GeoBulb LED light bulb uses just eight watts, rings up at $120
By Darren Murph 
posted March 29th 2009 11:51PM
posted March 29th 2009 11:51PM
[Via Times-Standard]
posted March 29th 2009 11:51PM
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Well for those rubbishing the price I quickly worked out some math and if you were running a 60W bulb 24/7 (say security light) and replaced it with one of these it would have a payback in 1.24 years. If you replaced a 13W CFL with one of these it would have a payback of 11.3 years so not the best price performance right now but still a lot better than incandescent even at $120.
P.S. Replacing a WORKING incandescent with a CFL has a payback of about 534 hours running time which is less than a year for even under 2 hours a day. ($6 for CFL and my local power prices used in Hamilton New Zealand)
P.P.S. http://www.getenergysmart.org/Files/Light%20Bulb%20Calculator.htm
I wonder if you could ever live to see it burn out...
Oh come on, yet another one of those ridiculously overpriced dim-bulbs.
Of course you won't find a rated lumen output on their webpage - I would be extremely surprised if it came even anywhere near the 710 Lumens a 60W bulb produces.
And then ask them if they'll guarantee the claimed lamp life. Hell they won't.
So in the end what you get for the reduced power is simply less light, just like with most cheapo compact fluorescents.
Do yourself a favor: Get a decent compact fluorescent (and no, you can't get one for $5)
When LM79 and LM80 standards are released (mid October I think?) YOu should see lumen ratings across the board for all LED lights. Currently there are no approved standards for lumen testing soooooooo.... manufacturers can get away with any claim they like or no claims at all.
screw the earth lovers and the environment..
wats the point? everything dies
let it be
Wow, that is a pretty cool lightbulb. Thing is it would take forever to make the money back in savings!
RT
www.anonymity.us.tc
I'm going to have to burn a lot of watts on the computer to earn enough to buy this energy saving bulb!
I doubt it's more than 40% efficient. That means it's producing 4 joules/s of heat. If the heat transfer is very efficient (remember, incandescent bulb heat has the travel through a noble gas, very inefficient heat transfer) and the heat is concentrated at a point then heat transfer actually can be required.
This isn't the first bulb I read that claims to be a 60W equivalent. There is EarthLed. it uses 7watt and cost $50. http://www.earthled.com/zetalux-led-light-bulb.html
Hi:
As a certified lighting designer I have the following comments about this lame lamp:
-Refer to the following manufacturer info about this lamp: http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/geobulb/
-The version that comes close to the 60watt lamp is considered in the "Cool" color temperature range (4000-5000k). This is really "blue" and most people will hate the quality of light from this lamp (it won't be warm like Compact Fluorescents or normal A-Lamp incandescent).
-The 60watt version also only outputs 446 lumens! A normal incandescent or compact fluorescent lamp typically outputs 600-700 lumens! That’s 25 to 37 percent LESS light!
-The other two versions are the “soft” version and the “warm” version. The warm version is intended for a true replacement of compact fluorescent. It claims it gets the same output as a 40watt lamp, but again it lists the output as a mere 260 lumens. Typically a 40watt lamp has at least provides 400 lumens.
-LEDs generally have the same color rendering capabilities as compact fluorescent. They can render about 70-80 percent of the color spectrum. Incandescent fixtures can render 100 percent (this is referred to as CRI, and is a lot more complicated then this general fact). Thus, generally speaking, an LED lamp will feel like a compact fluorescent.
-The warrantee on this lamp is 3 years, yet they claim it will last for 10....
-it would take 30+ YEARS to pay back the investment for this lamp (data found by quickly refereeing to IESNA RP-31-96, Recommended Practice for the Economic Analysis of Lighting).
Feel free to comment or ask any questions. There are to many LED manufacturers out there making a ton of false claims.
My advice: use compact fluorescent lamps!
-Donald Christensen, LC
www.availablelight.com
My CFL bulbs can't use the dimmer feature of my lamp. If these can, that would be reason enough for me...well once prices comes down a bit. It would cost $600 to put them into my lamp at this point.
Not sure why this is such a big deal...EarthLED came out with something brighter than this almost 6 months ago:
http://www.earthled.com/zetalux-led-light-bulb.html
How about http://www.goldengadgets.com/
I've bought LED lights for $12 ... I don't get why this GeoBulb is costing over $60 and is coming out NOW and not 2 years ago!
If this bulb actually produces a decent area light, it's a major step ahead. Other LED bulbs are fine for task lighting or spotlighting.
I rarely have a CFL bulb last over 1 year -- recessed lighting everywhere. The cost adds up in a hurry! CFL's are not all they are cracked up to be, especially when you have to buy the expensive floodlight versions.
When LED's can produce a nice warm area lighting at around $30-40, it'll pay for me to switch. Until then... I'm happy to see them on the market at a price someone else will pay!
http://www.geobulb.com/questions/index.aspx#use
"Not dimmable" --what a shame. Would love to see what LED and driver they're using.
Dimmable LEDs do exist:
http://store.earthled.com/collections/earthled-lumiselect-dimmable-led
Are they dimmable on a conventional dimmer?
Yeah I have one working on a standard Lutron dimmer in my bathroom.
Analysis One: LED verses Traditional
7.5W LED for $120 or 60W standard for $0.30
SDG&E averages $0.18 per kWh
Assume 6 hours of light usage per day.
So it takes 187 days to break even assuming no bulbs burn out. Seems like a bargain.
Analysis Two: LED verses CFL
7.5W LED for $120 or 14W CFL for $2.08
SDG&E averages $0.18 per kWh
Assume 6 hours of light usage per day.
So it takes 16798 days to break even assuming no bulbs burn out. That's about 46 years 8 days. CFL wins hands down.
The LED light makes sense over the CFL when the purchase price hits $27.70 (assuming the LED will last a full 10 years). A 77% price reduction? Don't hold your hats. It might be a while.
http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.907
Just sayin'
Looks like a shuttlecock.
Why is it so expensive? I thought LEDs were cheap, or is it manufacturers putting a premium on 'new' tech?
so in 10 years I can save $110.25 on electricity and net $-9.75 (at 7 cents per Kilowatt Hour + my crappy math), if they can knock that price down to $60-70 it starts to border sanity for me. Cool tech needs to be a lot cheaper for me to buy after converting most of my house's bulbs to CFL.
It is not as bright as a 60W bulb... it only puts out about 445 lumens. It does not spread light like a normal bulb, so the 0-90 degree range is 14% brighter but beyond that it is more like a 40w bulb or less. Why spend that kind of money on a LED bulb when a CFL has the same lumen/watt ratio, can go higher in watts, and is way cheaper? The only thing LED's have going for them is that they will last a bit longer.
In any case, there is a new plasma bulb that is way better, so this argument may be moot.
Here ya go, proof:
Global Consumer Products
7 Watt CFL
Initial Lumens: 450
Price for 1 to 5 bulbs = $4.48 Each, 6+ = $3.73 Each.
I'm sure they probably fudged with their lumen reading but it is most likely close.
The funky design is a heat sink, and a heat sink alone.
High-power LEDs require very good heat dissipation because they run extremely hot. To provide steady light output for the 50,000 hours of life typically advertised by these manufacturers, an LED lamp requires low ambient temperatures, otherwise the diodes will dim down significantly in the first few hundred hours of operation. To prevent this from happening, manufactures must really consider heat dissipation as the primary design criterion, and aesthetics secondary.
The ideal ambient temperature of standard hi-power LED diodes is 4ºF - 104ºF. If not regulated, the LED will burn MUCH hotter than that, losing its maximum light output in as little as a few hours.
They forgot to put a period between the 1 & 2.
Watt is the point of this bulb?
This is an impressive lightbulb. The cost is a bit exorbitant at $120 though. If it lasts long enough to make up for its initial cost then I can see the potential for it.
This bulb is definately over priced! You can get something that puts out the same light for $49 and it's UL approved.
http://www.environmentalled.com/ZetaLux-7-watt-LED-Light-Bulb-p14.html
At $120, as others have calculated, it's tough to go with this bulb, unless you really needed a unbreakable bulb....
Clarification needed. If a standard 60 watt 120 volt AC incandescent light bulb puts out between 750 to 1,000 Lumens (depending on the thickness of the bulbs glass and clear or frosted) and the GeoBulb puts out 446 Lumens, then how could they be making the claim that the GeoBulb is the first 60-watt direct replacement, Premium Quality High Brightness (PQ-HB) bulb that uses less than 8 watts ? What you really have based on these Lumens figures they are providing is at best a 40 watt incandescent bulb replacement if the LED GeoBulb 446 Lumens are in an even light pattern in 360 degrees. They need to explain this claim.