LEDs worth using. 1000Lumen, 80LM/W, this Summer

[ErrorS]

http://www.physorg.com/news93198212.html

Depending on price, this could be *the* LED to replace many of our NO Flourescent/CF/HID lighting for our aquariums.

The package means we will see mass production, meaning relatively low cost. it's more efficient than a NO Flourescent and takes up much less space than HO flourescents.

It doesn't put out nearly the amount of heat a HID does, takes up less space and is more efficient lumen per watt.

Best yet, no stupid external ballasts to control current. You simply control the voltage and they light right up for you, like an incandescent or halogen.

Looks like the holy grail for aquarium lighting to me. This is the light i've been waiting for..

They also have an insanely long life, high reliability with very strong glass strength and I'm sure they're much more waterproof than many of the systems we use.

Basically, it would take four to equal a single CF in light output but the array of bulbs is only one square millimeter in size with the entire 'fixture' being only a square CM at most. You would need 20 on a 55, however, that would take up about as much space as our ballasts alone, forget about the lengthy, fragile, heavy flourescent bulbs.

Here's hoping they shock me and launch it at $10 each

 

[Shocker6966]

These LEDs emit neither UV rays nor heat

Aren't fish like most other creatures on the face of the planet and require UV radiation to metabolize sources of vitamin D?

 

[wackydan]

Highly doubt they'll be $10 each or that you'll be able to buy them as a consumer - least initially.

 

[ErrorS]

Most of our flourescents are *very* low in UV. They filter it out with most bulbs.

and they're going to build lamps with it of course.. but I'm sure some aquarium stores will figure it out and make a couple of 100 item orders, selling the stuff online.

$10? I can always dream. Honestly thinking more along the lines of $50 for a lamp in a store with one of these. Commercial release this Summer, theyr'e going to have to be cost effective otherwise they'll flop. Noone wants to spend $300 on a desk lamp

 

[Hound]

To be honest, until I see it on the market I'm not holding my breath. Initially speaking I wouldn't be surprised if they were only available for commercial uses. That is to say stuff such as signage and in store lighting. Believe me having seen some chain stores spend some $2 million per location to install video cameras and another $50,000 per location to retrofit light fixtures they won't mind spending big bucks to conserve electricity in the long run. Actual consumer uses will probably be a few years off still and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I did see a $300 desk lamp when they first come out. There is a market for them believe it or not.

 

[loaches r cool]

I am sure its still a long ways away but that looks promising. Affordable it might not be, for a while. 75L/W is a lot higher than other LED's I've calculated. Will be interesting to see when these 'hit the market'. I might even have a new project :read: Just remember they didn’t compare them much to fluorescents in that article, I doubt they have much more than 2X or 3X the life of a fluorescent. So that means you super duper expensive light will have to be replaced every 3-5 years instead of 1-2 perhaps, but it will still go bad and need replacing dont forget.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

led only puts out one part of the light spectrum. we would still need a array of them to get the right lighting for plants.

 

[ChicoRaton]

<snip> So that means you super duper expensive light will have to be replaced every 3-5 years instead of 1-2 perhaps, but it will still go bad and need replacing dont forget.

But the beauty of LEDs is their life gets exponentially longer when run at a slightly lower voltage, so add a couple more to the array, run at a lower voltage and they last wayyyyyy longer.

 

[loaches r cool]

Generally white leds are fairly broad spectrum, perhaps not quite as broad as a full spectrum flourescent but much broader than a 650nm laser diode.

Here is a graph of the Luxeon Star 3 leds that have been mentioned in the past:

The warm white ones dont have the big blue peak and a much larger hump up in the longer wavelengths. Combine these two whites and I think its dead perfect. But still a matter of cost and effeciency.