A look at some incandescent light bulbs guaranteed to last for 10 years or 25,000 hours of use -- longer than most LEDs, especially the cheap ones sold in dollar stores today.
Shouldn't it be 4x instead of 3x? Weird... P = V I = V^2/R. V --> 2V ==> P --> 4P. I guess R must be temperature dependent and increases at the higher temperatures corresponding to higher powers, and therefore it drops down to 3x instead of 4x.
Following up on my previous comment, if P --> 3 P at V --> 2 V ==> R --> 1.33 R. Since at high temperatures the resistance of metals scales linearly with temperature R ~ T, it implies T --> 1.33 T. Black body radiation law gives P ~ T^4 at high T, so then P --> (1.33)^4 P = 3.13 P, pretty close.
In general, for conventional incandescent bulbs, excluding halogens, bulb life is extended to about 2.5 times for 130 volt bulbs operated at 120 volts.
Incandescent light output varies as the 9th power of the voltage, lamp life varies as the 12th power of the voltage. In other words, lamp life increases dramatically for even small reductions in voltage and minimal reduction in light output. Now on the subject of LED lamps: I seem to be replacing them almost as often as incandescent. Not a fault of the technology but rather the companies selling the are building pieces of junk.
Yeah, it looks like it's made for elevators (that why they say with vibrations, bla bla bla...). But as you said, I never guessed that elevator music came from the bulbs.
Fun fact: If you replace the filament with AWG 10 wire, it will last forever. Unfortunately, it will only put out negligible amounts of light, and it will all be in the far infrared spectrum. But hey, that's called compromising.
@@Rainer67059 nope, if this was to have become the normal bulb, environmental and practical measures would have lead to about the same 1,000h as with the cartel. Maybe if we would have been lucky, 3,000 hours. Nowhere near 10 years or 25,000h. Too bloody inefficient.
When you started trying to look inside at the filament, I immediately saw Big Clive using his "Xray" hammer to look inside. Was happy to see he got a mention in the end! xD Great video! I find these bulbs and marketing tactics fascinating!
I don't think that's the case. The basic concept is solid - derate a bulb for extended service life and improved resistance to shock, and in operation that would indeed result in less light output, but you're assuming that Europe uses 200+ watt light bulbs (there is a minor error in his math and I think there might be a significant flaw in his test). They probably just used a slightly longer filament in a common, US-standard bulb to increase resistance, reduce current, and cause the filament to 'burn' a little cooler.
I’ll admit, I’m one of those people who only thinks about lightbulbs when I have to replace them but when Kevin posts a video on lightbulbs, I watch and learn. Thank you sir.
It's also a good idea to think before replacing it, usually incandescent bulbs use more power than LED for the same light output (lumen). I've been using Panasonic and Cree brand LED's, and both have lasted over 5 years now saving quite of bit on my electricity bill.
Probably the only channel on RU-vid which can look at garbage cassette players, incandescent light bulbs, a toy radio transmitter, weird 90s computer tchochkies, and 20-year old alkaline batteries which still hold a charge, and then string together 15 miles of digital audio cable, and make each of these fairly mundane things exciting and interesting.
I bought my wife a LED bulb when they were the latest tech. It cost about $60 at the time. It is still going in our lounge (high use area), that has to be nearly a decade. It has fairly low output. Just enough to be comfortable. It is the "worst christmass present ever" according to my wife. But I think it is the best. She often talks about it, and uses it every day.
I've always been bothered by the gimmicky advertising on the LED bulbs. The lifespan in years is extremely misleading. 3 hours/day is far less than a typical use case, especially in the winter when it's dark by 5:00. The 7 hours/day rating is far more reasonable. For the last few years I've been using almost exclusively the halogen "incandescent" bulbs from The Home Depot, sold under the EcoSmart brand. They're about a dollar per bulb. I find them to be a satisfactory replacement for my dwindling supply of incandescent bulbs.
1. That’s why most people go by hours on the box rather than years 2. Please stop using incandescent, it’s boosting your power bill and hurting the environment
1) Most consumers go by the big letters on the front of the box, not the fine print on the back. They use that kind of advertising because it works. 2) No, I will continue to use incandescent and halogen bulbs. I much prefer the quality of light output by a halogen bulb compared to an LED and will gladly pay the few extra dollars per month to run them. Putting failed plastic LED bulbs into the landfill along with the flashy plastic packaging they often come in is no favor to the environment either. Sure, they can be recycled, but just like reading the fine print on the back, hardly anyone does that. Pick your poison, there's no perfect answer.
Halogen bulbs *are* incandescent. They run at a higher temperature, so they're more efficient, and (naturally) have a higher color temperature, and avoid early burnout at the higher temperature by using the halogen cycle to replenish the filament
@@xxxthedestroyerxxx505 Cryptominers consume 70 times more power than all houses in the world with all the lightbulbs, fridges, and microwaves. Also your PC consumes more electricity than 5-10 average lightbulbs, especially if it's a desktop. Not to mention that "green" CCFLs and even LED lightbulbs do more harm than good when it comes to environment because they contain a lot of toxic stuff. Especially CCFLs - mercury. Also i don't see people who say that they care about environment getting rid of their cars. And cars contain hazardous materials and either release toxic fumes or need battery replaced once in a few years.
@@xxxthedestroyerxxx505 The irony is that in Winter people need to heat their houses so more efficient bulbs just mean they have to turn the heating up. In the U.K they have just announced that they will stop new homes being fitted with gas central heating after a certain date as it isn't environmentally friendly (unlike wind power generating electricity). Back to light bulbs, I will admit that the opposite is true in summer, especially if you are using air conditioning.
An incendescent light bulb is a resistive load. So according to Ohm's law, when you double the voltage, the power quadruples! You were actually pulling 216W off that transformer, so it's no wonder the fuse blew. The reason why it held up for so long might be that due to the overload the output voltage of the transformer dropped.
Except the resistance of the filament in an incandescent bulb is not constant - it increases as it gets hotter. Light bulbs are classed as non-Ohmic for this reason.
@@SevenHealer It means the resistance will increase with heat until the radiant energy loss balances with the number of amps you can pass at that voltage. i.e. amperage when the bulb is cold is higher. When he puts the bulb designed for 120v on the 240v power, that heat exceeds the melting point of the filament and it blows.
I'd say it's a rebadged 100w or lower European type bulb. The filament resistance increases dramatically with temperature, that's why you can use a bulb for overcurrent protection... Maybe it was the inrush current damaging the fuse.
So, the trick was to import high-wattage bulbs from Europe. To be fair, I have had some incanescent light bulbs which lasted many years before burning out. I feel like I have been replacing more led lights than filament ones during the recent years.
@@PlasticCogLiquid There are many "shades" (temperatures) of white to choose from. While they will not reproduce the pleasing halogen glow, some might be more restful for the eyes than others. :-)
Gabriele Orioli I don't think it's that simple. At half voltage, incandescants burn much dimmer than seems to be the case here. I'm sure they did 'derate' the bulb to improve service life, but half-voltage doesn't sound right.
power rises the the square of the voltage, so it's not just 108W, it's 216W! (Probably a bit less because the bulb will draw less current when the filament get hotter, so more like 180-200W) Othereise a nice video, I really hate those cheap "filament" LED bulbs, they claim to save the environment but die after a year of usage in a closed fixture. Edit: Hey, I just noticed you have a new profile pic...
Regarding running incandescent bulbs at half voltage, in *_1983_* we got a "forever" nightlight that uses two 7 watt nightlight bulbs arranged base to base in a 'cylinder' so the center contact of each bulb makes contact with the other, and the power from the plug is connected to the threaded part of each base, making the 120V, 7W bulbs get 60V each, being in series. There is no power switch or photcell. *This nightlight has been on 24 hours a day since 1983, and the original bulbs have never burnt out!* Since this has been operating non-stop for 38 years, those bulbs have been burning for 332,000 hours... and still going... and the glass hasn't darkened !!
@@Tag-Traeumer I can believe it. If the bulbs have lasted this long, they likely will last almost indefinitely, since they are so "under-driven". Kind of like the 240V bulbs being marketed as 120-130V "Long Life" as demonstrated in this video by VWestlife.
@@LakeNipissing Yes, it is hardly possible to predict the exact service life. At the half voltage filament temperature, very little tungsten evaporates. I saw a service life-voltage diagram on Wikipedia, it says a 1000 times longer service life with an open end at half voltage, that is over a million hours. Of course: who has been able to check that so far? :-) Like you, I connected two 230 volt 60 watt light bulbs (as TV background lighting) in series so that each one burns at half the voltage (here in Switzerland we have 230 volt mains voltage). In the past, normal spotlights always failed there quickly, now those connected in series have been shining for about 15 years, of course only a few hours a week, but I will certainly never have to replace them again, and the dimmed light is very pleasant.
@Future Pants Millennial? me? LOL! I'm far from that. And you know what? I love it when people like you assume because they make asses out of themselves. Yep, I said it like that.
It's the green and red ones especially which need to be watched out for, LOL. (Imagine if they were colour changing! Certain super hero: 'Oh, I feel terrible; oh, I feel fantastic; oh, I feel...' LOL.)
@@beerrox711 Damn dude! You burned me. I got moated. First time I have ever heard one of my comments on YT being a "dad joke" Even though I'm old and have never been a dad. Tactful insults are funny. That's why you got a 👍 from me.
With the newer LED bulbs being made so poorly, I wonder if they really are any better for the environment once you factor everything that goes into manufacturing them, from are materials to transportation of parts, etc. Especially since they have such a short life.
@@Matticitt show me a quality LED bulb I can buy right now that is made well enough to reach the quoted life on the package. My office's property management division would love to know.
@@grayrabbit2211 frankly i have only had a few cheap $1 led bulbs fail after several years of service. And many of them are on 12+ hours a day. I could never claim that for incandescent.
The whole idea of incandescent bulbs having such a short life is actually the result of a long standing conspiracy between bulb manufacturers from way back when electric lights were first starting to become popular. There were actually fines for companies for producing bulbs which lasted too long. It's ridiculous but it's true.
When it comes to people doing things, if one dismisses things as ridiculous they will end up being wrong. Or said another way - When it comes to people doing things, there is nothing too ridiculous.
Actually, no. At least it isn't the only reason of bulb's short life. Manufacturers can easily produce an incandescent bulb that will shine for 100 years, simply by using thicker filament, but by using a thicker filament your lightbulb will consume more power and produce less lumens, then other more "short lived' lightbulbs. It's an equilibrium, where you have to sacrifice something to gain other.
@@iscander_s of course it's not the ONLY reason the life is limited, but that's why it's as short as it is. Research the Phoebus Cartel and you'll see the conspiracy is all too real.
@@iscander_s indeed, you can't beat physics. Halogen cheats it in a way by reversing the tungsten evaporation, allowing the bulb to either last much longer or run more efficiently.
And that transformer of yours, that 100 watts is most likely Peak output, meaning it can run for a short while at that before it goes bang, it's probably more suited to 50-70 watts continuous, depending on the, er, "quality"... :S
some of the old school "vintage" style filament incandescent bulbs are terribly inefficient but last absolutely forever. I have them in my dining room and 15+ years later they still work fine. I also use a programmed dimmer with soft start/stop.
I grew up in the same house as my father and slept in the same bedroom he did as a child, the light in that room was installed in the 60's and lasted all my childhood. No LED will match that performance.
Leave to V Westlife to give us a GREAT video about light 💡bulbs. Not sure why, but this channel helps relieve my crippling depression and addiction issues. Thank U Sir for the temporary relief 🙏
If it was a fixed resistor it would be 4 times the power. Double the voltage, double the current. Power=voltage times current. As the tungsten wire hets up the resistance increses, so it draws about 3 time the power at double voltage.
Incandescent light bulbs use more energy, but they produce the best and most beautiful light. Here in Switzerland, and also in the European Union, light bulbs have been banned by our stupid government.
@@mtbiker6219 I still use incandescent light bulbs too, the damn stupid ban forced me to stock up on them. With the few that break, my stock of light bulbs in the basement will last several times as long as I live. 😄
@@savedemperor8024 Good to know. So far I haven't seen any offers for it, you would probably have to look specifically for it. Good thing I have enough Incandescent light bulbs of all kinds, even too many, but they can be stored indefinitely.
Yes, stupid governments trying to save energy and protect the environment. As though personal preference in light quality is more important than that.Yeesh. With that being said, you can get very efficient energy saving bulbs in the EU that are basically incandescent in quality and function similarly, they still use 3-5x the energy than LEDs though. I also prefer warm light, and you can definitely get that and overall similar to incandescent quality from modern LEDs, just don't buy the cheapest ones. LEDs are overall vastly superior to incandescent, its not worth sticking with hyper inefficient technology over minor preferences.
I can still find regular incandescent bulbs just about anywhere... however, I have come to enjoy the halogen bulbs... They're cheap, take less energy than incandescent, but put out the clean warm white light of incandescent... unlike most LED or CFL bulbs.
Actually they made an incandescent lightbulb that lasted over 60,000 hours @ 60w. Those were the lightbulbs that they used in traffic lights. But they were not the lightbulbs that they would sell to consumers. I remember buying some at America scientific that used to sell products like that.
In my experience, LED bulbs seem to fail earlier than an incandescent bulb. I have had so many LED bulbs get really dim after like a year or two and then quit working altogether. Time to go back to the good ol incandescent bulbs
My father was an electrician. He said dimmer switches make standard light bulbs last many more years than normal. He always said the instant on and off, is what kills them. Using the dimmer switch eases the voltage to it. Also, you're right, using a bulb at a lesser voltage than designed will make it last longer.
"Also, you're right, using a bulb at a lesser voltage than designed will make it last longer." but also run less effectively. So you burn more energy to get same light. If you need less light, just use less wattage incandestent bulb, you'll get best effectivity. Otherwise, you pay more for electricity , than you save on "not buying new bulbs, because they lasts longer". Long lasting bulbs have point only on places, that are hard or irritating to get and exchange them.
@@warrax111 You do realize that some people don't really care about the extra cost of using incandescent bulbs? Right? You do realize that for people living in cold regions, there is no such thing as waste heat? Riiiiight?
@@gregdaweson4657 I use inca. bulbs, dont need to explain me anything. I also use them for heat in winter. But it's no problem to exchange them, once a year or two. It usually take me up to 2 minutes. I dont see a problem in it, and I would not buy long lasting, but less effective bulbs.
@@gregdaweson4657 for 2 minutes of work per year, I burn 30% less electricity. Like... for what are trying to convince me, that you are lazy pig ass, that rather than find 2 minutes of work per year, you will burn 30% more electricity. Like... for 2minutes of work, to exchange bulb? Also, it's difficult to regulate heat through bulbs. If you need only heat, then light is wasted.
@@warrax111 Love how you still forget the northern latitudes. Apparently I'm a lazy ass for not changing out my bulbs when my average summer day is 65F.
i had 2 Philips led failed within the warranty, they made me a lot of trouble for the claim , in the end they finally sent me one replacement , not tbe same color and a lower quality led . now i give up
I need a music credit! The music on this channel is always so good that we really just automatically need to know everything we can about these great tunes!
When LED first came out, they were often given with ridiculous lifetime ratings such as 50k, 70k, 100k, 150k, hours. Once all of the old technology had been phased out the LED lifetime ratings became more realistic and many now have lifetimes listed on them such as 10k hours (like yours). I have had CFLs with greater lifetimes than LED. I have also experienced quite a high number of LED failures in the house and seen much greater lifetime from fluorescent lamps / tubes. Fluorescent lights typically last longer 24/7 compared to running 12 hours on / 12 hours off. On one of the lighting forums I'm on someone has a fluorescent tube running 24/7 and it's hit 120k hours and it's still working! Even smaller tubes have seen good lifetime and blown some of the LED fittings out the water in terms of their lifetime. Such as over 50k hours from a pair of high quality F8T5 fluorescent tubes. LED can last well if they are driven properly with good cooling but as for the LED bulbs. Manufactures purposely drive the LEDs hard which makes them run hot and this reduces lifetime.
I think the real reason LED rated lifetimes have decreased is because the quality has gone down. Old ones had heavy metal heatsinks with fins, new ones run a hyperbolic 300A through each die which is on a thin piece of aluminum. For an idea of how long LEDs _can_ last, just look at clocks or other indicators. My digital alarm clock from 1992 surely has a total of over 25 years of runtime, which would be around 220 thousand hours.
@@eDoc2020 Yeah old LEDs can be working after 30 years 24/7 if driven properly. The COB LEDs are optimised for white light output and will typically have a lower lifetime.
@@eDoc2020 don't forget the electronics driving old LEDS was much more robust, most leds bulbs today are driven by a single current limiting chip and a fat capacitor. And the cap is so cheap it's likely to fail. which causes more current into the leds and eventually burn out, if the cap doesn't just pop first.
back in the 70's and 80's we used to be able to get bulbs that were imported from tungsram in hungary that were rated at 130 volts, they were very inexpensive but they lasted an extremely long time even in continuous use. they had brass bases and the glass was quite thick and difficult to break, they worked really well in hand-held trouble lights too.
Tungsram was known to make decent products. A continuous service is better for a lamp than a lot of on off switching. If you leave it on permanently there is no thermal cycling.
I've got a box of 10 similar bulbs from Sunbeam. They're called "The Mighty Bulb" and are rated for 10,000 hours. Mine are 100-watt bulbs rated at 800 lumens. They make pretty good hand warmers in the winter! As far as life goes, incandescents generally double in life for every 5% under their nominal voltage (compound) and vice versa. I run my Christmas lights on a dimmer for this reason. My grandma also has some other boxes of the mighty bulbs in other wattages.
As a technician, I confirm that both incandescent and LED lights can last forever. It depends on how much power you apply to them. Incandescent lamp is just a filament inside the bulb, you can connect 2 similar lamps in series to decrease its temperature and almost stop its destruction. LED lights have a controller inside. By replacing a current limiting resistor on the board you can decrease LED operating current as much as you wish (even turn a powerful lamp to a nightlight) prevent overheating and make LEDs work without decaying and any chance of failure. I have experience of doing so, underpowered LED lamps are barely warm and surely won't fail. Use this information to save money and not to be fooled my marketing.
For an average electricity price of 13.9 cents, running the decade bulb for the full 25000 hours will cost you $139 as opposed vs. $27.80 for the 8W LED. So even if the LED only lasts for 10000 hours, it's still a lot cheaper in the end, and you get more light to boot!
Yeah, it doesn’t rly matter how long they last if the price is sometimes even quadruple. Just replace them more often. + who uses a lightbulb for 7 hours a day (unless you’re a business), usually houses have enough windows to create a decent enough light.
Imagine being a massive enough penny pincher to think that $139 over the course of 25,000 hours actually matters... Also, waste heat doesn't exist in northern climates.
I’m really glad they brought incandescent bulbs back in recent years. As someone who’s had numerous retina detachments, surgeries, and extreme photosensitivity, I absolutely detest certain LEDs and fluorescents with a passion.
My favorite traditional bulbs are eco incandescent ‘halogen’ which produce a natural, simple glow like incandescent, and I presume these krypton bulbs are the same because it’s still a filament bulb.
You may want to look into bulbs from Waveform Lighting. Their lights are the closest I've found to matching incandescents. They're also completely flicker-free, which I really appreciate. Great warranty, too.
Tbh, I buy Halogen lightbulbs, mostly because, in my experience Incadensents give off less light that I would like, and LED lights will burn my eyes out, so, yea, I'm the weird guy who stocks up on halogens
@@dangus69420 Which are the good ones.....branded like Philips? Would like to know because I have bought some that were much more expensive, but they were some of the worst.
Weren't incandescant bulbs designed to fail after a certain number of hours is to assure the need for frequent replacement? These were probably ideal for lighting subway tunnels. In New York the incandescant bulbs lighting in the subway were specially made with thicker filaments and were rated at 36 watts, and supplied with 30 watts/90 volts of power.
The reason for incandescent lightbulbs short lifespan is discussed *in this video* at 1:20 - longer life bulbs are much less efficient, so you end up spending more in electricity than you'd save in replacement bulbs. That 25,000h 40W bulb would use 1,000 kWh over its life costing about $125, vs. $75 for an equally bright 25W bulb with 2000h lifespan. $50 would more than cover the cost of 13 replacement bulbs at
@@tomkandy excatly, they counted it idealy. No consipiracy. 1000 hour bulbs have best overall efficiency for saving the money for replacement, and electricity bill. Also, it's not so annyoing to exchange them once a while in household... 200 hours lifespan would be too irritating, but 1000 hour is "ok". They set it good in my opinion, but lots of people just cannot understand it, they see only that irritating part, they need to replace it . The don't see, how much $ it saves on electricity. Also polution... that one lightbulb, generates much less enviroment waste, that that wasted electricity. Most of power in history was based on coal powerplants.
There are a lot of people waxing poetic about the simplicity and reliability of incandescent bulbs. In my (46 year) life, was that they were unreliable, fragile, brutally hot (even at low wattage) and even the name brand store-bought bulbs had a fairly short lifespan. It's not that they couldn't be better, but they were generally engineered to a price-point, with turnover a factored component of their lifespan. As they could be, compared to CFL and LED bulbs, disposed of quite easily, and they were cheap, people really didn't expect them to last all that long. Quality current generation LED bulbs last a very long time, even under continuous use. I have several lights in my basement office that I keep running 24/7, 365 a year, and the current set of 5 LED bulbs were last replaced when I had the office painted in 2017, which puts them at around 35,000 hours each, well in excess of their rated 15,000 hours. The previous set of LED bulbs lasted 6 years, were still working, though they had gotten dimmer. None of these were dollar-store brand bulbs, so I do think you get what you pay for, when it comes to led bulbs. As for CFL's, I'm glad they've been mostly superseded by LED bulbs. I absolutely hated everything about CFL's. They lasted fairly long, but I've had a lot more random failures with CFL's versus LED bulbs. They're also a nightmare to cleanup if you break one - you have to air out the room, carefully clean everything up, put things in baggies. The light they put out is never quite right, temperature wise; and they're slow to warm up. Thanks to their obnoxious disposal requirements, I now have a box of them awaiting proper disposal. The CFL, with the exception of a few specific applications, was worse, in virtually every way, compared to incandescent bulbs. The carbon foot-print of producing a CFL, combined with dangerous production waste byproducts, vastly exceeded any real energy savings potential of the bulb itself and, as a result, they weren't better for the environment. A horrible technology that should never have been a consumer product (except for the fact that some idiot government hacks decided it'd be a good idea).
Thanks vwestlife, for making a video about incandescent lightbulbs again! I have a bulb branded ‘Super Bulb’ that says it’ll last ten years. I’ve yet to test it to its full potential tho
I have a literally 31 yo incondescent bulb (100W) in my cellar still working after all this time. crazy how durable they are compared to all the newest LED and compact lamps I have to replace at least a couple of times a year.
My father in law has a 60W bulb in a basement backroom that has been there since they moved into the house.....in 1974. Even though it's low hour, I'm afraid to turn it on!
Sure. The ceiling light in my dads kitchen has had the same 60W bulb since 1985, it still works even though it's lit for around one hour per day. And we have 240V here
The reason why the LED bulb blow out so quickly is because that the manufacturers make it so that the LEDs are given too much current so that they generate more heat and die faster if you're able to open up the LED bulb you'll see that there's a resistor you can change the value of the resistor you'll be able to reduce the amount of current that is needed and you will extended the lifetime of it . I have did it before and the LED bulb that I have in my room has lasted me 3 years and still going. There is a RU-vid called bigclive that made a video on this.
@@SevenHealer yeah, what also works is just to remove the plastic dome. I found that all the lamps I did that to ran *much* cooler. The temp dropped from 65°C (149°F) to around 30. (86). I mean they are definitely more dangerous running open, but if you don't have children, thats perfectly acceptable
In theory LED is perfect. But in practive, they're implemented poorly. Usually the fault lies with the driver circuitry, not the LED itself. However, I've come back to appreciating incandescent for their simplicity, and reliability. I drive a classic car, and it's nice not to be blinded with hideous instruments and control panels backlit with LED.
I knowthat for sure...my own experience ...we have 230V/50Hz utility supply..& 100W incandesent ...fitted in 1995...& on daily approx. 6pm-11pm. & 5am-7am.. inside a glass fixture..mounted horizontally..on a wall..was in services right upto 2015 when we went in for house renovation.. I had installed a suitably rated N.T.C. in series with it...away from the fixture ..
I have a floodlight version. The floodlight is only rated for 15000 hours for some reason. I also have an incandescent bulb by Aero-tech that lasts 20000 hours!
There also used to be "country lights" for sale (seen in 90s). Intended for rural areas and built more robust to deal with voltage irregularities, apparently more common outside cities and towns then
About 25 years ago, before halogen bulbs were common I bought some 240V long life candle bulbs as with six in my lounge I seemed to be replacing an bulb every month. They weren't frosted and you could see that they had about five filament supports compared to the normal two so they were obviously different to normal bulbs. Like you I noticed they were noticeably dimmer than normal bulbs but they did last much longer. Something Kevin didn't mention was places where the bulbs are difficult to change. A hall I used to go to had incandescent bulbs in fittings about 20 feet from the floor and half of them were always blown. The shortest lamp life ever must have been when a colleague accidentally fitted a 24V bulb (intended for a military vehicle) in his 240V desk lamp. It went off like a photo flash :-)
LEDs survive -30 to 100F just fine in Garages and Attics, in high-vibration service in the garage too, that things been in that garage door opener in the cold Minnesotan Winter and the Hot Minnesotan Summer for 7 years now? IDK, maybe we just bought good LEDs
Just to add it wasn't the transformer with no headroom, it was the fuse supplied with it .Bearing in mind you have some losses in the transformer as well as the load.
To take advantage of the 10 yr warranty you have to ship the $1 bulb to CA along with the receipt. I'd like to see what that would cost - Way way more than a dollar. So.....the warranty is worthless.
Yeah, they're decade bulbs alright. You buy them because the package says they'll last for 10 years, but you don't need them right away so put them in the back of a cupboard and forget they're there for 10 years! Boom! Decade bulb claim met.
FWIW I have some TCP lightbulbs where the warranty is actually from date of install and not purchase. Exchanged one under warranty and it was basically a no-hassle process - completed the form, got a replacement. I'd imagine it's cheaper to just send a replacement on a claim rather than actually pay someone's hourly wages to filter through the claims and approve or deny them. Just like rebates/coupons, most people will just forget or not bother.
If you can find the carbon filament bulb they last much longer than any bulb produced. There are some carbon filament bulbs that have been burning over 100 years 24/7. Those led bulbs never last as long as the box says they will.
Ikea sells 1€ LED bulbs and just for fun I decided to modify one of them. Of course following Clive's method of removing a current sensing resistor. This cuts the power in half, reducing heat output but also improving lumens per watt rating.
And also preventing the Caps from drying out too soon due to the strong heat under normal conditions :) Because i doubt they put low ESR capacitors into these bulbs.
Thanks for taking the time to do this experiment that you've done. I have the clear glass "Satco" branded 60 w incandescent lights in my home and there rated at 130v. When used on 120v circuits, they'll light up as a 52w bulb but lasts about 10,000 hours. As far as all the "new school" lighting technology out there today, your better of sticking with old school incandescent bulbs or even those halogen "A19" shaped 60 or 75 watt replacements. From my experience, I've found the Sylvania Double Life halogen bulbs to be pretty decent as opposed to CFLs or LEDs for that matter. Incandescent and halogen lamps have a power factor of 1.0, meaning there's no ballast loses, are a resistive load (they don't require ballasts) and they don't generate dirty electricity either. Most CFLs and LEDs have a power factor of just .55 or .60 if your lucky. (They're a low power factor) I can still find those "Grandfathered in" 60 watt incandescent light bulbs in my neck of the woods and use both incandescent and halogen bulbs. During the night time these incandescent and halogen lamps are the safest & healthiest electric light sources to use because they emit near infrared light and you can't get that type of light from CFLs and LEDs. (CFLs & "linear" fluorescents have some near infrared light in their visible light spectrum) LED lighting is dangerous to use during the night because it's visible light spectrum is devoid of any near infrared light. (Most LEDs shine in the near ultraviolet range of the visible light spectrum) The near infrared light is the type of light that actually heals us by promoting healthy healing of our tissues and cells in our bodies as well as reversing rapid oxygen species (ROS) in our eyes. ROS promotes the development of macular degeneration in our eyeballs. Because most LED lights are not "full spectrum", they emit more bluer light that has a much shorter wave length and higher energy than near infrared light has. (Near infrared light has a much longer wave length and is less energetic than near ultraviolet light) The problem with using LED lighting during the night is, because the sun isn't in the sky there's no near infrared light to "counter" the much bluer light LEDs emit. The "blue rays" from LED lighting increases ROS in our eyes, suppresses melatonin production in our bodies, causes circadian rhythm disruption, insomnia, obesity, diabetes, depression, and even causes cardiovascular diseases. In 2016, LED lighting became government mandated in the US and so there is a phase out of most non LED lighting products because of this. That movement by the USDOE is being backed by Philips Lighting of North America and Cree. (We know who's going to get rich from this situation!) Also in 2016, the American Medical Association had linked LED lighting to causing certain cancers! Aside from all of the bad things that LED lighting will do to us and the ways that they harm us, LED lighting is just crap. They're not even worth the space that they consume on the face of this earth, let alone the resources required to manufacture them in the first place.
A standard 40 watt incandescent bulb gives 480 lumens of light. These give less than HALF (230) so you have a dim bulb that lasts a long time. TWO of these running 25,000 hours use 2000 kilowatt-hours - $300 worth of electricity (at 15¢/kWh) A 4½ watt 480 lumen LED bulb uses 112 kWh during its 25,000 hour life, less than $17 worth of electricity. The 1,887 kWh saved is equal to 56 gallons of gasoline (33.7 kWh per gallon)
My apartment was remodeled around 2000 and many incandescents installed then are still working. The bulbs in the bathroom lasted for about five years, but those left in drier places are good after twenty years. Can't say the same about the LEDs and especially FLs (what a cheat!).
The early CFLs were good. I moved into my house and there were a few that were over a decade old. I bought more, and they lasted about a decade. They weren’t the “instant-on” versions.
@@5roundsrapid263 at my parents place we actually installed a couple of CFL spotlights something like 15/20 years ago, I might be exagerating the number but I honestly cannot remember when we removed the halogens ones, they are aren't the instant on version and they require a couple minutes to go full brightness. They have a pretty goog mileage since they are turned on at leat 3 hours a day 7 days a week while the big CFL globe in the dining room has to be changed every 3/5y
All the expensive (about £8 each) Philips LEDs I bought about seven years ago failed after three or four years with the same fault (annoying random flickers). however since they were used at least eight hours a day I worked out they did pay for themselves in electricity saved. Of course heat kills LEDs. I haven't had any problems with a Philips 13W LED bulb with massive heatsinks up the sides like the L Prize bulb. Now they don't bother and cook the LEDs.
@@5roundsrapid263 The first (huge) CFL my parents bought when I was a kid lasted ages. It just got dimmer and dimmer, so was relegated from the hall next to the front door, into the utility room near the back door, then a shed.
"Rough Service" bulbs are almost always rated at 130VAC. The best bulbs I've found are traffic light signal bulbs. Ultra durable, rated for 67w@130VAC. They basically last forever. I had a set in the enclosed basement light fixtures in the old house and recall only replacing one of the bulbs once in like...... 20+ years. They are designed to frequently be turned on/off and have a life span of 2+ years continuous use so use in an indoor fixture with intermittent use extends the life quite a bit. Buying them new these days over LEDs is really tough to justify though, over $5 a bulb!
You should check out Tech Tangents video with a similar Chinese stepup power supply. They are made by people who have no idea how to solder wires safely or with any care. He had to redo all the wires and still I would not feel safe using that thing.
We used to use this type of bulb in our kitchen ceiling fan that used to shake ordinary bulbs to death in a month or two. They did survive much longer -- about a year. Used them until CFLs came out. The CFLs lasted about a decade and by the time they went, LED bulbs were reasonbly priced.
I'm so glad I still have a decent stockpile of incandescents. I saw a dusty and banged up package of GE 60w bulbs at a small convenience store in the mall a few months back and immediately bought them without regard to the price. No tag, guy asked me if $4.49 seemed fair, I have never paid for something so fast. Cool video, thanks for sharing.
Light bulb manufactures have been slowing to manufacture incandescent lamps. There are places where it is illegal to import incandescent lights. The only exception to manufacture and sell incandescent lights are for applications in ovens, freezers, and harsh environments. If you put any light on a dimmer and run them about 20% dimmed they will last more than double. With incandescent lights when lowering the power to them the colour temperature also gets warmer. There are new ovens, fridges, and appliances being designed where the light is located in a place where there is no excessive heat, and the light emission is projected in to the oven. I have LED lights I use a dimmer and only dim them down to near zero instead of turning them off. I have these working for more than 12 years and still going okay. Dimming a light up and down puts less thermal and electrical stress on the lamp than hard switching it on and off. This requires a dimming type light. If you put a non dim light on a dimmer the light can easily be damaged.
Every time I have to by lightbulbs, I have to resist the urge to rant about how much I miss Incandescent bulbs. Especially the in the days before they were made in China.
We have used the same bulbs in 5 of our outdoor path lights since 2000 when I installed them. I hooked 100 watt bulbs so that they run only 50 watts using a dimmer switch. There are 8 total lights but 3 of them have been replaced They come on at dusk and turn off at dawn.
What manufacturers do with LEDs nowadays is the same they did with incandescent lights before. People often think "LED technology is trash", but actually its just that the manufacturers are making trash on purpose. I bet those Philips won't last 10 years even if you use them 3 hours a day.
LED bulbs are probably one of the biggest scams of modern times when it comes to guaranteed life, I have not seen many bulbs live up to their actual specs and even last less than 1 year with normal use. but the fact stands for the bigger brands will always last longer than the cheap ones so in the end you are gonna earn the money back by getting the expensive one right away. but there is nothing new that even when incandescent bulbs were invented the companies agreed with each other that they lasted way too long, yes they did light for thousands and thousands of hours back then, so they made an agreement to intentionally lower the life of the bulbs to the standard 1000 maybe 2000 hours already back then, because it won´t earn you money if they don´t break right? so all this time the money has control over the quality of our products and this is what still goes on. they want the product to break and make you get a new one earning them more money. same thing for decades. so in the ever going on environmental aspect what would be best? making money by intentionally lie about the numbers and breaking your product after certain time or demand by law that every bulb really should live up to their printed numbers or even longer? I would say the latter. but aw well, money is always in control so we are doomed anyway no matter what we say
230 lumens sounds like just below the output of a 25W bulb, not above. They're not likely to be 240V bulbs though, probably somewhere in between and also krypton filled which normal bulbs of higher wattage aren't. Just look at the difference on the second type: 14,000h @120V, 5,000h @130V. That's a steep exponential function. They won't last anywhere near the nominal 1,000h @240V.
Chinese made incandescent bulbs are dangerous. I have bought some of them, because they are prohibited here in EU, but many of them exploded or burned the fuse. Now I only buy Philips LED, Philips CFL`s or france made incandescent.
Regarding warranties... I don't think the kind of bulb matters. Corporate lawyers have figured out how to word the warranties in a way to get the least amount of returns, that's all. The difference is that the 10 year bulbs were older. If there is a new version, it probably would have a similar warranty as the LEDs. Anyway, the LEDs are a better buy overall due to the energy savings. These bulbs still use 40w, but a LED equivalent will use around 6w. So even if the LED burns out before 10 years, you still save money.
