LED Screw in Light Bulbs for the Home: Energy Star Lighting At Last...Or Not?

The big problem with LED lighting is that the infrastructure is not here yet. These extremely high efficiency lights based on light emitting diodes are being developed aggressively with the aim of providing another alternative to incandescent lighting besides the existing fluorescent lights. LED lights are energy efficient, though there are known quality issues that have delayed their forecasted dominance of the home lighting market. But the real problem in our home is one of - well - fixtures.

LED Light Bulb Quality

LED screw in light bulbs with the DOE Energy Star rating are scheduled to be available August 31, 2010, awaiting their performance meeting strict quality standards. Until the Energy Star rating is available, there's a chance that LED light bulbs without that rating won't actually save energy.

Even LED light bulbs that perform well initially may tend to deteriorate, dim, flicker, consume energy when not in use, or fail to meet other Energy Star standards - which could negate the so-called savings in energy.

Getting LED screw in light bulbs for the home involves more than just waiting for the light bulbs to be approved and come on the market with the long-awaited label. My feeling? I'm not altogether sure the LED replacement light bulbs that fit the requirement have even been invented yet.

But aside from quality issues, having LED lighting light up the home also involves having a place to put them.

But again, it's not the quality issues that have him in a tizzy. It's the fact that homes and electrical systems and fixtures are not designed for an LED lighting environment.

LED lights have been used as indicator lights for a long time, in computer monitors and even as Christmas lights. But their use as ambient light is a new endeavor, and it's still in the early stages. There's talk that there will be LED wallpaper used to light up rooms, making the Star Trek set look like historical fiction.

So we need to have patience. My husband has decided we'll set up clamp lighting in the garage with incandescents, and then when the Energy Star LED screw in bulbs come on the market, we'll try them. If they last out the warranty, we're hoping they really last the years and years that describe their full potential.

But in the meantime, why does it feel like we're waiting for somebody to invent the lightbulb? Thomas Edison, where are you when we need you...?

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