Remote Living > Lighting
New 120VAC LEDs
JamesJackson:
"How will manufacturers cripple them so that they will burn out faster so more revenue can be generated?"
Good point. I believe that the life will be limited by their using inferior heatsinks - or overdriving the LEDs. Either method will drastically shorten the life of an LED.
Regards,
James Jackson
Oztronics
JamesJackson:
Just thought that I'd do an update.
I've been using my 2-LED 120-VAC 'light' for almost 4 years now. It gets about 2 to 3 hours of use each day. It is in the bathroom, and is in a 2-bulb socket. The other socket is occupied by a CFL fluorescent bulb.
Just recently, I noticed that there seemed to be less light in the bathroom than normal. Looking up, I noticed that the CFL appears to be going 'out'. The LED light is as strong as it ever was. Or it appears to be so.
So, this seems to be a good design that I put up.
I know - I should measure the light - but I don't have the proper means to do so. I'm just happy with the performance of the 120-VAC LED 'bulb' that I designed and installed almost 4 years ago.
Regards,
James
richhagen:
Hi James. The LED technology has improved quite a bit in the ensuing time too. If I read this right, if the LED's were actually putting out about 80 Lumen and consuming 20 mA of 120V AC, then they were netting you about 33 and a third Lumen per Watt. If they were, or had similar specs to the Cree's and were not over driven or over heated, they are likely still giving you about the same. The price and availability of higher efficiency LED's has dropped significantly in the past several years. The last batch of lights I made had LED's rated at 107 Lumen per Watt or better, and even with a reasonable driver will beat out a compact fluorescent of reasonable size in terms of Lumen per Watt now. In comparison compact fluorescents of the 15 Watt variety yield about 60 Lumen per Watt or so, but smaller ones are considerably less efficient.
Glad to hear that the lights have held up well for you there. It does show that the basic concept is sound and gives me additional hope that the lights I have built will last a long time. Of 62 or so of them we have installed around the World, (thanks, again for your assistance with the first mission to the Philippines by the way) all of the led light assemblies still work so far as I am aware, although one Bruce and I inspected has greatly reduced light output because it was apparently overheated and damaged by basically moving it in a chimney and a few of the others we installed at remote areas could use a good cleaning as they have also become covered in soot in huts with fireplaces. Affordable batteries that can last for more than a few years are the sole weakest link in maintaining these types of systems without outside intervention now. So far I am happy with the concept of LED lighting as it has survived in rather harsh conditions where I am thinking that one would go through quite a few compact fluorescent bulbs in the lifespan of one LED light. Hope all is well down in Texas, Rich
JamesJackson:
Hey Rich! How ya been?
RE: LED Light output -
Yeah, it doesn't sound like much when you work through the numbers, but from my experience using LEDs, you can't just go by the numbers. It may just be my perception, but to me, the LED lighting that I've worked with appears much brighter than what the numbers say it is.
Those two LEDs that make up the 120VAC light I have will almost light the small bathroom space all by itself. In fact, I tried to do just that for a while, but the light output is just not quite enough for shaving and doing early morning 'wake-up' things. Hence, the CFL plugged in next to it. Both 'bulbs' are about the same age, and it is interesting that I will need to replace the CFL soon.
Luxeon has a 'high voltage' LED now... the Luxeon-H. It appears to work on about 50-volts, and two of them together would make a small 'bulb' capable of working on 120VAC. They are rated at about 100 Lumens each, if I recall correctly. I may get some of them and wire them up.
RE: your LEDs around the world -
Good. I'm glad that that is working out for you. I never got the photos you promised of the installation where my LVD controller went.
RE: Batteries -
Funny, but the battery that I initially purchased over 5 years ago is still going. It is a 12-Volt SLA 17Ah, that I used almost everyday for over 4 years - then retired it last year, replacing it with a larger 35Ah battery. I checked it a few months ago, and it was still charged. I topped it off, and use it for small demos of my LED lighting systems. I believe that the longevity of SLAs can be long, if they are treated properly.
One LED light that I designed (and I believe I documented it on either my Facebook page or another forum), consists of the adhesive-backed LED strips that you can get these days. I put the strips in a picture frame, and wired it up to a 12-volt switched circuit. When lit, it is bright, and the light appears to be sunlight coming in through the window during the day. My wife loves it.
Thanks for your comments.
Regards,
James Jackson
Oztronics
richhagen:
Hi James, sorry, I missed your reply when you posted it. I was getting ready to head out to Australia at the time and probably had not been checking the board much then. I am actually working on a writeup of both of the trips I made to the Philippines, and also, BruceS and I are planning to go back in November for another project there.
I have some photos of the installation of the Oztronics LVD board. (in spite of how nice it is I did actually part with it by using it as you intended) It was installed at a child care facility which had no electricity to it outside of Banaue in Ifugoa province in the Philippines. I had debated about where it would get the best use. Most of the houses where we installed systems were basically one room huts so there would not be much advantage to being able to control the lights with an infrared remote. I actually made the holes in the box for the infrared receiver and the indicator LED's with my Leatherman in the Philippines as it was one of many items I did not finish before leaving for the trip. It actually turned out nice in spite of my imperfect planning and preparation. The childcare facility was mostly used in the daytime at present because of the lighting issue, although they would utilize flashlights and kerosene lanterns after dark. Even in the daytime it was a poorly lit room. I coupled one of the lights I made with your LVD, a micro commercial charge control circuit, and mounted them both inside a small plastic project box. I wired up a manual momentary switch as was in your instructions as an option and wired it all up. That way the teacher or child care provider could control the lighting from the front of the room with the remote, or from the door with the switch.
I had debated about installing a light at that location at all to start with. Mrs. Timosa whose family was helping me out with the project in the Manila area and who works for the Philippine Department of Education suggested that I try and help out the lady charged with running the day care site. I was perplexed at first when I got there as there was mains electricity not far away, but none to that facility. I did not want to install a more expensive to install and maintain solar powered light where for not too much money mains power could be utilized. In the end though, the kids won out because I could not control where their government chose to run power too, even though that was a government child care facility, and the need for lighting was real. A year later there was still no mains power to the childcare facility, and the light was still there, although Bruce and I had to fix up my prior installation a bit. So far as I am aware they are still using solar light there to this day, but I will try and check up on it when we return this fall.
Here are a couple of photos from that installation two years ago.
Here is a photo of the installation of the controller box near the door. There was a nice place to put the battery near the controller's box, and a wooden container was carved up by Jerrick, my friend and guide in the Banaue area, and a local fellow to drop the battery into and hold it securely up on the wall out of reach of curious youngsters.
I wired up the switch below the controller.
Here is a view of the room from the direction of the door. The lady in front was one of the mothers who utilized the child care while she went to work as her husband had died in some type of accident if I recall correctly and the lady behind her was in charge of the facility. The light is actually the small box mounted on the wall near the ceiling. I would have mounted it on the ceiling, but it was concrete and I had brought nothing to anchor into concrete to that site.
This installation included a 17Watt panel which should have no trouble powering a three and a half watts of LED lighting and putting charge into the small 7 amp hour sealed lead acid battery utilized at the same time on all but the dreariest of days. I suspect that battery may not be in that good of shape as it will be three years old when we return next November, and who knows how long it sat in the store in Manila where I bought it from, but time will tell. There were a few issues with my installation at the site not the least of which was that everything from the roof to the ceiling was concrete and I did not have tools or anchors to use with concrete, which makes mounting stuff like solar panels more difficult. They decided to use it on the entry overhang at the time, but there was concern about theft of the panel there because it was accessible and it was nearer a built up town which seems to increase the odds of such occurrences. The lady in charge wanted the ability to bring it in every night and put it back out in the morning. The panel was still there the following year.
Once I finally post my write ups on the trips I will have more to say about the installation.
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