I don’t know any families that are vacationing by any means. You can’t go on a road trip without stopping for food and fuel.
In the early days of $50/bulb LEDs, you could get much cheaper ones made by Feit, and a bunch of people did, and then soured on LEDs when the cheap Feit junk died.
I try to get Cree whenever I can, but even the regular stuff nowadays is pretty excellent. I no longer have any non-LED bulbs in my house, garage, or DD car, and it’s great. I even put a LED grid array in the dome light of my ancient MR2. Now instead of a super dim yellow sorta-glow, I have a very bright pure white dome light. Nice.
I don’t think the familys you describe would need a car at all. And if they are apartment dwellers, which the majority of those who fit the criteria you lay out, where would they charge the thing?
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The LEDs themselves do have a long lifespan, it’s the LED driver circuitry that seems to fail. LEDs need a constant current ballast of some sort. LED flashlights frequently use a simple resistor in series with the LED and while that’s reliable, it’s so inefficient that you may as well be using an incandescent bulb.
You guys brought up a lot of good points. Electric vehicles are becoming a reality… Their development has been glacially slow so far but it seems is finally gaining momentum (slowly). I mean there were electric vehicles back in the early 1900’s but the official Kaibosh was placed upon them back then and it is still upon them…Not to mention the K-Bosh put upon energy storage methods (Battery Technology)
Where will the power come from? Well we’ve had the solution to our “completely out of control” power consumption and power needs for almost 6 decades now. The only method that can compete with and out perform petroleum…is Nuclear Power.
Not the ridiculously simple (first or second generation) Nuclear Power plant design that was scribbled on a napkin in a Los Alamos diner one day back in the 40’s…but by a Nuclear plant design that was allowed to develop and take advantage of the huge generational changes to power plant designs that have been gained over the years. Nuclear power doesn’t have to be as dangerous as it is now but it is exactly as dangerous as some want it to be…because they aren’t through selling their popular product.
Big Oil is not finished with us. They have not made enough money nor destroyed the planet to their satisfaction just yet. So they will not remove themselves from gumming up the works in regard to solving the problem of Energy needs that they basically created and has now snowballed out of control.
Then again…maybe we shouldn’t be looking for ever increasing amounts of energy…maybe things need to slow down a bit. We have been addicted to a product for a long time and we have been artificially pumped up with power for a long time. But this is a familiar discussion we have had many times already and perhaps I should just leave the topic alone for a while…again.
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I’ve had rather good experiences with LED flashlights
Then again, most of them have been expensive professional grade
As for LED bulbs in the house . . . the results have been less than stellar. Sure, they last longer than incandescent, but not 25 times longer
Now to cars . . . again, very mixed results. And I’m only considering factory lighting. But my sample size goes pretty far back.
When we bought our vacation condo 3 winters ago, one of the first things I did was to replace all the incandescent light bulbs with LEDs of various brands. I found many of these bulbs at Lowes or Home Depot, at very reasonable prices and I needed lots of bulbs.
Here’s one example
Our guest bathroom alone, in addition to other lighting in there, has a light bar above the sink area that had eight 40w bulbs, that’s 320 watts.
One could feel the heat from them when they were on for a few minutes and one could burn their fingerprints off by touching them.
I replaced all of them with Kichler 60 watt equivalent LEDs that consume 5 watts each. So I get more light, way less heat (these can be grabbed and held after being on several minutes), and they use way less electricity, a total of 40 watts instead of 320 watts. I believe that’s 8 times more efficient, not to mention way less heat. Heat is not welcome when one runs air conditioning nearly 365 days a year, more savings.
I’ve not replaced a single bulb since installing many dozen LED bulbs! Also, in some areas I’ve installed dimmable LEDs and dimmer switches as an improvement over what was there. In one living area where there’s now a chandelier with six LEDs I added this dimming feature so I have the option of more light than I had or mood lighting if desired. All that using way less electricity than before and less heat byproduct.
The laundry room had florescent tubes that are now LEDs. The savings on heat and light are not as great in this application, but the light is very pleasing and I’m quite sure I gained longevity.
CSA
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The Kaibosh, as you put it, was simply technological development. The internal combustion engine won the race. The earliest “car” was steam powered. The earliest electric “car” was built about 1839. The first rechargeable batteries in 1859. The rechargeable electric car had a 26 year head start over internal combustion engine cars.
The earliest speed records were set with electric cars. Taken over by steam cars and then beaten by an internal combustion engine in 1902. Even with a 26 year head start, IC vehicles had eclipsed electrics by 1902. Electrics were all but out of the market by 1920.
But speed wasn’t the issue… range was the issue. Sound familiar? Lead acid batteries were the best technology of the day and have very poor energy density compared to gasoline. Even the best Lithium Ion batteries still do. You can cry conspiracy theories all day long but the facts tell the tale.
It has taken 100 years for batteries combined with variable frequency drive electric motors to reach some sort of parity. A Telsa’s biggest battery in a S 100D is the equivalent of 3 gallons of gas. The motor drive is 4 times more efficient than an IC engine. So 4 times 3 gives the equivalent of 12 gallons of gas in an IC engined car and gives a 335 mile range. Or 27.9 mpg highway. A about right for a 4000 lb large car. And it takes at least 8.5 hours to bring it up to 80% charge per Tesla’s own claims of 31 miles per hour charge rate on a supercharger vs a 5 minute fill-up.
The price and recharge time are the hurdles folks need to jump if they want to own an electric car. Less than 3% of US buyers are willing to make that jump even with a dozen models to choose from.
Conspiracy? No.
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The small incandescent bulbs used in flashlights, pilot lights (showing my age) etc. are so inefficient that even if you throw away 50% of the energy with a resistor with an LED you still come out ahead.
For instance, a #47 bulb uses 950mW and makes about as much light as two 60mW LEDs.
I have had really good results replacing florescent four foot T 12 tubes with four foot LED tubes in the church I attend. The power company about three years ago gave us $6 for each florescent tube we replaced with an LED tube. I replaced 160 florescent tubes in 40 fixtures. I bought replacement LED tubes for $6.95 apiece. I did have to remove the ballast transformers and rewire the fixtures which was pretty simple. For $152 I relamped an entire area of the building.
Two.forms of energy were saved by converting to LED: 1) electrical energy; 2) my energy. At least once a month I was having to replace a couple florescent tubes. Half the time I was having to change out the ballast transformer as well. In three years, I haven’t had to replace an LED tube. I have also replaced the outdoor halogen floodlights as they burn out with LED bulbs. The LED bulbs have kept me off ladders.
Every year I attend a free breakfast sponsored by our power company. It’s really geared to businesses, but it is quite educational for me. The power company gives rebates for replacing inefficient motors. There are systems retail stores are given incentives to install to cut back energy use when the demand is too high. All if this incentive benefits the power company so that it doesn’t have to make a lot of upgrades.
The energy savings for my church by switching to LED is greater in the summer. In the winter, incandescent and florescent lighting adds to the heat in the building. In the summer, the LED reduces the load on the air-conditioning over conventional lighting.
I like LEDs and have replaced quite a few bulbs where the lights are used a lot. I got tired of changing light bulbs all the time. They are not cheap though and I’m not sure how much I spent and if it is worth it. In the garage and shop alone I spent over $400 for the ceiling lights but I like them for the bright lighting and lower operating cost. I’ve had to replace a couple of the garage fixtures when they started flickering. Supposed to be 5 year warranty but after a couple returns they didn’t know me anymore. My outside lights in the front are LED and seem to do OK in the cold and heat. I don’t remember when I put them in, maybe 2-3 years but I’ve only had one of four go out so far.
As far as electric cars go, when the product meets my requirements without the hype and virtue signaling, I might be inclined. But so far it’s just a novelty for the way we use out cars and not practical. I don’t see many solar panels going up either since the subsidies have gone bye. Calling people names because they don’t bite on the latest fads is just another method of coercion. Like everything else, when products meet needs and are cost effective, people tend to adopt.
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I experimented with solar energy back in 1956 when I was in high school. I ordered a solar battery from Allied Radio. It produced half a bolt in bright sunlight. This was enough power to measure on my volt meter.
Years later, I bought a car cooler. This gadget had a little fan motor driven by a solar cell. It fit over the glass in the door of the car window. One put this gadget over the glass and rolled up the window. It exhausted the hot air from the car at the rate of one cubic millimeter per hour.
I had more fun with this gadget. My colleagues were curious about how effective it was. I would carry my winter coat to work on hot summer days and when we left work for the day,. I would put on my coat before I got into the car and explain to them that I didn’t want to freeze on the way home.
Here at the condo community we have 2 transient Teslas parked here almost every day. Many unit owners want to be able to charge EVs here on the premises.
Our HOA board is currently working on installing pay-per-use Level-2 charging stations available in common area parking spaces for residents and visitors, EV charging stations here for our use. Also, new law in Florida allows condo owners to be able to install access for charging their personal EV vehicles.
FPL, Florida Power and Light, our electric utility here has some thoughts on making this happen and it will happen very soon.
https://www.fpl.com/environment/pdf/apartment-condo-charging.pdf
FPL has an innovative way of investing in solar power without putting up solar panels. I am enrolled in the new FPL Solar Together program, investing in solar power plants by voluntary charges on my monthly electric bill (As a participant in the program, you can choose to get up to 100% of your energy from solar*. Pay a fixed monthly subscription charge and immediately start receiving bill credits. Works wherever you live – solar energy comes from Florida-based solar energy centers). FPL currently operates 18 large solar power plants (solar farms) in Florida.
Also, I am investor in FPL’s parent company Next Era Energy (NEE on the stock exchange), the world’s largest producer of wind and solar energy. I add shares, regularly!
Solar produced electricity is cost efficient, clean, and works well in Florida. It’s here to stay. EVs are here to stay. Get ready.
CSA
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I think the current generation of electric car batteries has the range, but charging is the problem. Tesla got it right by creating a network of quick charge stations so that someone could drive for six hours, charge during a meal, then go six more. Not many people will drive more than 12 hours in a day, especially with a long stop for charging.
As for home charging, the 120v chargers that come with electrics now aren’t particularly useful since it takes more than 12 hours to charge up. All you get is a top off until you have effectively a full day off the road to do a full charge. The 220v systems are practical, but it costs about $2000 to install the wiring from the circuit breaker and install the charger.
Right now, it’s moot. There shouldn’t be any leisure travel, on any mode of conveyance, until the pandemic is under control.
I presume you bought “soft white” . . . which I also do
One time I made the mistake of buying “day light” . . . big mistake. Very harsh light, in my opinion. Might be great for outdoors, but definitely not my cup of tea indoors
Disagree, can go to the remote cabins, a fuel stop and drive through for food, how is that wrong?
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If you leave your point of origin with an asymptomatic case of the virus, you can spread it at the destination.
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So you’re ditching your ic cars and buying evs . . . ?!
I don’t want to start anything so just sayin’ what kinda caught my craw the wrong way. Last weekend was fishing opener which is a big deal in Minnesota and not to be missed by fishermen and women-not me though. At any rate our Mrs. DNR Commissioner had instructions for people that would be going fishing. Stay close to home. Only go as far as you can get back on one tank of gas or one charge in an EV. Take your food so you don’t have to stop at any local places to eat. Oh yeah and in a boat, keep a fishing rods distance away from anyone else in the boat. Hey Mrs. Commissioner, there ain’t hardly anybody up in them north woods lakes where all the good fishing is. Try it sometime. Interestingly I saw the almost exact same instructions from another state farther to the east but don’t remember where. So they musta all got together to share notes and memos on what to tell grown up fisher people and their kids. Have I had it up to here? Yeah I have and I personally know lots of these people so don’t tell me I’m misunderstanding where they are coming from.
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