150 LED bulb uses 9W, costs $65

You're a very special kind of person -- our kind of person -- if you're the type to drop a good $65 on a single light bulb only because it's made up of 150 warm white LEDs. The 308 lumen (and 594 lumen frosted glass version) bulb sips only 9.2 watts, but is said to be equivalent of a 70 watt incandescent, meaning even though you'll improve your energy consumption by roughly 87%, at 20 cents a kilowatt-hour it'll still take you about 4,600 hours of incandescent use to reconcile the bulb's. But you want one anyway, don't you? Like we said, our kind of person.

[RijilV @ Feb 8th 2007 10:24PM]

You know, 4,600 hours is about 190 days...and that's ignoring that a typical cheapo lightbulb is only going to last around 900 hours according to this random website.
http://www.factsfacts.com/MyHomeRepair/liteBulb.htm

I'd say $65 is a pretty good investment for an entry way light or the lights in your main living area.

[Jim @ Feb 8th 2007 10:57PM]

Yes but the cost comparison should be to a Compact Fluorescent. I think the pay out on that one would be a lot longer.

[Cory @ Feb 8th 2007 10:44PM]

4600 hours is 190 days if you leave it on constantly, but even if you figure an average of 5 hours a day it will only take 2.5 years. And since LED's can last 50,000 hours (or about 27 years at 5 hours per day), I think it's worth the investment.

[TK @ Feb 8th 2007 10:28PM]

How long will one of these last?

[GigermUnit @ Feb 8th 2007 10:50PM]

almost half a year

[Matt @ Feb 8th 2007 10:43PM]

30000 to 50000 hours which is 1250 to 2083 days straight.

[Bun @ Feb 8th 2007 10:37PM]

I'm concerned about the light it puts off. Sure that's a lot of LEDs, but those LED flashlights looked bright but didn't put off much.

[Harold Barr @ Feb 10th 2008 4:20PM]

What would be my best bet for the smallest and brightest bed side lamp: LED bulb, Solux.net bulb, or Compact Fluorescent with a Balanced Spectrum simulating daylight?

[Osiris @ Feb 8th 2007 10:42PM]

Presumably forever, these aren't like filament bulbs that are designed to slowly leak their argon gas so that the filament burns out eventually making us consumers have to buy more.

About time someone began to manufactures these, not like SLEDs have only just come out..

[Nick @ Feb 8th 2007 10:45PM]

I like LEDs as much as the next person, but, although these are a great deal compared to incandescents, they are not great compared to compact fluorescent bulbs. You can get a 8000 hour 60-watt compact fluorescent bulb for about $1.50, when bought in a 10-pack. It uses only 2 more watts, making the $63.50 cost difference unjustifiable.

[Arclite @ Feb 9th 2007 9:32PM]

Nick said:
I like LEDs as much as the next person, but, although these are a great deal compared to incandescents, they are not great compared to compact fluorescent bulbs. You can get a 8000 hour 60-watt compact fluorescent bulb for about $1.50, when bought in a 10-pack. It uses only 2 more watts, making the $63.50 cost difference unjustifiable.

My Response:
A few things about compact fluorescents. First, they don't handle being turned off and an frequently. Doing so causes them to burn out much sooner. The CFs in my bathroom only last about a year, despite being "5 year bulbs." LEDs, by contrast, can be turned off and on tens of thousands of times. Also, 75 watt equivalent CF bulb uses 18 watts, twice what the 70 watt equivalent 9 watt LED bulb uses.

[Matt @ Feb 8th 2007 10:53PM]

wrong. up to 5.707762557077626 years

[akintz @ Feb 8th 2007 10:43PM]

There are some less expensive LED bulbs out there too (not as many LEDs or lumens though). But some alternatives at least...

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/7aa8/

[Matt @ Feb 8th 2007 10:52PM]

I looked into those bulbs actually, and with those lumens you aren't doing anything functional except wasting your money.

[Dave @ Feb 8th 2007 10:43PM]

I'd rather stick with fluorescents and use up the extra 3W. You can get them for WAY less than the price of this LED bulb--and they last about 8,000 hours.

By the way, 4,600 hours will probably last you well more than 190 days, RijilV--unless you leave it on continuously.

[Austin @ Feb 8th 2007 10:59PM]

fluorescent lights are great for the energy consumption but may or may not be horrible for your health. There are some studies going into whether or not the plasma can emit harmful radiation. Though it appears to be one of those big business vs small researchers kind of issues.

I'll be interested to find out how LEDs are going to kill me in the future. Then i can finally fight those stupid scrolling led signs.

[Scooter @ Feb 8th 2007 10:51PM]

Nice... If you like these and have no worries about money, check these LEDs out... http://www.gadgetgrid.com/2007/02/05/led-leaf-personal-light/

[Matt @ Feb 8th 2007 10:50PM]

My current bulbs pump 1280 lumens, and when it comes down to it, more lumens = more light. Until they can get the bulbs up to that I'm not interested. But I would be all about paying that price (and a little higher) for LED bulbs that I could throw into every fixture in the house. It would cost you hardly anything to keep everything lit!

[simone @ Feb 8th 2007 11:08PM]

But even if you are not saving your wallet, you are saving the planet... and that's cool, isn't it?

[Karl @ Feb 8th 2007 11:10PM]

Damn, I really hoped the LED bulbs would intro like the ones Philips demonstrated - with funky shapes and hue-changing. I'm still in awe at those bulbs - from the moment I first saw them on Engadget until today, I still think of them as a great piece of engineering - simple, but really cool!

Check it out: http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/05/philips-concept-led-bulbs/

Karl

[Rick @ Feb 8th 2007 11:17PM]

I'd be interested in that bulb. I have been slowly switching to LED bulbs, and yes they are more expensive upfront..... but over the life of the bulb you'll save a bunch. These things are nearly cool to the touch, and when you live in Phoenix in July, it makes alot of sense. This link has some great bulbs and reasonable prices....
http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=33

[Larry Bloom @ Feb 8th 2007 11:28PM]

A fluorescent light uses a lot of energy starting up... isn't it using a lot more than 11.2 to start... and if so the running cost would be on how much you turn a given light off/on say 2-3 time a day?

Also LEDs do wear/burn out they just last a lot longer than a bulb and energy is not wasted in heat.

[Don Wilson @ Feb 8th 2007 11:31PM]

Energy efficient, but LEDs have never been one to last too long.

The new bulbs that coil around last around 5-7 years from what I've seen advertised and experienced. Far, far cheaper as well.

[Owen V @ Feb 8th 2007 11:28PM]

compact fluorescents are made with mercury

[Mischa Lockton @ Feb 8th 2007 11:28PM]

CFL rules when it comes to hi lumens, lo watts, lo dollars in your mogul sockets people. They make them quick start, dimmable, warm, cool, or full spectrum, and not only are they cheap, they save you tons of kilowatt hours.

Anyone using incandescent or halogen anywhere is not doing all they can to save this dump!

[aaron @ Feb 8th 2007 11:32PM]

Main problem with (compact) fluorescents: Can't use a dimmer

Can you use a dimmer with LED bulbs?

[Sean @ Feb 9th 2007 12:52AM]

You hit the nail on the head. I've spent several hundred dollars in dimmer switches, and motion detectors in my home and compact fluorescent bulbs just flicker when used with those switches. I'm told that LED bulbs are compatible with dimmers, so that $65 doesn't sound too bad after all... but I'll wait till they hit $30/ea before I buy.

[macgoo @ Feb 12th 2007 1:22AM]

I struggle to see how this could actually be the equivalent of a 70W incandescent while only using 9W. I thought that LEDs at best were only 2x as efficient as incandescents. I know that some of the 5W LEDs were pushing 3x at the research level but they are still no where near the efficiency of fluros. If you really want to save the world you gotta go gas discharge. Those things are 30 to 50x as efficient baby!

[srw @ Feb 8th 2007 11:39PM]

Probably useful for lights in locations that are really, really hard to change.

[Ratteler @ Feb 9th 2007 12:29AM]

I'll be interested when they can replace the 100-200 Watt bulbs I'm used to using.

Every bulb in my house is currently CFL and my Elerctic bill is still around $90 a month cause I leave them on 24/7.

One other benefit of LED is that they are probably better at taking blunt force trauma. Half the CLF's I've had to replace where due to breakage.

[zoara @ Feb 9th 2007 8:36AM]

You leave your lights on 24/7? Why?

[Scott S @ Feb 9th 2007 12:00AM]

I have one of these bulbs. I was looking for an energy efficient bulb that wasn't as harsh as some of the CF bulbs out there. I'm very light sensitive (with Aspergers) and that bulb is very close to a 60 watt incandescent bulb IMHO. I use it in my office and light levels are very comfortable with working in a computer environment. However, replacing the whole house with these would be too expensive and would not work in our living room with high ceilings. These are the future in bulbs, but it's not quiet there yet.

[Matt @ Feb 9th 2007 12:10AM]

95% of the lights in my house are CF. They light the room just fine. Also if you use a dimmer at certain "settings" it produces a buzzing noise..

[Gabriel @ Feb 9th 2007 12:43AM]

Very good long-term savings. Not sure how they compare with fluorescents.

[Chris @ Feb 9th 2007 12:44AM]

at first I didn't get why these are so damned expensive, but then I looked it up: a high quality super bright warm white LED is $0.60 each in packs of 1000, so not I'm wondering how they made this one so cheap. are they not using high quality LED's, and what are the side effects? maybe they just using ones as bright as I came across.

that ledwholesalers site does seem to have some killer deals though

[icepop4who @ Feb 9th 2007 12:47AM]

i guess if you got cash to burn and want bragging rights, this is the bulb for you for now. i just don't think a light bulb is worth investing if you need to light it for years under normal use (light only when dark out) just to flat out the cost. if i do buy one, i would buy it for the environment and cool-factor rather than savings.

[Dave @ Feb 9th 2007 1:02AM]

CFLs are available in a dimmable variety--but they're more expensive. They're still under $20, though. I've never tried them--just Googled them:

http://www.goodmart.com/products/bulb_compact_fluorescent_screw_in_base_dimmable.htm

There are other sites out there that sell them--that was just the first hit. Maybe they're even cheaper elsewhere.

[alex kessaris @ Feb 9th 2007 2:26AM]

it would be cooler if it was one huge LED.

[Joseph @ Feb 9th 2007 12:16PM]

pun intended?

[simon @ Feb 9th 2007 1:22PM]

I guess version 2 will add two new features: wireless LAN and google adsense ($65!! why not online?)
Use lots LED to show some words and some one can make money to pay your 150 LED bulb .

[tiuk @ Feb 9th 2007 1:51AM]

I don't know if I'd describe white LEDs as "warm". The light they put out seems more sterile to me.

[macona @ Feb 9th 2007 12:04PM]

Warm is in reference to the color temperature of the light. Most standard whit LEDs are around the 5000K mark. Standard lightbulbs are around 3000k. Since the white light in a LED is actually a blue LED with a phosphor that is stimulated by the blue light you can vary the recipe of the phosphor to change the color of white making a LED that has the color appearance of a regular incandescent lamp. Warm White LEDs are a little more rare, that would account for the price of this lamp.

One nice thing about a LED lamp versus a CFL lamp is the instant turn on. No warm up period.

Also the amount of mercury in a cfl is quite negligible.

[Conjecture McSpeculate @ Feb 9th 2007 3:08AM]

I ordered 5 of these earlier today. I'm an Engadgeteer and a Treehugger too.

[Brandon Bohlen @ Feb 9th 2007 6:07AM]

How is there no company name associated with these bulbs?

[Algernon @ Feb 9th 2007 3:04AM]

Its good to see that these are begining to become main stream. That only means soon it should be getting cheaper and theyll improve on the lumes

[Micah @ Feb 9th 2007 6:44AM]

Now if they made one of these in IR Led's... I'd pay 65 bucks. Would be great for my home surveillance system.

[Zorque @ Feb 9th 2007 6:49AM]

This is great, because the flickering from florescent lights makes me uncomfortable. Hopefully the light from them looks more natural, too.

[Gordy @ Feb 9th 2007 8:46AM]

Hmm, I wonder what taupe, olive, hell--forest green, will look like under these lights. Color coordination be damned.

I'll stick with tungsten.

[arcas @ Feb 9th 2007 1:35PM]

The company claims these output 308/594 lumens and are equivalent to a 70W incandescent. I find this claim to be a little strange. The 13W 850 lumen CF bulbs I have at home are said to be the equivalent of 60W incandescents. Furthermore, the 75W GE "soft white" incandescents are rated at 1170 lumens (or roughly twice as bright as the 70W incandescent this company is apparently comparing against). I suspect 594 lumens would be closer to a 40W general-purpose incandescent while 308 lumens would probably be no more than 25W.

[jalapeno @ Feb 9th 2007 10:17AM]

I'll get LEDs when they match the efficiency of CFL. Some 9w CFLs I saw online put out 550 lumens and cost around $5.