Paying $60 For A Light Bulb That Lasts 20 Years Is Kind Of A No-Brainer (Really?!)

Consumerist ^ | April 23, 2012 | By Mary Beth Quirk

[lacrew]

I also own an LED flashlight, so I’m not allergic to progress.

My flashlight is DC....and ice cold.

To use the house AC however, the base of the bulb is going to have some circuitry...which will give off heat. Now, the actual diode will not give off (much) heat...but the circuitry at the base of the bulb will. If you look at one, it will have a metalic base, with ridges (think air cooled engine with heat fins)....or liquid cooled - no kidding!

I don’t know how this heat compares with that of a standard bulb...I’m sure its less, but certainly not zero. BTW, I imagine if you put an LED bulb in a globe style fixture, you will either 1) burn your house down, or 2) experience very short bulb life.

None of this is the end of the world, if you can put up with the quality of the light. They do use less energy, have better light than CFL, turn on right away....all good.

But, I’m just a little bit jaded, after having the world tell me I was a cretin, for not embracing CFL’s...and it seems they are going to be nothing more than a stain on history.

If you do have a few already...do they have heat fins...and are they hot?

And I am curious as to what type of fixture they are in. My homebuilder actually installed one over my shower...I don’t know why. But, I never use it - because it stays on for 5 minutes, and shuts itself off, with some sort of overheat protection - its in a recessed can, which brings us back to that burn down the house scenario. If the overheat protection were to fail...well, I don’t know what would happen. Anyway, just wondering if yours were recessed, in a globe, in an open fixture, etc.

[Figment]

I’d buy candles first. Made from whales

[Figment]

I’ve tried a few. Didn’t like the light and never had one last 3 months

[PeterPrinciple]

If you do have a few already...do they have heat fins...and are they hot?

---

Yes, I can not keep my fingers on them for more than a few seconds.

[Figment]

Cold light!

Not so quick. I thought the same about led light until recently. LEDs can get quite hot when putting out a large amount of light. My company makes a heat sink for an led array that is the size of a manhole cover. The light isn’t that impressive either

[Travis McGee]

For $60 bulbs, thieves will be exstatic.

Will they come with little locks and chains? Did any of the bean-counters factor in theft from public places?

[ModelBreaker]

How do they know it lasts 20 years? Has anyone run this model for 20 years and seen it still ticking?

[TXnMA]

I replaced the Krypton bulb in my big Maglight with their LED substitute. It worked well enough, for a while. It seemed to provide longer battery life, but the blue light definitely scattered worse in fog, etc. Now, though, the LED has degraded to the point where its (focused) beam is hardly visible on a lighted room wall -- no matter what type of fresh batteries I use.

I'm going back to the incandescent bulb.

[Salgak]

Try an LED flashlight. Bright, and several of mine are 4+ years old, and STILL running on the original generic AAA batteries they came with...

They may not be ready for prime time as HOUSEHOLD lighting, but as flashlights and book-lights, they’re outstanding now...

[mountn man]

I will not buy it. I will not use them. I do not believe them.

I would not like them
here or there.
I would not like them
anywhere.
I do not like
green eggs and ham.
I do not like them,
Sam-I-am

Would you like them
in a house?
Would you like them
with a mouse?

I do not like them
in a house.
I do not like them
with a mouse.
I do not like them
here or there.
I do not like them
anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

All I care about is light quality. I love the look of conventional soft-white incandescent light bulbs. I detest brilliant hot white lighting to the point of violence.

Do LEDs duplicate or improve upon the soft warm glow of incandescent bulbs, or do I have to suffer with some poor approximation.

I need the naked truth here.

[Kickass Conservative]

I'd pay $60 if they could guarantee I would last another 20 years.

[Kozak]

LED’s use a fraction of the power. You need to factor that into the cost.

[Boogieman]

When I toured Edison’s lab in Florida back in the 80’s, they had some original bulbs that were still working. So, I figure they’ve always known how to make incandescent lightbulbs that last 60 years, they’re just not economical to sell, since you won’t have much repeat business.

[Puckster]

Yeah but, there is arsenic in LED’s. Not to mention lead.

How did this escape the environmentalists?

[Conservative Vermont Vet]

Only way I’m paying $60 for a light bulb is if it gets installed for me, by a naked Playmate, while I’m sitting directly under it.

ROFLMAO!

Clarification needed: "Sitting under the bulb or under the Playmate?"

Makes all the difference int the world. lol

[Puckster]

More hippies than how many Irishmen it takes to screw in a light bulb.

Total = 3 Irishmen

1 to Hold the light bulb, 2 to drink until the room spins.

[Utah Binger]

We had been looking for a warm approach that had the same look as Halogens for three or four years. Many we saw were very white and almost blue. Plus they didn’t have the strength we desired to illuminate artwork.

In the last year many new products have come into the market. This is not a green issue. This is an issue of progress regarding lighting.

Naked truth spoken. We use TCP Par 38 LED’s, Google it! Can I put my clothes back on yet? LOL

[CharlesWayneCT]

I’m going to wire it into my Prius. :-)

[Graybeard58]

Say I’ve got maybe 20 bulbs in my house.

Count them, you may find out that you have way more than that. (Don't forget the one in your fridge.)