Vakkotaur

Sometime last year I bought a fancy bluetooth-enabled LED bulb (name: iSuperBlue) that could be controlled from a phone. It's one of those good ideas that doesn't quite work, at least not yet. The idea is neat: An LED bulb that be controlled somewhat remotely by a device you're likely to have with you anyway. The color can be changed. The brightness can be changed. By using the phone's microphone, the light can change with sound for some effect. The light can blink or fade on and be used as a visual alarm clock. And it can do that, sort of.

It's a real rascal to get the bulb and the phone to pair up. If the connection lost, by say, walking away with your phone, it can mean needing to cycle power to the bulb and restart the phone. Not a very friendly remote control setup. If I had only my current in-use phone, the bulb would be pretty much useless - turning it on by the main switch has it cycle through some colors, which might be a nice diagnostic, but is lousy for a "light up this area now" bulb.

Fortunately, I had my old (smart)phone and it can do bluetooth. As long as the power stays on, and the old phone remains parked on my nightstand, the pairing holds. The fade-on is nice, but it's a set speed and the final brightness seems to be less than full or the way to set it is not at all obvious. I'd like to slow the fade on and make it more dawn-like, have it come to full brightness, or at maybe even start red or pinkish and change to white - like real dawn does. That would seem a great, slow, easy on the system aid to waking. Since I currently work nights, the simple expedient of opening the blinds won't provide this.

But with the old phone as a dedicated remote, and giving up on a nicer fade-in, things are workable yet still amiss. Sometimes the light fades on and is simply on, as I wish. And sometimes it blinks or fades brighter and dimmer and brighter and dimmer, cycling - something I do not want. Sure, it might wake me up more effectively, but also more annoyingly (and I have a sound alarm, to be sure, anyway) and once awake I want a steady light. As if that wasn't irksome enough, the app for this thing is not just flaky about bluetooth. The alarm [SNOOZE] [DISMISS] buttons are fine and work as expected. The simple "ON/OFF" button is part button, part dial (dial the brightness). But it's not at all easy to just turn the thing on or off without changing the brightness. And the button is a circle.. and somewhere near that circle, but not exactly matching, is the active ON/OFF area of the screen.

I like LED lighting. I like the idea of this bulb. But no matter how much I like the idea, I do not like the lousy way this one "works." I'm keeping it, as I can get it to sort of do what I want, but will NOT buy another of this make, and I suggest nobody else buy any iSuperBlue either. Wait until someone else does it right.

What needs to be done to do it right? Absolutely required:

1. The bluetooth connection needs to resume/reconnect automatically and reliably.[1]
2. The ON/OFF region of the screen should be the same as, or at least within the ON/OFF image on the screen.
3. The brightness control must be 100% independent of the ON/OFF control.1
4. App features that demand a phone MENU button should be moved - not all have this as hardware, alas.
5. Blink off means blink OFF, and it stays off.

Be nice to have:

6. Control of fade-on speed.
7. Control of initial and final color (and brightness) of fade-on.

I expect someone will get this right, eventually. But it's going be a while before I risk more money on a device like this. I'll want to know the thing will work correctly.

On my desk are were four light bulbs. They are not classic incandescents, nor the slightly more efficient (less inefficient) halogen bulbs. These are compact fluorescent bulbs, and there is nothing actually wrong with them. They work. They do have the issue of slow-start and taking a bit of time to come up to full brightness, indicating they are now some rather early models. The fixture they were in now has LED bulbs which if they do not turn on instantly, the delay is so minor as to be readily ignored.

A local hardware store had a good sale on LED bulbs in a tolerable color temperature (3000K, not ideal but certainly better than the ugly yellow of 2700K) so I got a few of those and with various swappings, wound up with a few 'spares'. Eventually the CFL start delay of the dining room fixture bothered jmaynard and I replaced the CFLs there with the LEDs.

Now there are, I think, no actual incandescent bulbs in use in the house, aside from small appliance and indicator lamps. Even closets have CFL or LED. There are some incandescent bulbs outside the house, but they see minutes of use per year so there is no urgency in swapping them out. Even a straight tube fluorescent lamp above the sink has been replaced by LED. There is a torcherie halogen lamp - which I would love to change to LED, but the replacements for that aren't quite ready yet, as it's a 300W version and last I checked, LEDs weren't up to that. But I suspect it won't be long before replacements are affordably available.

We now have quite a number of spare CFLs - and not just the four that had been on my desk. They work. They're reasonably efficient. They give a good light. But LEDs are better, thus these join the collection of incandescents (we also have a box or two of those) as obsolete. It's a bit of a weird feeling, as these are not actually defective - they work. But, there is no useful place for them now. And these are the 'fancy' CFLs with the external A19 envelope to mask the spiral and look 'right' in exposed fixtures, too.

They were both LED. One was one of the oddly bluish and dim things I bought a bit over a year ago[1] and the other was a new one bought from Wal-mart of all places. The new one uses slightly less power (1.1 Watts rather than 1.5 Watts) but at least seems brighter (70 lumens) and looks rather like, I am guessing, a 10 Watt incandescent. The glass envelope doesn't keep mercury contained as in a fluorescent nor does it keep oxygen out as in an incandescent, the "bulb" still works. It does seem a bit odd to use glass for low-consumption LED lights. It seems like a good place for a transparent or translucent plastic. Last night I carefully removed the remaining shards of glass and put it into the dining room fixture in the place with its own glass globe.

I've now replaced both of the odd bluish and dim[2] LED bulbs with these newer, better ones. Or if not newer, at least better - and less expensive. The difference is impressive. The light by the back door (inside) is bright enough I have to remind myself that it's not the kitchen light having been left on when I see it from outside. I've also replaced the two CFLs in the downstairs restroom. The result isn't super-bright, but I think it's still probably better than the two incandescents, that had been there for years, which had blackened rather badly.

What brought this on was another CFL failing in the office. I got annoyed that the fluorescent recycling event had just passed and I really was irked about waiting another six months. So I went looking into alternatives and decided to give LED a try and went to Home Depot[3] in Mankato.I didn't get the bulb I expected to, but another that was supposedly better able to deal with the heat in the ceiling fan fixture. It's bright. It's probably an honest 40 Watt incandescent equivalent. It's yellowish, so likely "warm white" (I'd rather have "cool white") but it's something of a spotlight. Fortunately it's aimed in the one area that that isn't too big a deal. I tried one over my desk it's just too harsh.

I've gone looking for what I really want: Ideally something equivalent to about 60 W incandescent (or around 800 lumens) though I'll settle for 40 W equivalent (about 500 lumens), with a diffuse "cool white" or "natural white" light, using little power and thus generating little heat, at a semi-sane price. Things are getting closer, but aren't quite there yet as far as I know. I've seen 40 W equivalents that are close, but have lousy color temperatures (way too yellow or way too blue) or stuff that is still rather expensive. Still, from what I have seen, CFLs might have some real competition in a few years.

One thing I will not be doing again is buying any Hy-Vee branded CFLs, at least not for in the office. When we switched away from incandescent to CFL, the office was switched first thing as its lights were the ones we used the most. All four were Hy-Vee branded. In the last few months, all four have failed. The last one started failing this morning. I've pulled a Sylvania from a little-used lamp to replace it. Now I have four dud CFLs to deal with.

This just happened quietly. The ceiling fan was not on and it's an open fixture. It's no "7 years" or whatever the life was advertised as. It has been almost three years, which while an improvement over filament lifespan, it's still disappointing. So far this is the only place where the bulbs are failing regularly, so it might be that they just don't last as long as said or that we have them on much more than the ratings figure.

I don't know for sure it's mainly the CFLs that the chain got their name put on, or if it's CFLs in general, but so far aside from immediate failures, all the burnouts seem to have been those. I think I'll be looking for other brands, nationally known ones, until and unless there is reason to suspect it's a more general issue.

or: Repair Beats Recycling

There were two "burned out" CFLs on the shelf. I managed to miss the recycling day by exactly a day (I kept asking the folks who should have known and kept getting 'idunno' replies, yeah government-level competence makes itself felt yet again) and did not feel like having them there another six months waiting the next event, not did I feel driving all over the place to dispose of them.

I had sent the LED bulbs back under warranty (and I have yet to see any results of that), but these were CFLs and had outlasted the warranty. Also, I'm not sure I still had the receipt and such showing the purchase. I plan to be much more paranoid about recordkeeping for light bulbs in the future. So if I don't chase all over the place to find someone to the things, I don't send them anywhere, and I don't leave them on the shelf, then what?

Repair. After all, these are not incandescent bulbs with a broken filament. They're fluorescent and it was pretty obvious that the circuitry in the base was what failed. The base had that peculiar 'something electronic got too hot' smell. I bungled the first bulb in trying to get the thing apart and wound up cracking the glass envelope. Nothing spilled, so everything is now in a zipped plastic bag. I'm not sure what I'll do with that one. I'd like to give it to some of the ignoramuses at the city office - they well and truly deserve it.

I did manage to get the second bulb base apart without breaking the glass envelope. After a while I managed to get fair if not decent access to the circuit board. It wasn't obviously charred and a big capacitor wasn't bulging. One 330k Ohm resistor didn't look right. It was darker than it should have been and had a spot that looked rather... boiled. I replaced it. I did a quick test and the bulb lit up after a moment. After reassembling the base, I put the repaired CFL back into service where one of the LED bulbs had been (and I had left the socket empty) in the office.

Now one bulb is back to being useful and the office is a bit brighter again. And I know how to get CFLs apart and have at least a chance of repairing any further burn-outs.

The second LED bulb put into service in the office is now out of service. That it gave little light was brought home by the fact that we didn't really notice just when it went out. jmaynard was surprised when he happened to glance at the light fixture. It wasn't a loose bulb, either. The base has that peculiar "electronics that got too hot" smell to it. We both suspect the current limiter burned out.

I did save the original package and the receipt, so we will now see how good the manufacturer's two year warranty is. The light didn't even make it a month. The other LED bulb is still going.

Meanwhile, the room is a little brighter and a little yellower (or less blue) as I've put one of the older CFLs back into service.

It's been a couple weeks of life with a mix of CFL and LED in the office, and battery-powered motion-sensing LED in a stairway. I no longer foresee replacing the remaining CFLs in the office with LED. The LEDs are okkay for filling in the gaps, but they just aren't that that bright, even allowing for the lower equivalent wattage. And they are bit color-skewed.

In the office I was for a time considering going back to a "soft white" for at least one of the CFLs. The somewhat bluish LEDs and the white CFLs result in a cold feeling light. I'd say clinical, but every clinic I've been in was careful not to give this impression. It's sort of like the descriptions in some UFO stories: cold, slightly bluish, almost eerie light. If it was the same white or blue-white throughout the house I probably wouldn't notice so much. But every other room has CFL (or halogen for the living room[1]) that is more of a so-called soft white. The difference can be stark. I am curious enough that I might try switching to all LED in the office, but only as a very short test. I expect the office to remain a mix of CFL and LED unless or until LED gets significantly better: brighter and more of natural white. A more diffuse light would also be a Good Thing. Right now, for general use, CFL wins over LED everywhere except apparent power consumption. I say apparent as I suspect that with current LED technology to get full illumination would require so many more LED lamps that they would use as much power as the few CFLs they would replace.

I can see using LED in places where color and great brightness aren't that critical. A porch light that is only needed to reveal a step and the keyhole seems about an ideal application. Maybe LED lighting in a storage, but not clothing, closet would make some sense as well. If there was a light over a stairway, that's another place that only needs enough light to let you see where the top and bottom steps are.

I bought a couple "locker lights" which are a combination motion sensor and LED lamp. I put one in the main stairwell near the bottom so that it trips before I get there when descending. That lets me see the bottom step without my needing to switch on an upstairs light or carry a flashlight around. Another will go on the porch so that I can easily find the keyhole at night.

The LED lamp still isn't ready for general purpose lighting. It's fine for specialized applications and can fill in some gaps, but CFL wins big on brightness and color.

As I see it:

LED - For applications where efficiency matters more than color or brightness.

Fluorescent - General purpose lighting. (Some can be dimmed and some are outdoor rated, but you have to look for these.)

Incandescent - Specialty applications (appliance lighting, e.g. oven and refrigerator lights). Easily dimmable. Runs cooler than halogen.

Halogen - Slightly more efficient than incandescent and can easily be dimmed.

One of the selling points pushed for CFL lighting is the environmental aspect of them. So it seems a bit odd that the plastic shell that held the light I put into service today does not have a recycling number on it anywhere. Since it doesn't have a number, it's trash rather than something for the recycle barrel.

There have been more than a few articles about compact fluorescent lights recently. Today jmaynard and I went over the lights in the house and we wound up replacing a good many of the incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights.

The first place to get the treatment was the office as those lights get the most use. Other rooms, such the kitchen, the machine room, and with some effort the bathrooms got changed next. Later, after another trip to the store (we cleaned Hy-Vee out of their inexpensive 60 Watt compact fluorescent lights) the various closets, part of the basement, and a hallway light fixture were converted. That last one could use another CF light, but one will do for now.

There are a few incandescent lights left in the house. The attic lights which don't see much use are unchanged, as are the lights in the track lighting of part of the basement. There are a few lamps that don't see too much use so changing them over can wait indefinitely. The spiral design (and the now hard to find design with the multiple U shaped tubes) don't look right in the exposed setup the dining room fixture uses. While there are compact fluorescent lights that look more like regular bulbs, those are still rather pricey and the fixture needs four of them. A fixture at the top of the stairs probably can't be changed without changing the fixture itself. It's quite certainly original with the house, built in 1949.

Things are generally much brighter now, even as each fixture with swapped lights consumes less energy. The office had four 40 Watt incandescent bulbs, for a total of 160 Watts. Now it has four 60 Watt equivalent bulbs, so we get the light of 240 Watts incandescent - but each light only uses 13 Watts, so we're only using 52 Watts total for office light now.

The downstairs bathroom is much brighter though that is mainly because the tubular bulbs (not 1949 -- made in Taiwan) had such huge dark deposits on the inside of the envelope that they reminded me of a vacuum tube "getter." The lights still burned, but were so dim we figured they were 15 Watt bulbs.

We now have a drawer full of incandescent bulbs. One did get put to use, replacing a bad bulb in the garage door opener. We've got spares to last a while.