The more I've been reading about these, in particular table lamps, the more cross I get! Seemed such a good idea, how versatile, no concerns about sockets, move a table lamp from room to room if you need to. But, wait, LED's are 'integrated' meaning they can't be replaced. But, wait, they could last 10 years or they could last 20,000 hours which would be 2 and a bit years of continuous use. Then you throw them in landfill.
My real-world experience this week has seen the LED bulb of my floor lamp being replaced. It's supposed to have lasted 10 years but, wait, it only managed 6 years. Still, at least it wasn't 'integrated'.
Came across a very expensive brand where some of their lighting features a 'cell' that can be removed and charged. Or you could buy a spare cell whilst you're at it, that'll take you up to some £250 for a very small table lamp system.
Shakes head and puts purse away. So much wrong here including environmental concerns re how can the LED be removed before disposal if at all, failure of retailers (from what I've noticed) to be honest/give approximations about the inevitable short shelf life of this product including murky wording around the use of 'integrated' etc.
Opinions welcome especially from users of such products!
If it is electrical shouldn't now go to WEEE & not landfill?
(although that in itself is a pain if you haven't got a way to get to your local dump)
Not something I’d be interested in, all the main house lights have LED’s, the kitchen overhead fluorescent was replaced with an LED a few years ago, and two little ‘anglepoise’ type lights I got from IKEA years ago have had the 12v halogen bulbs replaced with LED’s. I can’t see the point, quite honestly.
I live in a very old house with a couple of rooms where the electricity really only gets half way into the them, so to light the far corners I need a lamp on a long extension lead which is not the most pleasing solution aesthetically; the rechargeable option might be a viable alternative.
The mrs wanted some wall sconces above the fireplace either side about 2 weeks after we fully finished ripping out and redecorating the entire room, including a load of plastering I had to do.
I could not be huffed with splitting off, chasing and running new wiring into where she wanted them and then doing all the tidy up work after, being petrified of getting any mess on to a brand new cream carpet. We had the entirety of upstairs to rip out and redecorate so I just drilled in put them up and got some LED rechargeable bulbs off ebay for 20 quid. Come with a remote, do multiple colours, brightnesses, different warmths of white light etc. They don't last long, maybe 3 evenings of use per charge but when they die I just unscrew them, plug em into the charger and let them charge up overnight and screw the bulbs back in on the morning
@blackhat, they'd be ideal for your situation and better than a trailing extension lead.
Don't understand why an LED can't be replaced instead of making something effectively disposable, perhaps it's simply retailers being greedy.
TBH in rechargable ones the battery will probably be the limiting factor not the LED, cheap gadgets with cheap lipos and lifepos and cheap charging always tend to have a short life (and more so if you don't stay on top of the charging)
Nonreplacable LEDs are good in locations where replacables don't do the job as well, basically. Flat lights, small lights, funny shapes. And tbh the lifespan should be good in lamps and the like, where it's not on constantly. Give it a few years though and there's going to be an absolute spate of cheap ceiling led panels wearing out and not being as easy to replace as you'd like- lots of paint outlines on ceilings and such.
So you're upset about the landfill but not the fact it has a battery.
Batteries when they simply aren't needed are just a big a dick move as disposable items.
Buy a lamp. Plug it in. Move on.
Why are batteries better than extensions for semi permanent installs.
Plug-in LED lamp packed up two days ago after IIRC 15 years. No idea what's failed, the bulb, the variator, the electronic gubbins? Even if a spare bulb was available it wouldn't have been worth trying. There's an electrical parts recycling bin in one tip I visit so I'll wait tii I pass on the bike to dispose of it. Replaced with another plug-in LED lamp for 9e. There's a good chance it'll out live me
Welcome to consumerism!
Having batteries in everything, solar or USB or bespoke charging port is just the latest capitalist wheeze to get us buying more stuff we definitely really need in our lives for a premium price.
I've even heard that you can buy a bicycle with a motor and battery in!!!
If it is electrical shouldn't now go to WEEE & not landfill?
I mean, it should, but I bet most doesn't
Batteries when they simply aren't needed are just a big a dick move as disposable items.
Bigger, if anything - horribly polluting to get the source materials, horribly polluting when disposed of (because, let's face it, most will go in landfill)
LED bulbs do last much longer than the previous incandescent bulbs. We were going through quite a lot, especially 'candle bulbs'. Replaced every bulb in the house to LED. So far, any 'reading lamps' have proved reliable. We've had some issues with lights where the quality hasn't been good, and the 'drivers' have failed, so these were replaced. We have a couple of rechargeable 'work' lights for 'crafts' that have been fine, although my wife lost the power adapter for recharging one, which meant buying a 'multi' changer. We've had to replace a wall light as the LED's failed, but that could have been a quality issue, which is the problem. What might look good quality, brushed steel, well finished, the internals are often poor.
We've bought a number of LED lights via a relatives' electrical store. Small local shop, but many lights are catalogue and ordered in. Unfortunately, most have failed within a couple of years - I've just replaced them with off the shelf tat from B&Q.
LEDS have a long life. The power supplies have been poor in our experience meaning bulbs still need replacing
So i think integrating the bulb into an inherently low voltage supply seems fine. No one moans about head torches and bike lights. I think in these applications the led will out live the battery
However using rechargeable batteries to light a home with a mains supply is crazy
Bigger, if anything - horribly polluting to get the source materials, horribly polluting when disposed of (because, let's face it, most will go in landfill)
Agreed but i was trying to be a bit diplomatic
Definitely some pertinent comments above! Originally I was going to have a wall light fitted by an electrician, then saw that you could have a wall light that simply plugged into an existing socket with no electrician needed. And then my eyes lit up at rechargeable lamps and what a great idea that sounded for occasional use.
Just on another point, have checked the original LED for my floor lamp and it's a Philips but only lasted 6 years. Only ever buy Philips LEDs for domestic lighting too.
Off to check out plug-in wall lights, likely less 'tat for the tip' surely. Quite catchy that!
Where I'm staying this week has some usb-c rechargeable mini lights, handy if room doesn't have many sockets, in this age of many electrical gadgets.
But like all battery operated gadgets, the batteries will eventually become effectively useless and the whole thing goes to the tip.
Batteries when they simply aren't needed are just a big a dick move as disposable items.
I'm slowly replacing all the regular batteries in this house with rechargeable ones as and when they die, though they're not always appropriate, it depends on what they're powering. Aside from the obvious "waste" aspect it does my gourd in when there's a drawerful of batteries of unknown provenance which have been slung in there alongside fresh ones after they've been on Christmas Lights duty for a month.
Of course, this then presented us with a different problem. Hey, what happened to the batteries in [this thing]? "Oh, they were dead so I threw them out." You... threw out my expensive Eneloop rechargeables? So now any "dead" batteries come to me for recycling, I have a bag on my desk. The local Tesco and Lidl both have recycling points.