New LED Puts Incandescents, Fluorescents to Shame
by EcoGeek.org 
on 12.13.06
Seoul semiconductor has created a light emitting diode that emits roughly 240 lumens and claims the highest efficiency (amount of electricity to amount of light) of any light source. Fluorescents hit 70 lumens per watt, incandescents max out at 15, but this new LED emits roughly 100 lumens per watt. The results, if and when this technology gets cheap enough for the mass market, will be smaller, more efficient light sources, and lights that can exist in far different form factors than the current bulb or tube shapes. The devices also have applications in consumer electronics, specifically LCD back lights and projectors.
LEDs with similar efficiencies have been produced at universities, but this is the first time a corporation has begun creating these superefficient LEDs. Seoul Semiconductor says that, while this advancement is significant, they're moving forward with even more efficient LEDs. They expect, for example, a 145 lumen per watt LED by 2008, which would double the efficiency of standard compact fluorescents. We just have to wait and see how expensive they are.
See also ::LED Bulb Replacements and ::LED Efficiency Doubles
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When can I get mine. Electricity prices in Connecticut are skyrocketing amd this is also a real step towards less ecologically damaging technology (especially with coal being a big producer of electricity for households). Does anyone know how complete the spectrum is on the bulbs compared to flourescents?
The trouble with alternative lighting is none of it produces the spectrum that incandescent does and most people like the warm color of incandescent over the "true" color of higher spectrum's
I've seen LED's being applied in clusters of red, green and blue, so any color can be produced. Theoretically, that should enable them to get just about any color in the spectrum, right?
I have to agree on perceived light quality. I have yet to see an LED that isn't cold-looking (aka, fortress of solitude). Super Bright and Cold is no better.
It's not yet a light source that's ready for your regular Joe.
I still think it's a good replacement for spaces that DON'T need inviting lighting (places that are rarely checked in on, or places that need light but not for humans).
I agree with mike D.
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you will like it they have got interesting stuff
Would be cool to see the tesla 2 use these. lighter weight housing and less electricity used.
Spectacular indeed, but does not most fluorescents hit 100 lumens per Watt?
I don't know much about light, but don't leds not disperse well or something? Hence the 70 led replacement bulbs?
Using colered filters can help with some of the issues with the spectrum problem.
Is this a Cree XR-E ?
If so you can buy a Flashlight containing one of these called a Fenix P1D-CE. They get about 110 lumens of light for 40 minutes off 1 CR123 battery.
There are more advantages to LEDs than light output/power savings:
1. can last over 100000hours until 50% light degradation (that's 12 years around-the-clock operation), therefore less materials usage.
2. the light is less scattered and 'wasted'.
3. not fragile.
4. compact.
5. give off minimal heat.
There are 'warm white' LEDs that address the 'coldness' issue.
buy your stocks in LEDs today, folks.
Quality of light is certainly an issue with flourescents as well as LED's. Why can't manufacturers just put a slightly warm colored filter over the lights (as if they were behind a lampshade)? That said, I love the size to lumen ratio of LED's as well as the efficiency.
Could one not assume that if one was subjected to light from leds all their life that they may actually prefer the light from leds?
Here's the link to the SSC website. The article links to an article that links to an article, etc.
http://seoulsemicon.co.kr/_homepage/home_eng/product/product.asp?topCODE=1&midCODE=25
Hmm. It will be great if they really works well overall - price, longevity, efficiency, compatibility, color.
However current Compact Fluorescents have all of that (just shop around to find one brand that has color that you like), and alas, very few people use them.
This is awesome technology. I can't wait for this to be used for flashlights.
@ organiz3dchaos: Nobody will ever be "subjected" to LED light all their lives because of sunlight. Sunlight is "incandescent", and so LED light will always seem unnatural.
Re: Warmth
Even if it's not possible to alter the spectrum of LEDs to something portions of the public find more appealing, it ought to be possible to combine them with a warmer spectrum technology to pleasant effect. Something like Low Pressure Sodium which, last I checked, gets about 180 LM/W and produces yellow-gold light. One-size fits all is not the way to solve problems.
As for the output spectrum, LEDS produce very narrow bands of light which is why they're not that useful for traditional lighting at the moment. Flourescent lamps have a similar problem. They only produce UV light which is totally useless for the purposes of illumination until you smash that UV light into the phosphorous coating on the inside of the bulb, turning it into visible light. I imagine they could do something similar to this with LED lighting. Since there are a variety of coloured LEDS as well, I imagine that one could simply pair a few different coloured LEDs together in order to produce similar results.
CFs have been pushed quite a bit in recent years, but they're not as good as they seem IMO. They are more efficient for the end user, but they're expensive and bad for the environment because they contain lead! It's only a matter of time until comercially viable LED lighting becomes mainstream, so I would hold out until then. They're probably going to be really expensive though, due to the 100,000 hr mean lifetime..
The problem with CFL's is that they have a warm up time. On the cheaper ones, this is several minuites.
Add to this that the cheap ones fail in an insanley short time (less then incandesants on the same switch often) and that most that are available on the shelf are that aweful "warm white" colour which is oranger then even a cheap incandesant, you can see why they dont have much sales.
When they get the LEDs available with a good daylight 6500K output and instant on at full brightness, dimmability that actually works and good uniform omnidirectional lightoutput, then I may replace my halogens, till then, I will keep burning thru megawatthours a year lighting the house.
One more step towards my future dream of having a real laptop that runs for 24 hours on a charge...
Bring it on!
In California, you can pick up a 4 pack of 100 watt equivalent Fluorescent bulbs for $1.99 after an instant rebate from the electric company. I bought 3 packs for my house and practically changed every bulb.
The biggest complaint I have is that there isn't that instant feedback when you turn on a switch. There's a 1 second lag until the internal balast fires the bulb. Otherwise, the color is fine because all my bulbs are behind some sort of frosted glass.
LEDs might make that instant feedback and cheap power a reality.
I think this is great. LEDs generally have a more inviting white light than most compact florescents, but that's not always true. Unlike a CF bulb, an LED does emit a broad spectrum light more like an incandescent, but it varies somewhat. White LEDs use a phosphor coating over a blue LED, which is why they are often somewhat blue-tinted. If you see a good quality white LED, the light is a beautiful white color. Most incandescents tend to look dull and yellow by comparison. Unfortunately, a lot of LEDs DO have a bluish tint which I hate. But when they're truly white, it's a beautiful light. Also, for those who don't like the light from compact florescent bulbs, I suggest trying different types. A lot of them are lousy, I admit. My preference is for the daylight type bulbs. They seem to give the most full-spectrum light with the best color rendering (at the cost of a bit of efficiency). My personal favorites at the moment can be found at Home Depot and are listed as either daylight or sunlight, I can't remember which off the top of my head, but the packaging is red colored. They're not too expensive, you should check one out. I have been slowly replacing most of the lights in my house with CFs and I really like these. The light reminds me a LOT of a high-end incandescent like a Reveal or a halogen.
axctually they do have warm colored lighting via LED
just look on ebay for 'warm led lights' they are amazing, i have them all over my house and rooms, 1-3 watts lighting each space..
the color spectrum is truly beautiful lamp shade or daylight
LEDs dim just fine. All you need to do is stick a PWM circuit in front of them.
When I converted to compact fluorescent over 9 years ago, I saved $37 off my electricity bill immediatly every month. I now ordered LED lamps for some applications and the light is clear and strong. It makes good detail light and reading light. I have several spots and one very very bright light in the basment laundry area. The next place for these lights is the outside light poles. LED should take a real bite out of my monthly payout.
I have 2 80 dollar LED drop in replacement bulbs for 60watts from enlux. They'll last me more than 35 years since I am not always using them. Since they just seem to stick a bunch of tiny LED's on one circuit board and then surround that with aluminum fins i don't see why they won't just get these new LED from Seoul semiconductor.
This advancement in LED lighting is Great. This will really be the comming thing in lighting and cut down on a lot a green house gases and pollution. But it will be years till you see this one in the stores. If you want to try some LED bulbs now, and at the best prices I've seen you can try this seller: www.DonsGreenStore.com . These are dim bulbs, but they don't use much juice either.