Bob
Global Moderator
Bird Geek
Posts: 7,029
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Post by Bob on May 22, 2012 12:15:11 GMT -5
I do a lot of business with *** Top Bulb *** and am on their mail list. This little blurb came today thought you guys would like it. The energy efficiency of a light bulb is measured in lumens (light output) per watt of electrical input. A typical incandescent bulb produces up to 18 lumens/watt. A halogen bulb is a little more efficient at up to 20 lumens/watt. Fluorescent and HID bulbs have ballasts consuming some of the input electricity. Including the ballast, CFLs produce up to 60 lumens/watt, while metal halide ranges from 50 to 120 lumens/watt. It may be surprising, given all the hype, that the energy efficiency of white LEDs ranges from as low as 40 to over 100 lumens/watt. A premium 12.5W LED, being marketed as a replacement for a common 60W incandescent, delivers about 65 lumens/watt. Certainly this is a significant improvement over the 18 lumen/watt, 60W incandescent but virtually no improvement compared to the 69 lumens/watt 13W CFL, also equivalent in light output to a 60W incandescent. Clearly many factors come into play when you are comparing the benefits of various bulb options. Our goal at Topbulb is to give you all the information you need to find the right bulb solution for your application.
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Post by gridbug on May 25, 2012 14:38:59 GMT -5
It all depends what you need.
Dimmable CFLs are very expensive and not easy to find. LEDs are dimmable.
LEDs have a ridiculously long life but are expensive.
CFLs are toxic, I don't think it is legal to throw them in the trash (despite the fact that people do).
Is there a household use of metal halide outside of grow lights?
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Bob
Global Moderator
Bird Geek
Posts: 7,029
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Post by Bob on May 25, 2012 20:13:35 GMT -5
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Post by LimitedRecourse on May 26, 2012 10:12:11 GMT -5
Leave it to the brilliant environmentalists to get incandescent bulbs banned for being so "inefficient" and yet embrace flourescents which harm the environment a TON more than the regular bulbs do.
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