Detale, I would assume the reason that LED lights aren't manufactured as standard is because the price to convert would be astronomical for manufactures. As far as I'm aware christmas lights are starting to pop up more in LED's.
FST Crew
BT Rep: +1
Detale, I would assume the reason that LED lights aren't manufactured as standard is because the price to convert would be astronomical for manufactures. As far as I'm aware christmas lights are starting to pop up more in LED's.
"Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music"
Poster
No, of course not.Originally Posted by Detale
GEOTHERMAL!? You plan on living above an active volcano!!!Haven't built one but my dream home is one that is totally off the grid and fully self sufficient using different types of energy sources: Solar, Wind, Geothermal, and Hydroelectric. One can only dream...
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter11.html
woowoo
If you're staying connected to teh grid you don't need batteries. Whatever is generated gets fed into your house's wiring to offset what you use, lowering your power bill.GEOTHERMAL!? You plan on living above an active volcano!!!Haven't built one but my dream home is one that is totally off the grid and fully self sufficient using different types of energy sources: Solar, Wind, Geothermal, and Hydroelectric. One can only dream...
Personally I don't see why all light at this point aren't LED's this would save not only the grid issues but the pockets of consumers as well.
The windmill thing is actually quite involved and not as easy as plugging it into your home electrical system. You need to have a place to store the batteries as they are VERY heavy (similar to car batteries), not to mention you need a system to keep the batteries from spinning the generator (basically a motor run backwards) and powering the fan of the windmill once they are charged. Things like these you REALLY need to know what you're doing as they are rated for a certain amount of wattage, going over can cause a fire. I'm still doing reading on the subject as I don't feel confidant enough to take on the project just yet.
If you're not using as much as you're producing, it gets fed back into the grid and apparantly your meter spins backwards (never heard of this before but I guess it would work, not sure what new digital/smart meters would do...).
When your windmills or solar panels aren't generating anything you're just simply running off of the grid (meter "spins" normally).
There's a better option that this here in Ontario, not sure about other places, there are big incentives to invest in large amounts of solar panels for your house or business.
You buy the panels, set them up on your roof, and you get two power meters connected to the power grid. One is measuring your house's usage, the other is measuring what your solar panels produce. While we pay something like 8cents per kWh for our electricity, the power company will pay us 85 cents per kWh.
The panels don't even produce enough power to power your entire home. The power companies/government are basically paying you for investing in solar energy.
One catch is the cost of the panels. They can cost over $30,000, but on average they will pay for themselves in 7 years.
You are locked into that 85 cents per kWh for something like 10 years though, so you eventually make a nice profit.
The other catch is having somewhere to put them. The power company pays out different rates depending on where you put the panels. The biggest payout is for roof mounted, but you must have a roof facing the sun for optimal output. The next best payout is for pole mounted. If you lie them on the ground you get paid next to nothing, it's not even worth the investment.
Go Snatch a Judge
Damn electricians! Not to mention you need to have a roof that would support the weight of the panels and if it pays off in 7 years what s the life expectancy of the solar panels?
woowoo
20 years if I remember correctly.
Go Snatch a Judge
Really? I thought they were like 5-7 years before noticeable failure. TBH I haven't really looked into it in years now.
Ah but how hard could it possibly be to manufacture an adapter to screw into incandescent fixtures and such.
woowoo
LEDs don't run off of 120v that we have in our house, they need somewhere around 3volts but depends on the color.Really? I thought they were like 5-7 years before noticeable failure. TBH I haven't really looked into it in years now.
Ah but how hard could it possibly be to manufacture an adapter to screw into incandescent fixtures and such.
Also when LEDs are connected to AC (what we have in our houses) they flicker really badly (you'll notice it with cheap led christmas lights), so it needs a rectifier to convert that AC to DC.
So it's not just a matter of producing a screw in adapter.
Oh the other issue is that the light produced by LED looks ugly, but I guess that's a matter of opinion.
Go Snatch a Judge
I say again, Damn Electricians!! Really they couldn't fit a rectifier into a small adapter? I mean it's a few resistors and a small circuit board, no? Something resembling a magic eye in size/shape. Agreed an LED would be harsh light but I'm sure that could be worked out as well with a filter. I'm not saying it would be the easiest thing in the world, but I can see it is do-able. Well I know what I'm doing in the new year. Coming up with a screw in adapter damnit!!! Hey, know a good electrician I could get some help from
woowoo
I didn't say it was impossible, they already have them.I say again, Damn Electricians!! Really they couldn't fit a rectifier into a small adapter? I mean it's a few resistors and a small circuit board, no? Something resembling a magic eye in size/shape. Agreed an LED would be harsh light but I'm sure that could be worked out as well with a filter. I'm not saying it would be the easiest thing in the world, but I can see it is do-able. Well I know what I'm doing in the new year. Coming up with a screw in adapter damnit!!! Hey, know a good electrician I could get some help from
Just saying it's not as simple as you think, so for now they're expensive.
21119-3w-led-ball-bulb-warm-white-china-1.jpg
current user title
I'm pretty sure Christmas lights have rectifiers, since commercial led can't run on AC. The flickering isn't because of the lack of a rectifier but because of lack of large enough capacitor in the rectifier. I real unrectified source will flick more than 50times per sec, way to fast to notice.
Yep!, its easiest thing to do. As you said they could fit a rectifier in to small adapter. Just connect a diode to any ac cable and connect other and to the ground, voila! rectified 220v! add a capacitor now you have a more stable source. Add 3 more diodes, wow! a full rectifier!I say again, Damn Electricians!! Really they couldn't fit a rectifier into a small adapter? I mean it's a few resistors and a small circuit board, no? Something resembling a magic eye in size/shape. Agreed an LED would be harsh light but I'm sure that could be worked out as well with a filter. I'm not saying it would be the easiest thing in the world, but I can see it is do-able. Well I know what I'm doing in the new year. Coming up with a screw in adapter damnit!!! Hey, know a good electrician I could get some help from
Its not about what they can do, its about what they can sell. The more the power you need more capacitors you will have to add to keep it stable but this is not the real problem. The big problem of the LED lights are the heating, some models even come with a small fan embedded in them. You can notice shape of the backside of the lamb, its designed to get air in. Pulling enough power to light up the place while not create enough heat to destroy the components are quite a challenge.
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