Incandescent vs LED light bulbs | Everything you need to know!

[@Pocketfarmer1]

I work on seagoing tugboats. LED lights produce quite strong magnetic fields that can reek havoc on our radios. The international maritime community is starting to look into alternative lights because of a few incidents were communications were jammed by a vessels own lights. You can experience the effects at home by passing an Am/Fm radio (turned on) near an LED.

[@KB-kc7ou]

Incandescent lights also provide constant light, as the tungsten element doesn’t cool down as the AC current cycles 60 times per second. This only comes to mind because I put LED lights in my home recording studio, and now when I play guitar I can see the strings vibrate - the effect is similar to how wagon wheels look like they aren’t spinning in old films. It’s distracting enough that I added one incandescent lamp near where I practice to eliminate the effect. Weird but kinda cool.

[@vijendrasharma2904]

O yeah Daddy 😆

[@twerkingfish4029]

This is highly dependent on the quality of your LED bulbs. Many have smoothing circuitry that can entirely eliminate flicker, though it can be hard to tell which ones when you’re buying them in a store.

[@KB-kc7ou]

@@twerkingfish4029 Unfortunately not the funky ceiling light I picked out though. Good to know!

[@ggandalff]

This has more to do with the circuit that's used to rectify the current (to go from AC to DC). Some cheap lamps use half bridge rectification, making so that only half of the wave is rectified (and so half of the time the bulb is off). On the other hand, if they use a full bridge rectification circuit then the lamp should be on all of the time. An the way to check if they are using a cheap circuit is as you mentioned, by looking at a guitar string or just by waving your hand very fast. I'd suggest that instead of adding an incandescent bulb, you should buy some new bulbs and check beforehand if they have that problem

[@KB-kc7ou]

@@ggandalff Likely that's the culprit, but unfortunately the LEDs are integrated into the lamp, so it's either live with it or replace the entire ceiling fixture...

[@TwinkleToes2day]

I would like to hear discussion on the effects LEDs are having on wildlife, in particular night time creatures and insects.

[@Redrally]

FINALLY! A topic I can actually share my 2 European cents on!💶€¢ So I feel you missed out another huge advantage LED lighting has over incandescent bulbs, but I don't blame you as this is only an issue really noticed in areas where Winter equals very long nights. When I was younger, I remember noticing that an incandescent bulb was only brightly lit about 2 months or so, then would slowly dim and get yellower, darker and dingier before finally popping. One reason I used to dread Winter was because I recalled feeling absolutely tired and mentally ready for bed at 4:30 pm! Well it turns out the sickly yellow of an incandescent bulb actually does make you feel more tired because your eyes are not supposed to be exposed to such a light level for hours on end. LEDs produce natural white by default, which means that the illumination reveals colours as they actually are, so I'm no longer tired after a school - or more accurately now - work day in the Winter. I was unaware of this 'blue glow' effect that you warned about regarding medical deficiencies - I think I've only noticed it in 'bright white' or 'crystal white' LED bulbs, so folks - when you go light bulb shopping, make sure you can switch on the bulb and see what it looks like. You usually want natural white but if you want colouring similar to the old incandescents in hue, go for soft yellow LED bulbs. Much love to everyone in these trying times!

[@csours]

Further, you can choose the color temperature of your LEDS, and used different levels in different areas - you may want bright white in a kitchen, and warmer light in a bedroom or living room.

[@artofverity8791]

Personally i prefer CFLs to stay awake and incandescent in the evening when i want to feel sleepy.

[@slicktires2011]

I respectfully disagree. Yellow light does not make you "tired" or "sleepy". There's no evidence to that.There's a lot of evidence to blue spectrum disrupting your circadian cycle, among other effects. There could be a million causes for your feeling tired. Whatever cause it is, when you switch to LEDs the disruption in your circadian cycle caused by the blue light spectrum mask your tiredness, just like caffeine would. Yellow light is actually the least disruptive under low light conditions (mesopic vision). Blue light will seem brighter, but it has the downsides mentioned. That's why in any location where you want to avoid light pollution, like observatories, and avoid disturbing wildlife, they use low pressure sodium, which are monochromatic yellow light. As for "natural white", no, LEDs do not produce that, which would be an even mix of all colors. LEDs are a combination of monochromatic red, green and blue. Truly "natural" light, comes from the sun and it is the result of black body radiation, which is the same principle that produces light in incandescent bulbs. That's why only incandescents/halogens have a "true" CRI, the CRI rating of LEDs being "adaptations". The higher the temperature of the source (kelvin rating), the more like the sun the light is. But again, Kelvin ratings of LEDs and HIDs are not true, they are just adaptations. Only Incandescents produce light from black body radiation. Also, incandescents are not supposed to yellow over time, they should maintain their color for 99% of their life, and only dim at their final minutes/seconds. You are/were using low quality bulbs.

[@Redrally]

@@slicktires2011 Why yes, the incandescent bulbs were low-quality. Since we had so many damn lights in the house, we needed to buy spare bulbs in bulk. With LEDs, less lights are needed, less replacements needed and much better light quality all around. I'm an LED house-lighting advocate all the way baby! As for the blue light disrupting circadian rhythm thing, I'm at far more risk of that from all the computer screens I look at all damn day. I was surprised at just how blue Belinda's fridge light was - are the cheaper American LEDs just that badly made and crap?

[@slicktires2011]

@@Redrally Blue light during the day is not a problem, we're supposed to get it, it's present in sunlight. It's a problem after sunset, though. Nowadays most OS have automatic blue light atenuation after sunset, at least Linux and Mac. You can't to that with light bulbs, you would have to filter the blue which would defeat the purpose of having it in the first place.

[@belaad]

Warm vs cool does sound good. I also would love an exploration of cold vs warm climate vapor barriers

[@BelindaCarr]

I made videos on vapor barriers a while back: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIXbmZmbYq5pl5Y kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZSrpqyOj6d7edE I'll work on an updated video

[@MrKen59]

Well done. I think we are out of control with led lamps. Keep in mind, these are narrow spectrum extremely bright light making them a huge problem in cars and high intensity lighting in parking lots and back yards. We think because they use less power we can use more, but it’s out of control. LED headlights are blinding when not focused appropriately and the lights on emergency vehicles at night are painful to look at. My neighbors are using super bright, white LEDs around the home and has made sitting out in the back yard on a dark evening miserable. Also, if they are not adjusted right, most of the light energy is thrown everywhere but where it’s needed. Just an opinion and I am so done with led lamps.

[@BelindaCarr]

I agree!

[@terrymacleod6882]

here we have phased out 60 and 100 watts. my new leds in the shop are blinding when you look at them but not bright enough when working. i don't know anything about the science but i know what i see. or can't see so to speak. i miss the incandescents.

[@MrKen59]

@@terrymacleod6882 I agree 100%. I thought the problem is because of getting older, but it’s a bit much as people are using super white lamps that include a lot of blues. Even cars are using super bright led headlights, and while they are blinding to everyone else, it makes little improvements to the driver. I miss incandescent bulbs.

[@ljprep6250]

I hate the lack of enforcement by the state Highway Patrols everywhere when it comes to blinding LED headlights. As to your neighbors, ask them nicely if they will install motion detectors on their outside lights to allow you to enjoy the stars. I also hate the lack of enforcement of the Dark Sky laws by most cities. NOw the idiots are lighting entire bridge spans with tens of thousands of watts of LED lights in various colors "as art". Ptui! I've replaced all my 60-100w incans with 8w LEDs in 4100 or 5000k color temperature. They're bright white and allow me to see everything more clearly in the house, but they're not bright enough to bother the neighbors. BTW, I have a neighbor with a barn 150' from my bedroom window, and she's been leaving on over 1,000w of incan lights "for the horses". If the horses were smart, they'd kick some sense into her. ;) Why don't more people realize that their bright outside lights make it easier for all the bad people to get around and steal their stuff?

[@mrceolla]

I agree, again. My initial comment was deleted for some reason. If you too are concerned about headlights please Google "ban blinding headlights" and sign the petition. I'm not affiliated with it but believe in the cause

[@tcngrr41]

You covered the subject well. Another Pro on the LED list is the absence of UV light in the output spectrum which will contribute to fading/discoloring paint and plastics in a room. Sunlight is the worst offender, but fluorescent and incandescent bulbs are big players in this issue where suddenly the plastic parts on your nice white appliance are turning yellow.

[@BelindaCarr]

Great point!

[@mrceolla]

LEDs actually do produce some UV

[@skunkjobb]

While it is true that incandescent bulbs do emit some UV light, the amount is very small if we're talking about the traditional type. Halogen bulbs (which are also incandescent but run at substantially higher temperature) produce lots of UV light directly at the filament but this problem was discovered decades ago and since then, as good as all halogen bulbs use a silica glass shield that blocks most of the UV. I think (but I'm not sure) that halogen emits more UV than traditional bulbs even with the silica glass shield.

[@MiroBG359]

there have been recent studies on humans and UV light that point to how beneficial it is for us. Sun UV light especially

[@dosgos]

In the winter months, the "waste heat" of incandescent bulbs warms the room, so is not entirely wasted.

[@--julian_]

unless you live in a warm climate that doesn't get very cold

[@ggandalff]

And in the summer you should change all bulbs back to led?

[@adamdport]

@@ggandalff in the summer the days are a lot longer and you barely use them

[@ggandalff]

@@adamdport but it doesn't change that having an incandecent bulb turned on for 1 hour is the same as having 1 led turned on for 10 hours (or 10 leds for 1 hour). And the more lights you have in your home, the more apparent this difference becomes

[@189Blake]

They aren't heating the room, they are heating the ceiling. Change to led and use the saved energy in your heating instead 🙄

[@windowzombie]

Another thing that can reduce an LED light bulb's lifespan is using an incorrect fixture. The excess heat being trapped in a recessed or covered fixture is detrimental to the bulb. Besides poorly made products, I think boob lights are responsible for a lot of reduced lifespan people are experiencing. Some newer LED bulbs emulating the filament look are actually a lot better at heat management, so they might be better for more enclosed fixtures. They also provide light omnidirectionally like an incandescent.

[@thatamerican3187]

I lived in my old APT for 6 years. When I moved in a I put an LED over the kitchen stove as a cooling light and a night light. I never turned it off. When I left the Apt in April it was still going strong. That's the Difference between LED and Incandescent bulbs.

[@quintessenceSL]

Related- banding. LEDs may have gotten better, but banding and segmented CRI was a problem, making them insufficient except for very general illumination (and you'd be surprised on how much you rely on smooth, accurate color rendering). As LEDs become more widespread, I could see a time when design starts to accommodate them and things look weird in sunlight.

[@Warp2090]

LED bulbs have gotten worse. Now they last about a year

[@Taurus5]

Another great video; very informative and well explained :).

[@thebandplayedon..6145]

My first time out to buy LEDs for an off grid situation, he handed me one, said, that's $22, how many do you want? lol, yeah I went with the one.... That was 7 maybe 8 years ago, it's still going strong, and all I use are various type 12v leds now. No regrets here to going all in on solar, LEDs, and full time off grid. Cheers

[@TheRustyLM]

One of the best channels on KZbin! Thank you so much for your sober & informative presentations🙏

[@BelindaCarr]

Thank you!!

[@robertyoung1777]

We use incandescent bulbs in bedrooms and other parts of the house that are occupied in the evening and at night. LEDs work well in hallways areas if the house where color temperature of the light is less important. To render artwork colors accurately I like the look of uv filtered quartz halogen bulbs.

[@Tyler-ob3ur]

I feel you and Alec from technology connections had to be sharing notes! Love seeing both my favorite creators cover similar items with slightly different approaches. Thank you for the vid!

[@RecklessFables]

My biggest problem with LED bulbs is that the lifespan of them has always been a complete work of fiction. I have to buy light bulbs for the same fixtures every year which should not be the case under any circumstances if LEDs did what they were supposed to do. This has been the case between different brands and with fixtures where the bulb was exposed so it wasn't a victim of overheating.

[@peterjf7723]

Anyone who has a basic understanding of electronics should be able to modify the circuit boards in the lamps so they are not quite as bright but have much longer life. Phillips sells LED lamps in Dubai that use more LED filaments per lamp. This achieves the same brightness and much longer life in exchange for a higher price.

[@ggandalff]

Have you checked if there is an external problem? Like bad wiring in your home or faulty appliances on that same circuit? Because unless you are extremely unlucky they shouldn't have such a short lifespan

[@mikafoxx2717]

@@ggandalff It's not because the LED bulbs fail, it's because the electronic drivers in them get baked by the heat from the LED's. Usually the electronics are in the metal base that all the heat goes into, so for a 100w equivalent, you're basically baking that circuit at 100c all the time, which kills the capacitors. Using them in sealed enclosures only exasperates it. CFL's often didn't have that problem because their drivers are in a plastic base and the part that gets warm is the glass, which has a high surface area. With LED's, the better ones use many filaments for the rated power and use a dense gas in the bulb to cool them.

[@josipaerent3562]

Its called FRAUD !!

[@fafre3395]

Planned obsolescence. If they wanted to they could (and in certain applications they do) make LED bulbs that last a long time. But that would severely cut into their revenue, so while maybe they initially produced them to last longer (helped in getting people to switch) they are not going to design and sell lightbulbs that last 5-10 years in the long run. That would cut their lightbulb revenue down by a lot. I actually believe that the big companies did that with tungsten/incandescent bulbs as well. Before the incandescent ban I stocked up on a lot of bulbs from a smaller company that I've bought bulbs from in the past. They seem to last 2 or 3 times longer than any incandescent I ever bought from Phillips or any of those bigger companies.

[@davidhelvering]

I absolutely hate LED bulbs. I understand they are more efficient with energy, but the cons far outweigh the pros for me. I’ve never had an LED last nearly as long as the advertised time span. Meanwhile I still have an incandescent in a closet going on for what appears to be at least 30 years, maybe longer. True, it’s very dim now and the bulb is sold black when it’s off, but it’s still going. It’s holding on so valiantly that I don’t have the heart to replace it until it dies. The humming of LED bulbs drives me crazy sometimes. I don’t have them on a dimmer. I live in a 1920s house, and I think the humming is because LED bulbs don’t work well with knob-and-tube wiring. So, as a result I have to endure this constant hum. The quality of the light doesn’t seem as good. Somehow LED bulbs are both brighter and dimmer at the same time. They are too bright to look at, but the quality of the reflected light isn’t bright to my eyes. Speaking of my eyes, I have nystagmus, so my eyes often wiggle back and forth. For things like Christmas lights, I can see the lights blink, and so all LED Christmas displays are ruined for me. The directional nature of LEDs is also a problem in a lot of my fixtures. With LEDs in fixtures that point down, I don’t get that nice reflected light off the ceiling. In open lamp fixtures where the bulb is pointing up, I don’t get as much light pointing downward. For some reason, there’s a slight delay between when I flip the light switch on or off. I miss when lights would just go out immediately. When I used to need a new bulb, I could just go to the store, pick one with the wattage and base size I needed and be put in five minutes. But with LEDs, I have study the boxes for 15-20 minutes. Can I put it in an enclosed container? What are the lumens? Does the weird wattage match the fixture? What is the color temperature? What is the base size? There are just wayyy too many options that I have to comb through when selecting a bulb. It’s so frustrating. And why is the enclosed container message written in the small print? And then there’s the recycling issue…. I know I sound like I’m ranting, and I guess I am. But I’m just trying to convey how frustrating I find LED bulbs. However efficient they are in terms of electrical energy, they are inefficient when it comes to my physical and emotional energy. I don’t mind the existence of LEDs, and I even think they have a place, but in practical situations like a home, I don’t see them being able to compete with incandescent bulbs.

[@robhardy1109]

A few facts many folks don't know: Color temp and CRI aren't rigidly mated. That's why a 3000K incandescent looks so much better than CFL or LED of the same temperature. Also, not every manufacturer rates their lifespans the same. MANY bulbs rate based on a base-below orientation in an open air fixture (like a lamp). If you put your LED in a fixture with the socket above the bulb, the driver takes on vastly higher temps. If your LED is in a dome light (what we call them instead haha) it will likewise suffer from poor heat loss. Lighting is a HUGE part of my business, it's been fun to experiment with all the different tech. Too bad induction didn't take off... true 100k hour lights. Great video again!

[@BradThePitts]

I'm a lighting professional and I can help illuminate your comment. (Pun intended.) - Color Temp and CRI aren't related at all - the only way they ARE related is consumer light fixtures say for a garage are typically cheap LEDs with low CRI, say 60 or 70. - If you want to pay the piper, you can find 3000K bulbs with a CRI of over 90 but typically they are not found at the big box store and if you buy them on Amazon they are lying. - REAL light manufacturers predict the lifespan of their LEDs the same - they use methods of data called TM-21 and LM-80 or LM-70. The industry isn't what you call "regulated" so many companies, in particular the Chinese ones make up their claims. Even the helpful "lighting facts" info recently seen on packaging isn't regulated or audited - it's voluntary. - What you said is true, the LED bulbs are measured on a best-case scenario - open air and likely at room temperature. - Induction lamps didn't take off because they had too much heat for the interior world, they didn't like the cold in the outdoor world, and the bulbs were wildly fragile! I've had countless induction bulbs explode right in my hands, shattering glass everywhere!

[@kimberlindy]

@@BradThePitts if you can't get them at big box stores, and I trust nothing from Amazon, where do you get them from?

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

By all means Belinda, color temps (frequencies). I try to get 3 to 4.5 k at the most. The color changing bulbs, red to white is incredibly helpful for indoor winter handling of honey bees (see Canadian beekeeper Ian Steppler). Not to forget photography darkrooms. And finally the was the 1924 planned obsolescence "Phoebus cartel" with Anton Philips, General Electric, Osram and France’s Compagnie des Lampes. They set up a cartel compliance central testing lab in Switzerland. The industry standard of 2,500 hours in 1924 eventually dropped to 1,000 hours by 1940. The Phoebus cartel is considered to have given birth to what is called ‘planned obsolescence’ of industrial products. With a system with fines to ensure everyone in the cartel complied with the agreement. Thank you again.

[@artofverity8791]

Incandescent bulbs are made to have a limited life but a simple voltage reduction (or dimmer switch, set to 50%) will make them last much longer. Did you hear the story of the 50+ year always on incandescent?

[@ntp9209]

Thank you so much for your informative videos. Even though I started in the trades when I was 15 and am now 76, I still learn a lot from every video. I appreciate the information about the possible dangers of LED (blue) light. This may be my imagination, but it is my experience that I do not see as well using LED lighting. I first noticed it using LED flashlights, which was the first LED lighting I used years ago. Because of my concerns and these experiences, I decided not to use LED lighting when I built the home in which I live. I have all incandescent lighting. I live in the northern US, on the border with Canada and this area has an almost exclusively heating climate. So heat lost to the space by the incandescent bulbs just takes the load off my heating system, which is also electric (no natural gas in this area). Thanks again for the great service you perform!

[@jeremycolfer7118]

Perfect video - the science behind it, differences in the product themselves and then practical usage / quality of life considerations. Thank you so much. I have no more questions after watching this

[@rolly4x4]

I nearly spat my drink out when you said “boob lights” 🤣🤣🤣 wasn’t expecting that lol

[@dosgos]

Follow up with more detail like colour temperature. Some more expensive modern LEDs use drivers that push flicker to very high rates in an attempt to make flicker "un-perceptible". Is there much health research on blue light and flicker? At my desk, the incandescent light is very pleasing.

[@herculesrockefeller8969]

Thanks for another helpful video, Belinda! Thank goodness for LEDs, the intermediate solution, CFLs, were a disaster foisted on us by manufacturers. They flickered, had a shorter life than advertised, required special cleanups if broken, and were bulky for the amount of light they gave off. Almost all of them came form China, and were poorly made. Their only saving grace was they reduced energy use, but not like LEDs.

[@artofverity8791]

The CFL in my kitchen has been going for 10+ years

[@zone4garlicfarm]

CFLs outlasted incandescent bulbs because of power spikes that cause incandescent bulbs to burn out. CFLs were not sensitive to power spikes. Incandescent bulbs often needed replacing several times a year while CFLs and other flourescent lights would last several years. Much of the power grid has been upgraded since I replaced the incandescent bulbs in my house so spikes are less common than they used to be.

[@BelindaCarr]

I still have CFLs for my studio lights. Fortunately, I haven't had any issues with them. 🤞🏽

[@HKKyoya]

The common cause of CFL failure was overheating. When these bulbs were put into small glass domes, like ceiling lights, they would get way too hot, and burn out too quickly. The tube lights didn't have this problem. But for many other reasons, I'm also glad they're gone.

[@l0I0I0I0]

Thank you! I have been using LEDs for a long time now. Reality is obselessence is built into LEDs so they don't last 20-30 years as advertised as you disclosed. They often burn out after a few years or less and need to be replaced. I think it's the electronics that fails in LEDs. Suppose to work 20 years. Would love to see which LEDs can be trust to last!

[@123four...]

Yeah, a lot of the electronics are cheap and almost set up for failure. One thing I'd advise to make your bulbs last as long as possible is making sure they are in the right fixture. LEDs lifespan is drastically reduced when they are in an enclosed fixture since the heat slowly melts the electronics. Even when it says they are suitable for enclosed fixtures, I've found their lifespan is still decreased. They work best in fixtures with ample airflow and where they are not upside down as heat rises and when they are upside down the heat flows to the electronics.

[@milloons2847]

Thanks for this exposé. One thing though about the soldering. Solder is always an eutectic alloy. So the claim that the lifespan is positively affected by using 'an eutectic alloy' is not correct.

[@jowendel1155]

Thank you for your informative videos! I'm wondering if you could touch on the differences between disposing of LED and incandescent lights. As you mentioned, the LED's aren't living up to their advertised life spans. Are burned out LED light bulbs and fixtures more problematic waste than incandescent bulbs?

[@HKKyoya]

I'd also be interested in an in depth video on this. From what I know, the biggest reasons for premature failure are the LEDs not being properly cooled, and cheap manufacturing.

[@chrisforker7487]

I installed tube LED lights in my wood shop. They are awesome, I like it bright in the shop and the light is thrown in all directions equally.

[@Scudmaster11]

With my experience... CFL and LED is really bad... and I can write more then enough info explaining why incandescents are better

[@indobrit4999]

Incandescent are good for eyes

[@j.g.3293]

This channel gets me so hyped to design my future home

[@jimurrata6785]

Very interesting episode Belinda. 👍 A few points though. LED bulbs were first popularized among RVer's because their much higher efficiency didn't pull down the house battery so quickly. These are DC systems running at 12 volts and no one wants to listen to their generator running all night. A diode _by definition_ is DC, it's the circuit board you show that converts household AC for the diodes in the bulb. Emitted light is down to the phosphors covering the LED chip, not RGB like a display. Better phosphors emit in a broader range and somewhat kill the 460nm blue peak. (Massive geek tangent snipped. 🤓) Im personally inclined to the range of 4,500-5,500. But I'm sensitive to lights (and especially 60hz bulb flicker) CRI is _so much more_ than colour temperature. Specific bulbs are used for things like butcher cases to make the product more appealing. Rendering is about broad spectral balance and I would love to see you do an episode about that, and how hue in the home, shop or office effects those environments and mood... You, as an architect, certainly studied how both natural and artificial light will effect spaces and volumes within your construct. There are specialist lighting designers and famous artists like James Tyrell who make a living manipulating this human perception. (Tyrell holds a degree in psychology) It would be great if you could interview a specialist.

[@mrceolla]

CRI is a completely separate metric from color temperature. While extreme color temperatures on either end of the spectrum will have lower cri, they are otherwise unrelated. Also CRI is no longer sufficient for perfectly describing light quality/performance. Two different LED bulbs could have the same color temperature and CRI but perform differently. "CRI R9" is an example of one of the newer metrics showing up on some products. It is usually not considered in the overall CRI calculation and knowing this particular value can give you a better idea how good it will be with skin tones. Other metrics that are more accurate than CRI but are hard to find on consumer products include: TM-30-nn, Color Quality Scale, Color Fidelity Index, plus some others.

[@jimurrata6785]

@@mrceollaI appreciate the comment. I guess _"much more than"_ ... =/= completely different?? My suggestion was for Belinda to have someone on to discuss these things in depth. Would you like to volunteer?

[@mrceolla]

@@jimurrata6785 Ha, no. While I consider my knowledge on the topics of light and how it interacts with human eyes plus other living things to be greater than most, I hold no credentials in the area and no longer work with lighting professionally. So, I don't think I would qualify as the specialist or expert worthy of being interviewed for a video. In fact I'm not sure what kind of individual would be best. A special mixture of light physicist, optometrist, biochemist, and neuroscientist would be perfect. Good luck finding that combo ;-)

[@eric_emenhiser]

I had to replace several LED bulbs in my kitchen because when they were turned on they caused interference with my over the air TV signals, causing me to loose all of the VHF TV stations.

[@drewcipher896]

I always go for the dimmable "retro/coil" led bulbs. They're more expensive but seem to handle their heat better and last so much longer than the cheap plastic covered Sylvania, Kodak, Amazon, brands. Phillips and Cree are generally pretty good in NA. I've had some early GE led bulbs only last 4 years before the drivers failed, but I kept them in an enclosed boob light. LED bulbs hate heat.

[@Snow_Warning]

Hi Belinda, I recently came back to this video because I needed some guidance on color accuracy I would love a video explaining CRI’s in more detail, as well as the Kelvin Color Temperature scale

[@robertjames-life4768]

Finishing my master bedroom now we will have converted all of our lights to LED. Love ‘em. Haven’t replaced a bulb in years.

[@Warp2090]

Dumb

[@zeitgeist5134]

It seems to me that the heat generated by incandescent bulbs is a plus in winter. In summer, there is far less need for light because the day is longer, and thus there is less heat generated. I much prefer that warm light generated by incandescent bulbs. Alas. (I particularly delight in the yellow light of incandescent bug-light bulbs. If you put them flanking the mirror in your bathroom...oh, you will be surprised how good you look in the mirror. Bliss.)

[@peterjf7723]

It's worth looking up Dubai lamps. These are LED lamps made by Phillips for sale in Dubai. They are more expensive but much longer life than the standard LED lamps. This is achieved by using more LEDs in each bulb to achieve the same brightness while under running the LEDs. Anyone with a basic understanding of electronics should be able to modify the circuit board in an LED lamp to slightly under run, giving the a longer life. Look up Big Clive's KZbin channel, he covered this in more detail a year or two ago.

[@BelindaCarr]

I've watched his fascinating video on it. Hope to get my hands on them soon!

[@PhiLeo7973]

Thank you Belinda for another informative presentation. May I suggest you consider listing the fine products you recommend & showcase. For example, the color changing LED bulb with the app & CREE & GE high quality LED bulbs. Your KZbin content creation requires much work & research. A convenient Amazon affiliate link for products you feature, will provide you with additional, much deserved revenue generated by appreciative viewers & subscribers. Best to you & hubby. Looking forward to your next video, phil

[@TheMichman63]

I have had absolutely no luck with LED bulbs since changing from CFL. I didn't like the CFL's because they start getting that orange powder around the base of the tubes. But since switching to LED I am having to replace them more often than incandescent bulbs. They start flickering after a month or two, then they just go out. I am not the only one complaining about this type of issue. So they really need to improve before I buy them again. I'll take my chances on other types of bulbs.

[@radiotec76]

I haven’t had any problem with LED color temperature. I just select an LED bulb with a color temperature of 2700 Kelvin. I stick with name brands. On the downside I don’t like the move away from Edison fixtures. It creates another landfill matter stream.

[@cho4d]

I wish you touched more on the fact that not all LED lightbulbs are created equally. If you want a bit of a deep dive look up big clive's videos on "The Dubai Lamp". TLDR just because it's an LED doesn't mean it's not an environmentally catastrophic piece of engineered garbage.

[@danl.4743]

Ahhh, the Philips Dubai Lamp that you need to know the secret hand shake on order to find? I want some.

[@BelindaCarr]

I think we all want to get our hands on those Dubai light bulbs :)

[@danl.4743]

@@BelindaCarr Yes! Even more than I want to get my hands on the boob lamps, and that says a lot! 🤣

[@emac543]

Great job! Your information was so complete, clear and easy to understand.

[@nightpups5835]

so one trick I learned on led bulbs, you can quickly tell if a bulb is better than another (at a given wattage) by the number of diodes it has, more diodes is better because it runs less power through each for the same light output. Since heat is the main killer this greatly improves the life span as the diodes don't get as hot. Also this means modification to an led bulb to increase air flow and cooler of the diode area can increase lifespan.

[@jerryngobese3216]

Thank You Belinda ... very knowledgeable as always, my favourite engineer am sharing your videos with my engineering daughter but she just shrugs me off ...

[@livingladolcevita7318]

a problem I had when switching bulbs was that in a cluster one of the led bulbs glowed slightly when switched off so I had to put an incandescent bulb in, which seemed to solve the issue.

[@homefrontforge]

I finish drywall. Using incandescent or halogen bulbs to illuminate walls while sanding give much greater reflectivity than fluorescents or LEDs. Could this be the difference in true wattage as opposed to perceived wattage?

[@zone4garlicfarm]

I used to use 500 watt halogen work lights for interior painting and the light was very good but the bulbs would need replacing every few days at $5.00 each. With 2-4 shining on a work surface from diferent directions to reduce shadows the bulbs were a significant annual expense. About 5 years ago I bought LED work lights and while they put out plenty of light the quality wasn't as good. It wasn't as easy to see flaws in the wet coating as it was with halogen lighting. Now I use the LED lights I bought 5 years ago for most of my work and I keep a couple halogen lights to use for the final coat when the LEDs aren't good enough.

[@BelindaCarr]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@mrceolla]

I've experienced the same problem while painting with LED work lights. The low CRI made it hard to distinguish the new paint from the underneath color causing poor coverage

[@Wyatt_James]

Those would have been photofloods, no? A halogen should last a lot longer than a few days but a 500w photoflood will last at most about 60 hours, though I usually see 6 or 20 quoted on the box. Still very useful for my filming purposes though! A lot of light in a small form factor, perfect color, and a good 3400k color temperature, or 5600 for the daylight units, not too warm or cool.

[@zone4garlicfarm]

@@Wyatt_James I don't know what a photoflood is. They were the standard halogen work lights that you could buy in any hardware, building supply or big box store. It didn't matter if I bought cheap or expensive bulbs or fixtures. The problem seems to be the filament getting weak when it is hot and work lights get moved and bumped many times in a day.

[@VictorMistral]

Incandescent light can be near 100% efficient : the heat loss of incandescent light is not a lost when you are anyway spending energy to heat your house. Sure, heat pump are more effecient, but incandescent light and resistive heating about as efficient, where light are slighlty less due to light leakage... Though that kind of is it's defined role.

[@beard05]

I have to say your way of explaining is grate

[@logandodson1484]

I am not sure if you have covered this issue before, but can you discuss the “breathability” of different drywall products in a future video. I live in a very humid climate, and I worry about making changes to my home that prevent moisture from evaporating. Love you channel - I have been binge watching it. Thank you.

[@shoelace9932]

Hey Belinda, Is there any chance you could talk about urban planning on the youtube channel or the podcast? I really enjoy your videos and I think you could provide really good information about this important aspect of our lives. Thanks and great video as always.

[@JC-kb2qg]

Such an informative video! Belinda I appreciate your effort!!

[@TradieTrev]

hahaha with the boob lights!! Colloquially called oysters here. In my local area we have Zellweger motors that introduce a 1050Hz signal into our 50Hz source. It's used to load shed our heating elements, yet causes flickering issues how most dimmable switch mode supplies work! Just thought I'd share, I'm in SE QLD Australia and it's a common issue with our infrastructure; cheap gear.

[@acheyawachtel9409]

Inside all of us there is a Belinda Carr and a Technology Connections

[@radish6691]

LED lights in traffic signals don’t melt accumulated snow which can be a problem where it snows, depending on the design of the housing.

[@kimberlindy]

Yeah, that was a problem here in Chicago. So they added heaters to the fixtures. So in the end I think this ended up using more energy.

[@bobjackson4720]

I have been using LED lights on a 24v DC power supply for several years, they are ok but sometimes flicker (in cool weather) and over time gradually fail. I have also used LED lights on 240 volts AC often with very disappointing service life's (some times ridiculously short 20 hours for flood lights). In my general experience LED lights have inferior service life's when compared to incandescent or fluorescent. Perhaps you could compare these last two (in a video).

[@SteveP-vm1uc]

I'd absolutely like to learn a lot more on LED bulbs. I am presently very unhappy with my 4 foot fluorescent bulbs/fixtures in my shop. I live in Florida, so normally temperature isn't a problem, but about half of the light don't want to come fully on for several minutes even in 80* degrees heat!! I want to convert the present fixtures to LED, but don't have a clue of the best and efficient way to do so. I do know I want to get rid of all the ballasts. Also COLOR and BRIGHTNESS are big issues as well.. So YES!!!!! PLEASE teach us all there is to know to make our homes efficient and bright and our shops and basements great for hobbies and work..

[@HypeRapEnjoyer]

I don't understand the eutetic solder preventing flickering? Eutetic solder has a lower melting point, but what does that have to do with the circuit being sensitive to flicker?

[@thrustprop67]

Thanks for all your excellent videos ,,, the shipping container controversy was interesting ,,, I think you are right

[@hobbyhermit66]

Many LED lights now don't use old school Light Emitting Diodes. They use Luxon Emitter Diodes now. They are brighter, but give off more heat, and have a higher current draw I believe. 👍👍

[@danielemur]

I’d love a video on warm vs. cool light. Been trying to figure out what color temperatures to use in various rooms throughout my house.

[@BradThePitts]

The Illuminating Engineering Society of North American (IESNA) has a 1,500 page book of standards and the "correct" color temperature to use in a particular room is not one of them - it's per your preference. That said, most people prefer warmer tones in the bedroom, say 2800K, 3000K in kitchen which is cooler but still warm and "cozy" - and 4000K in playrooms.

[@satoristeve]

I'm interested in the warm vs cool light topic. I'd done a fair bit of research on this not too long ago as I tried to figure out how to best design the lighting for my recently-bought house (with zero lighting design background--believe me, design is definitely an art/skill and if I could justify hiring a pro it absolutely would've been worth it). Ultimately almost every light in the house is a temperature-adjustable white LED, where we've standardized on 3000K for the majority of the house, with 3500K in the bathrooms and kitchen to be closer to a 'natural' daylight look. The kitchen bulbs are on a dimmer which very neatly will lower the temp as they're dimmed, so the kitchen is usually around 3000K to match the rest of the house unless we're cooking.

[@dalloiselle635]

Excellent presentation. I believe you can now get LED’s that will emit different light during different times of the day producing more red at night as in mature and different thus are good before going to sleep.

[@jayski9410]

I've noticed that LED lights sometimes emit a fuzzy or incoherent light and other times emit almost laser like light. By the I mean that objects in that light cast sharp clear shadows, almost like a projection. The ones throwing fuzzy light show a continuous gradient from shadow to light with no clear edges. I was wondering if it might be differences in the drivers, as if one might be using pure sine wave electricity and another square wave or something else altogether?

[@donamills]

Hi Belinda. Off topic here. But I was wondering what are your thoughts on crawl space encapsulation. Any response would be appreciated

[@MiroBG359]

have yet to meet an LED light that last as long as advertised. My GE Stik just failed after 3 years so that's $13 down the drain. So much for "lasts 13 years" promise on the pack. The plastic around the base has cracked and is literally crumbling off when you touch it. The second bulb isn't even the same color - it has a strong blue tinge vs the jaundice yellow tinge of the first bulb. I bought basic incandescent bulbs and can't say I regret it

[@lagringa7518]

I hate the white light and love the warm, so yes, please a video on those differences!

[@Koitus36]

Covering Temperature of lighting with in an in depth analysis could help a lot of people.

[@BelindaCarr]

Working on it!

[@Koitus36]

@@BelindaCarr Did not expect a response, but now that I have your attention… Please discuss how there is so many cheap junk options when it comes to LED lighting. Especially when it comes to LED surface mount lights that everyone wants. People don’t seem to understand that the 6 pack of LED lights you get off of Amazon for $100 is not a great product. Also, when it come to the kelvins, why you don’t want a 4000k light and that you can buy 2500k lights or even adjustable lights. Yes, they cost more, but you get a much better product for a much better product. And don’t even get me started on the retrofit LED lights people are changing to without an actual box to control the current.

[@JohnSmith-kf1fc]

You should see my house, its all in the 2200k range. I like it WARM. Plus , in the winter that heat itsnt lost, it just warms the place. Something above 3000K just makes me feel bad, unless im trying to work.

[@NeonNijahn]

Led lighting has completely changed the way we gaffers light film and TV productions. It has revolutionized our industry and added so much versatility while vastly reducing energy consumption from burning massive 1800 and 1400 amp diesel generators, and instead using Shattered prism's solar generator systems.

[@seanrhone5306]

Love your videos! Always learn something interesting.

[@GroovyMisfit]

Do you have to could you create video regarding the selection of good quality LED bulbs, strips, and COB strips? Thanks.

[@dosgos]

Historic shift to LEDs was for environmental reasons but LEDs are not as green as we are being told. Lots of electronics inside the bulb are resource intense and landfill nightmares. Transportation of heavy bulbs from Asia vs local production of lightweight incandescent bulbs. Much shorter lifespan than expected. Significant decrease in brightness after a few weeks of use. Low power factors open door for utilities to charge more for LED power consumption. This is looking like the corn they are forcing into fuels for "environmental" purposes.

[@kimberlindy]

I did research on the whole ethanol push around 2010. Basically driven by the corn lobby so they could sell more corn. They could never get the energy it took to convert corn or anything into ethanol low enough for it to make sense.

[@dosgos]

@@kimberlindy Your friendly GMO firms and the Natural Gas companies (fertilizer) also benefited from these inefficient mandates. It is a massive hidden tax and environmental debacle which only benefits a few powerful families.

[@neelubird]

Thanks for sharing, very informative. I hate that buzzing sound that the newer energy efficient bulbs make- I suffer from hyperacusis so that noise makes me feel unwell. I actually prefer halogen bulbs because of the discomfort I get from the energy saver bulbs. Maybe I'm buying the wrong type cos my brother's house has LEDs and I don't mind them.

[@chrisforker7487]

Another excellent informative video, thanks!

[@Rickmakes]

Incandescent aren’t really any less efficient IF they are being used in a place where primary heating is resistive electric and it is heating season. My point being, when it comes to energy efficiency, one size doesn’t fit all.

[@alanturing8382]

I would note that LEDs are by nature, DC driven. The reason LEDS fail is the drivers that fall in led bulbs are converting AC to DC. Examples of LEDs without drivers are the ones that are powered by USB. there are also systems designed to run directly off of battery and solar power, or a central converter with low voltage cable running through a building.

[@alexsafonov7270]

Interesting stuff, thank you for this explanation that I find to be thorough and easy to understand.

[@alexsafonov7270]

and I must say, Belinda's ham looks absolutely delicious 😋👌🏽

[@tmm3258]

I’m really curious. CFL vs LED. Is it worth it replacing my 5 still-working-just-fine CFLs with LEDs? 🤔 Great video as always!

[@AlecMuller]

I'd look at the lumens/watt and how often you use the light. A CFL might produce 60 lumens/watt while LEDs can be 80 to 120. Incandescents are only ~14. If you only use the light a couple of hours per month, it might be a very long payback.

[@chandlerdempsey8412]

It’s not worth it, let them burn out first.

[@roelsalengua2986]

...very nice content! Thank you, this is exactly what we're tasked to research, u made it easy for me. 😊😉😁looking forward for that cool and warm light topic in d nxt video

[@BelindaCarr]

Thanks, Roel.

[@gwentexas]

How would you describe fluorescent bulbs? Healthy or not please?

[@tim7409]

Retinal Damage and eye diseases A 2020 study by The French Agency for Food, Environment and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) reported that LEDs can cause ‘irreversible damage’ to the retina. Our retina is the part of the eye that absorbs light from our surroundings and allows us to see. According to their report, exposure to powerful LEDs is ‘photo-toxic and can lead to irreversible loss of retinal cells. Over time, this may lead to a loss in vision sharpness. According to their 400-page report, both ‘acute exposure’ (such as staring at a very strong light for a short while) and ‘chronic exposure’ (being exposed to low-intensity sources over a long period) both have the same effect. Chronic exposure accelerates the ageing of our retinal tissue. Over time this may cause vision loss or lead to diseases such as macular degeneration.

[@eldergeektromeo9868]

Thank You, Belinda!

[@dosadoodle]

Quality LEDs are awesome and last (but as you said, many cheap LEDs do not). We bought Polaroid* bulbs after examining the light color and dimming qualities of a half dozen different bulbs that we were considering. Not a single one burned out in our home in the 6 years out of the ~15 bulbs. We left a few spares for the new owners just in case so they could have consistent color/lighting rather than try to find a new matching bulb. *Who knew Polaroid made LEDs??? But sadly, I think Polaroid stopped making LED bulbs a few years after that. :(

[@MorryB]

The Polaroid company ceased to exist in the early 2000's. Now its just a marketing ploy to use their name to re-brand other manufacturers products.

[@dosadoodle]

@@MorryB Interesting. Perhaps the owners of the Polaroid brand are doing quality control to protect their investment, because the bulbs were definitely high quality.

[@mrceolla]

If one of those bulbs dies and the new owners put in one of the backups it is not going to match the rest. If the bulbs are close together and they want them to look uniform, all of them will have to be replaced. One of the many downsides to LEDs

[@dosadoodle]

@@mrceolla Any color drift over time, if that's what you're implying, was not noticeable. The bulbs were the same brand and model, all purchased at the same time.

[@mrceolla]

@@dosadoodle you said none ever burned out while you were there so how would you know? This problem won't become apparent until you have a bulb that has been used for a number of years sitting right next to a bulb that has never been turned on

[@BradThePitts]

My biggest complaint about LEDs is almost none of them *"dim to warm"* like incandescent sources do. I therefore only use LEDs where dimming is not used - the garage, the playroom, and outdoors.

[@BarryPiper]

I've been running about three dozen LED downlights (similar to that one you held up with the attached driver, but the driver is MUCH smaller) in various rooms of various houses for about ten years and so far I have had to replace two. It's easy enough, since they unplug from the driver. Also I am in a country that borders China, so they're dirt cheap here. And they don't get warm at all. I had one testing on my bench for an hour and it was barely warmer than the benchtop itself. I'm not sure why yours warm up to 50°C.

[@jakesyaseen8494]

Thank you 💕 for sharing knowledge, from Johannesburg South Africa 👍

[@BelindaCarr]

Thanks, Jakes!

[@israelisjeshuas7009]

Really informative video. Thanks.

[@jklubnik]

Dang, Belinda... another excellent video!

[@kristenfrosch]

I love your videos, thank you for addressing this topic! I would want to know, if LED lights that are meant to mimic incandescent bulbs actually putting off the same light, or if we can tell the difference.

[@GhostedStories]

Thank you for this! Is it true some LEDs, especially the cheap ones, can trigger epilepsy?

[@pawshands9706]

As usual , another great video. Thank you.

[@BelindaCarr]

Thank you!

[@AnilKumar-xl2te]

Thank you Belinda

[@Blitzkrieg2024]

Do you have the source for this information from the reputed research paper specially the incandescent bulb ? kindly share if you have

[@josephkrsnak8691]

When do you use lights the most, the winter and what do you do in the winter heat your house so the waste heat is not wasted. add to that the material in the base of the LED need special disposal and manufacturing using toxic chemicals. The life span is a sales hook as I have never had one last as long as they say.

[@BelindaCarr]

I agree on the lifespan. As for the heat generated, it depends on where you live. We definitely don't need more heat here in Texas!

[@blackmamba3427]

Wow. Amazing video and information 👌

[@MrWinstonSmith]

Well explained. I understand more now.