Re: Long Live the Incandescent!

[Marc_F_Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 8 Jul 2009 11:52:32 -0700 (PDT), John M <2ac16mo@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message  <2533efd9-3379-43e9-9b71-d55b66efb15c@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

>I woould have bet that LEDs are the wave of the future.  In fact I have
>4 lamps in my bathroom fixture.  They product intensely white light.
>Unfortunately the light goes straight down with very little spill to
>the sides.  I've become accustomed to it, and lean a little further
>forward when I'm shaving ;-)  These were reasonably priced at Sam's
>Club for something like $7.00 each.  IIRC they use around 4 watts
>each.  For 16 watts they product a LOT of light.  At the same time
>I've been using CFLs for perhaps 14 or so years now and have been very
>happy with them other than much shorter life than advertised.

The notion that there is/will be a single 'winner' has always been -- and
will continue to be -- overly simplistic in my opinion.

As new technologies emerge, they in turn provide opportunities, increase
expectations, and create niche markets for what ultimately become 'must-have'
goods. For example, many of us can remember when dimmable electric lights
were not one of life's necessities ;-)

The lights in our kitchen are an example. There are now halogen incandescent,
CFLs and LEDs in the ceiling cans. The LEDs are purposely 'white' types that
complement well the natural daylight through the window. The CFL cans are
3200K and match the halogens at full brightness. 12vdc track lighting
provides task illumination and, when dimmed, warm lighting for ambience.

The mix is similar but different on the outside of the house. I still haven't
had to tie two ladders together to replace the halogen floodlights up at the
third floor eves. And maybe I won't have to because we changed our outside
lighting strategy to use  candelabra-base CFLs' in the existing yard-level
lamps and only turn on the floods as an emergency/security/special need. In
this way we save maintenance, electricity and, with our change in expectation
and behaviour, even better than before.

I also recently purchased an outdoor RGB LED wall-washer that is controlled
by DMX512. It's the cat's meow for outdoor lighting. The output of the
110VAC-> 24vdc power supply is externally accessible. so it will be simple to
power from the distributed DC power system in our house with its intrinsic
backup.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=250448983502

It can be 'infinitely' dimmed, the color changed subtly or garishly, and made
to strobe or flash or otherwise vary intensity or color systematically for
holiday lighting, or panic/emergency signaling or ambience, or whatever.

I've been experimenting with DMX in my house for a decade. The emergence of
RGB and RGBY lighting becomes a compelling reason to have the multi-channel
capability that DMX-512 provides. Eventually being able to change color
and/or color temperature may become as much a "must-have" as dimmers ;-)

... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECOntrol.org