"Vintage" LED light bulbs

[HudsonHawk]

A while back, I remember a thread where we discussed the new high efficiency light bulbs...CFL vs. Incandescent vs. LED, etc. One of the complaints about newer bulbs is the harshness of the light and bulb itself. I've been seeing a lot of new technology on bulbs lately, and one that's becoming more and more available are the LED bulbs that look like a filament incandescent, and replicate the soft, glow. This is an example of the new "vintage"-looking LED bulbs.



They're coming down in price too, with this example being $14.99 and others under $10. Not cheap for a light bulb, but they last 10 times longer, don't get hot and use 1/20th the power.

 

[Burma Schave]

It was bound to happen. Now the world will have to find something different to rant about.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'd like to see one that looks like a standard '30s-era Mazda bulb -- A19 envelope, no exhaust tip, frosted interior but *not soft white.* The light appeared as a round, diffused spot in the middle of the bulb rather than an overall glow.

We recently had to re-bulb the entire auditorium area at work, dealing with fixtures that were designed to use 60 watt incandescent bulbs on an analog dimmer system. Halogen bulbs run too hot, and LEDs wouldn't dim properly. I had a stockpile of regular 60W bulbs, but not enough to do the whole theatre. I ended up buying a case of incandescent traffic signal bulbs, which ought to last us about fifteen years in normal use. By that time, hopefully, the LEDs will have all the bugs worked out and will be cheaper.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I'd like to see one that looks like a standard '30s-era Mazda bulb -- A19 envelope, no exhaust tip, frosted interior but *not soft white.* The light appeared as a round, diffused spot in the middle of the bulb rather than an overall glow.

We recently had to re-bulb the entire auditorium area at work, dealing with fixtures that were designed to use 60 watt incandescent bulbs on an analog dimmer system. Halogen bulbs run too hot, and LEDs wouldn't dim properly. I had a stockpile of regular 60W bulbs, but not enough to do the whole theatre. I ended up buying a case of incandescent traffic signal bulbs, which ought to last us about fifteen years in normal use. By that time, hopefully, the LEDs will have all the bugs worked out and will be cheaper.

They have A19 LED bulbs of all manner, frosted and non-frosted, but I'm not sure it'd be the look you want. As for dimming, LED dimming works on a completely different principle than incandescent, and while analog dimmers should work in theory, LED bulbs don't always work and play well with others. But as you say, one day technology will catch up and you'll be able to get exactly what you want. I'm digging the color changing LEDs. Pretty much an infinite choice of colors in the same bulb.

 

[sheeplady]

There was a recent article run on Green Building Advisor on the technical aspects of these bulbs:
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/guest-blogs/led-filament-bulbs

 

[pawineguy]

They have A19 LED bulbs of all manner, frosted and non-frosted, but I'm not sure it'd be the look you want. As for dimming, LED dimming works on a completely different principle than incandescent, and while analog dimmers should work in theory, LED bulbs don't always work and play well with others. But as you say, one day technology will catch up and you'll be able to get exactly what you want. I'm digging the color changing LEDs. Pretty much an infinite choice of colors in the same bulb.

I installed a networked LED system in my kitchen. Any party for the kids I match the lighting to whatever color their current sports team is, the party theme or randomly set the mood to "sunset", "beach", "intense white", etc... controlled from my iPhone. I can create virtually any color using a slider. Yes, it's a toy, but a fun look into the future of lighting.

 

[LuvMyMan]

A while back, I remember a thread where we discussed the new high efficiency light bulbs...CFL vs. Incandescent vs. LED, etc. One of the complaints about newer bulbs is the harshness of the light and bulb itself. I've been seeing a lot of new technology on bulbs lately, and one that's becoming more and more available are the LED bulbs that look like a filament incandescent, and replicate the soft, glow. This is an example of the new "vintage"-looking LED bulbs.

View attachment 26463

They're coming down in price too, with this example being $14.99 and others under $10. Not cheap for a light bulb, but they last 10 times longer, don't get hot and use 1/20th the power.

Nice! Where do you find them at?

 

[Stearmen]

I am amazed with the change in LED technology in the last few years. I have been playing with them since they first came out. Recently, I got to see some LED headlights for motorcycles, they were very bright, and you could put your hand on the lens even after an hour, something you could not do just a few years ago. I have one in my favorite reading lamp, the old incandescent bulbs would get so hot in the summer, now it is cool, in more ways then one!

 

[HudsonHawk]

Nice! Where do you find them at?

They have a bunch of different styles at 1000bulbs.com. But you can these at Target.