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Old 06-06-2012, 07:18 AM   #1
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LED Comparison

Being without adult supervision, (FWIW, the position of woman-friend is open and I'm accepting applications! WAH!!! I kill myself!) I have some discretionary income which I used to purchase a light meter (Extech 407026). This light meter measures lux and/or foot-candles. One lux is apparently 1 lumen/sq. meter. But a lumen is apparently a measure of all the light a bulb produces, not just light brightness in the center of the aiming point. (Surefire's description is as good as any I could find: Flashlight Technology - Page 1), So for my purpose I'm comparing lux as a relative measurement to tell me which LED provides the best light to read by. And buying an integrating sphere photometer(!) to measure lumens is way beyond my piddle-away limit.

I've always been a SuperBrightLEDs guy and Dr. LED makes West Marine LED products so that is where I got my comparison samples. I recently purchased the 45 LED lamps and got to wondering whether there was a net gain considering the increase in cost. This my little study.

Repeatability was pretty good as I got a different result than I expected and I repeated the measurements. Experientially, my existing cool white PCB lights were noticeably brighter (I have no issue with the cool white color, in fact I rather like it). But with the new 45 LED bulb the warm white was brighter so I redid all the measurements.

I make no recommendations, just putting the data out there.
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Old 06-06-2012, 07:52 AM   #2
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Sounds like someone may have too much time on his hands?
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Old 06-06-2012, 08:03 AM   #3
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Steve does state he is sans woman, ergo discretionary income.
I imagine that light meter cost a few $$$
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Old 06-06-2012, 08:19 AM   #4
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I like the little chart with the pics Steve,somehow looks familiar to me?

I also have some issues with certain LEDs interfering with my Television and so I maintain a few incandescent bulbs to get light without any TV interference.

Any experience with this so far?
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Old 06-06-2012, 08:28 AM   #5
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Good chart... The column I like is that Lux/Amp one. Compare that 18W incandescent with the SB cool white: 69 v. 295. 6.4 times more efficient. Zounds! Add to that the life time of the LED (as in forever!) and you have a winner.

I just picked up a tri-colour LED coil'o'lamps with a controller for sticking under my (only two weeks now until I have it!!!) Scamp's awning. That will let me dim to a warm glow or go up to full brightness AND have a disco party if I want it. Details in a month or so...
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Old 06-06-2012, 09:28 AM   #6
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Gary,
I think you meant 69 vs 442 = 6.4

The cost per lux does not consider the energy consumed. Potentially extending your battery life 3-6 times between charges is worth it.
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Old 06-06-2012, 09:35 AM   #7
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Yeh... well... my fingers move faster than my, um, what's that thing inside my skull called ????

Yes indeed... it's the extension of battery life I really care about too! Cost/Lux is nice, but it's the way it sips power that I like!
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Old 06-06-2012, 09:38 AM   #8
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I also have some issues with certain LEDs interfering with my Television and so I maintain a few incandescent bulbs to get light without any TV interference.
That's probably a switching regulator circuit on the LED board. Buy the cheap EBay LEDs. All they have is a resistor.
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Old 06-06-2012, 10:10 AM   #9
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Being without adult supervision, (FWIW, the position of woman-friend is open and I'm accepting applications! WAH!!! I kill myself!) I have some discretionary income which I used to purchase a light meter (Extech 407026). This light meter measures lux and/or foot-candles. One lux is apparently 1 lumen/sq. meter. But a lumen is apparently a measure of all the light a bulb produces, not just light brightness in the center of the aiming point. (Surefire's description is as good as any I could find: Flashlight Technology - Page 1), So for my purpose I'm comparing lux as a relative measurement to tell me which LED provides the best light to read by. And buying an integrating sphere photometer(!) to measure lumens is way beyond my piddle-away limit.

I've always been a SuperBrightLEDs guy and Dr. LED makes West Marine LED products so that is where I got my comparison samples. I recently purchased the 45 LED lamps and got to wondering whether there was a net gain considering the increase in cost. This my little study.

Repeatability was pretty good as I got a different result than I expected and I repeated the measurements. Experientially, my existing cool white PCB lights were noticeably brighter (I have no issue with the cool white color, in fact I rather like it). But with the new 45 LED bulb the warm white was brighter so I redid all the measurements.

I make no recommendations, just putting the data out there.
I like your chart, for warm white Dr LED seems as a winner. Did you select the same light source (Tungsten/Daylight, Fluorescent, Sodium, Mercury) for all of your measurements?
George.
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Old 06-06-2012, 10:16 AM   #10
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I like the little chart with the pics Steve,somehow looks familiar to me?

I also have some issues with certain LEDs interfering with my Television and so I maintain a few incandescent bulbs to get light without any TV interference.

Any experience with this so far?
All of my lights are LEDs and have no interference with TV.
George.
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Old 06-06-2012, 11:23 AM   #11
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I like your chart, for warm white Dr LED seems as a winner. Did you select the same light source (Tungsten/Daylight, Fluorescent, Sodium, Mercury) for all of your measurements?
George.
I used the tungsten/daylight position for all measurements. But I did look at the effect of switching. It changed the magnitude some (about 10 lux min to max) but it didn't seem to change the relative relationships.
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Old 06-06-2012, 11:32 AM   #12
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I like the little chart with the pics
I also have some issues with certain LEDs interfering with my Television and so I maintain a few incandescent bulbs to get light without any TV interference.

Any experience with this so far?
I do get some sort of intermittent interference on my radio but I've always attributed it to the converter. I have a vague memory of switching off the converter circuit breaker and the noise ceasing. I'll have to repeat the experiment.

In the case of the Dr LED light, the catalogue claims "Zero RF emission, surface mount device design". I would expect no less from the SuperbrightLEDs even though it's not specifically called out.
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Old 06-06-2012, 12:53 PM   #13
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Gary,
I think you meant 69 vs 442 = 6.4

The cost per lux does not consider the energy consumed. Potentially extending your battery life 3-6 times between charges is worth it.

A '69 442?
Wow!
One of my all time fav's.
Oh that's NOT what you meant?
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Old 06-06-2012, 01:46 PM   #14
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4 barrel, Hurst 4 on the floor,dual exhausts=442
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Old 06-06-2012, 03:10 PM   #15
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They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

I guess I should be flattered!

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ing-49741.html

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Old 06-06-2012, 05:59 PM   #16
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Put an AM radio in close proximity to the lamp. If they are using a switching regulator, you'll know it. The regulator is used to keep the intensity constant with variations in input voltage. Raz
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Old 06-06-2012, 07:25 PM   #17
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They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

I guess I should be flattered!

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ing-49741.html

Spanke
Well...great minds think alike!

I didn't search the forum before posting so it's gratifying to see we both used the same basic approach. Your comparison is more comprehensive though. Good job!
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Old 06-06-2012, 07:45 PM   #18
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Well...great minds think alike!

I didn't search the forum before posting so it's gratifying to see we both used the same basic approach. Your comparison is more comprehensive though. Good job!
Thanks! Great minds do indeed think alike!

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Old 06-06-2012, 10:04 PM   #19
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Nice job on the comparison chart and getting all the measurements. It comes pretty close to what I would expect. I have the warm white LEDs 1156. Plenty of light and long battery life.
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Old 06-07-2012, 09:57 AM   #20
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I was looking at various offerings on eBay, and am a bit confused as to the output of the lamps. Some list specs for wattage or amperage, some list lumens of output, but none that list lux. Is there some kind of conversion for comparison. It does seem that most of the LED's used for what I would want are 5050 or 2010 bulbs, how do these compare for output.

I would likely want mostly warm white ones, but it would seem for the same number of lights as the cool white, there is about 25% less light. Is this correct?

I want bright, but then I imagine everyone does.
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