I must do something soon, partly because in the last power cut here I had to deal with another resident suffering a major panic attack (and although I didn't see it, nearly causing a disaster by putting the largest candle we had on the top of the lit wood burning stove "to give light").

In the mean time I am playing around with how to use LED lights to reduce the power consumption. One surprise what at the other half accept a 1 W LED bulb in the bedroom bed-side lamp. It is a clear white light and provides enough light for her to read at night, and for us to find any clothes etc around the room (although not good enough for hunting for dropped earrings etc).

I would recommend that people go for 'day light' lighting - in does not have the yellow glow that we are used to, but the human eye seems to be more adapt to the wave lengths it uses so it is easier to see things even if the light is not so powerful.

The other thing I am trying out is using a string of LED lights (sold as Christmas tree decorations) as background lighting for the living room. It gives a festive appearance and enough light (total power use 7W) to navigate safely around the room. I will have to try this on some unheated stairways (where CFT bulbs take too long to warm up in the cold of winter). The advantage of buying Christmas tree lights is that they are so much cheaper than the specialist designs for LED stair lighting.

One trouble I am having with LED is that it is best either as a spotlight or as a string of lights, and this house is wired for the old fashioned bulbs, where one bulb gives general light to the whole room. So I need to see what will fit without having to rewire the whole place.

[baha]

I have been using LED lighting for many years. I have found LED christmas lights to be cheap and flexible. There not good for task lighting but work great for background lights to see your way around the house.
Recently I put a string of LED lights outside on the deck and made a wonderful discovery. They don't attract bugs!!! Living in MS means you are constantly fighting off bugs. Turn on a normal light outside at night and the bugs will swarm. But the LED lights have not attracted a single moth or other bug at all. This may not seem important to everyone but for us in the south this is monumental. Especially since I hate those bug zappers. Just thought everyone should know this!!

[jbrovont]

Interesting. It could be that the spectrum of light your particular lights are emitting is less visible by insects. Since some types of LED lights have very narrow spectral emissions, it sounds like you may have made a very interesting (and beneficial) discovery! Anyone else had similar observations?

[pstarr]

Surprising? The bugs can't see them any better than humans can. They're just too damn dim. Ever try to light up a used-car lot with an LED? Or spot a deer?

[vision-master]

I use LED string lighting to see in the dark.

About the same candle power as a small kerosene lamp, as I use them too.

LED is good mood lighting along with some 'blue' lights.

[PonyBoy78]

Thanks for the heads-up on this. I'm moving to south Mississippi in about two years, and this info is going to come in very handy..

[Ferretlover]

Obama touts new lighting rules, energy policy Push follows House approval of climate bill that now moves to Senate
WASHINGTON - Aiming to keep the focus on climate change legislation, President Barack Obama put a plug in for administration efforts to make lamps and lighting equipment use less energy. …
In February, the president directed the Energy Department to update its energy conservation standards for everyday household appliances such as dishwashers, lamps and microwave ovens. Laws on the books already required new efficiency standards for household and commercial appliances. …
Associated Press