LED's for landscape (cont)
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Posted by RickH on July 7, 2008, 12:07 pm
Please log in for more thread options Has anyone ever put a watt meter on the primary side of a typical Malibu lighting transformer to determine how much power is saved by simply changing the bulbs on the string to LED's? Just curious if anyone has some real number comparisons. I wouldn't think the cost savings would be that great considering the transformer losses and price of LED bulbs. And wouldn't Malibu already have drop-in LED bulbs to retrofit their legacy products if there really were great payoff? Also how do LED bulbs hold up to 6 months of winter? (sorry my post was failing to the original thread so started a new thread) | ||||||||||||||||
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Posted by BruceR on July 7, 2008, 2:03 pm
Please log in for more thread options operate at 3-5 volts DC and the transformer for your Malibu lights is most likely 12volts AC. So you'd need to ad a rectifier to convert AC to Dc (or just get the proper transformer). Further, you'll find that the light from a single LED doesn't hold a candle (pun intended) to the brightness of the incandescent bulb. Lastly, the Malibu transformers don't use that much energy in the first place. I'd be surprised if it cost more than a buck or two a month to run them. | ||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Jeff Volp on July 7, 2008, 2:34 pm
Please log in for more thread options The MR16 LED replacements that I reviewed in the other thread are designed
for 12VAC operation. The two samples appear to have a regulator because the current does not continue to increase once 12V is reached. I bench tested them to verify their power consumption was as stated. You may also be surprised how bright they really are. They appear to be about half as bright as a 20W halogen MR16. The best one for my application had 9 surface mount LEDs, and produced a very wide even pattern on 2.6W: http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=322 Considering the power savings, the brightness seems adequate. The real issues are color temperature and whether their longevity will be sufficient to provide the expected payback. I agree that the transformer doesn't use much power. The 300W transformer case is barely warm to the touch. Jeff > If you directly replace the bulbs with plain LEDs they won't work. LEDs
> operate at 3-5 volts DC and the transformer for your Malibu lights is most > likely 12volts AC. So you'd need to ad a rectifier to convert AC to Dc (or > just get the proper transformer). Further, you'll find that the light > from a single LED doesn't hold a candle (pun intended) to the brightness > of the incandescent bulb. Lastly, the Malibu transformers don't use that > much energy in the first place. I'd be surprised if it cost more than a > buck or two a month to run them. > > >>
>> Has anyone ever put a watt meter on the primary side of a typical >> Malibu lighting transformer to determine how much power is saved by >> simply changing the bulbs on the string to LED's? Just curious if >> anyone has some real number comparisons. >> >> I wouldn't think the cost savings would be that great considering the >> transformer losses and price of LED bulbs. And wouldn't Malibu >> already have drop-in LED bulbs to retrofit their legacy products if >> there really were great payoff? >> >> Also how do LED bulbs hold up to 6 months of winter? >> >> (sorry my post was failing to the original thread so started a new >> thread) >
> | ||||||||||||||||
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| LED's for landscape (cont) | July 7, 2008, 12:07 pm |
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| MR16 LEDs for Landscape Lights | June 22, 2008, 11:27 pm |
> Has anyone ever put a watt meter on the primary side of a typical
> Malibu lighting transformer to determine how much power is saved by
> simply changing the bulbs on the string to LED's? Just curious if
> anyone has some real number comparisons.
>
> I wouldn't think the cost savings would be that great considering the
> transformer losses and price of LED bulbs. And wouldn't Malibu
> already have drop-in LED bulbs to retrofit their legacy products if
> there really were great payoff?
>
> Also how do LED bulbs hold up to 6 months of winter?
>
> (sorry my post was failing to the original thread so started a new
> thread)