I've been working with LED's for years.
I run a "fly by night" solar power business on the side.
One thing I learned is just deal with the china factories directly, trying to "buy local" just doesn't work, they just buy it from china anyways.

I have LED strip lights, where theres a bunch of them epoxied into an aluminum extrusions...
Sign modules.. where 4 are epoxied into a tiny metal tray to screw inside sign letters....
Bulbs... that screw into household fixtures.... all colors too...

etc etc... a LOT of frickin lights haha.

Many of the household bulbs are expensive for really bright ones, because LED's die sooner in warmer installations. As soon as you don't need them all bundled together in a ball, price decreases.

I've gotten in a bunch of colored bulbs, for accent lighting, and I think they use 1.3 watts each, and produce a rich glow of color on whatever they point at, and cost a few dollars each.

CFL bulbs are actually more energy effecient than LED bulbs, LED's are just more effecient at directing the light, not to waste as much.
It is for that reason that I never tell people to buy LED's for room lighting, but rather just to use it for accent lighting.

 

Common misconception. LEDs generate a tremendous amount of heat.... it all comes down to having the proper thermal management techniques in place to safely and quickly dissipate the heat.

My business involves designing products that utilize LEDs

 

In fact, I am damn proud of what we design... so I might flaunt it to you all. My families business is actually the world's OLDEST industrial lighting company. We have been in business since 1883... every day of that making products right here in the USA!

First LED products are some high end, high performance LED magnifiers: O.C. White Co. - Green-Lite

The next, with even higher output, are sealed lights meant to go inside of CNC machines, food processing, etc...
O.C. White Co. - Green-Lite

 

My free CFL's from Duke Energy just showed up yesterday. The name on them is TCP. Never heard of them. Their office is in Aurora, Ohio. But are manufactured in china. Imagine that.

 

Some of the highest quality products are made in china; all depends what you wanna pay.

 

LED's do produce a generous amount of heat per lumen.

They also last longer running cool.

Guys why you think all the high end LED bulbs have either an aluminum fin heatsink, or are in an aluminum channel?

 

You must be talking about Taiwan.

 

I guess I'm prejudice, but I would like to avoid anything from that part of the world. I know, a pipe dream.

 

It isn't that china produces all cheap stuff;
It's our companies that spec out and order cheap stuff.

They have plenty of facilities that produce top notch product, and quality control can also be 2nd to none.

Usually our companies favour the cheap, because they can make more off it.

 

You are right. Which is why I avoid Chinese goods. But these things change over time. At the moment The US, Germany, Japan and Taiwan can be relied on to produce good things like bearings etc. Taiwan used to be regarded as China is now. Before they became a force in the market it was the Japanese that were known for making junky stuff. Who's next? India? Mongolia? Somewhere in Africa?

 

World trade morphs like anything else.

It isn't the consumers, but the manufacturers decision makers that make the difference

When china realizes once and for all that inferior and DANGEROUS products will BLOW BACK ON THEM -

Perhaps they will become the producers of products that they wish they were.

For the time being, they are still suspected of making inferior stuff!

If they take a lesson from JAPAN -

LOOK OUT!

The Japanese nation has from the beginning sought to market superior workmanship - and for that they cannot be faulted

(Regardless of how they infringed upon international copyrights)

The COPYRIGHT issues however, are a totally different story

~They stole many of their designs, and much of their technology from the USA, initially

And yet - they improved on it...

By means of QUALITY CONTROL



Comments?


Since then, they have increasingly developed superior technology - look at the SONY corporation, for example.

They take deep PRIDE in what they do