For nearly ten years I have been testing LED bulbs for low voltage systems as well as 120 VAC for household use. I have never been real happy with these bulbs for general lighting, until now!
A few weeks ago I took home a package of small 12 volt wedge bulbs. I have several LED bulbs in my outdoor pagoda that is hooked up to my small solar system. Wow, was I impressed! These bulbs were bright enough for general lighting and the color is warm like an incandescent bulb.
In the past the bulbs have always had a blue or light purple hue. You know what I mean. Even the recent bulbs I bought from Sam's Club for the house has a bright white light with a slight blue tint. It has been getting better as technology improves, but I have never been totally happy. Of course the cost has been coming down too, so we can all save more electricity as we gradually replace our energy guzzling incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs. If they last half as long as the manufacture claims then the higher cost will be worth it.
I was soo impressed that our store (Vegas Trailer Supply) is carrying a complete line of them. It looks like the retail cost will be about $10 - $20 bucks a bulb, but that is way lower than the $30 - $60 a few years ago. I expect them to go down in price as they become more popular.
The bulb I tested was the wedge base bulb called the T10 - Warm white - 12v - 1.2 watt - 100 lumens - Labeled "Green Long Life" made by Ming's Mark Inc. in China. There was no warning about touching the small yellow wafers on the bulb so I used a soft cloth when handling the bulb so no fingerprints (oil) got on the bulb surface. I figured that it wouldn't hurt to be safe.
I am going to recommend this line to all of my RV and Solar friends who want so save their battery power. We are also carrying another line called "Next Wave LED" and they test just as well. These bulbs draw 1/7th the electricity as a regular incandescent so they are perfect for the RV'r living off 12 VDC and those with solar power for their cabins or homes off the grid.
Finally, a low energy LED bulb that works for general lighting! I will publish more in the near future as these bulbs are fantastic. We are actually having trouble keeping some of them in stock as they are becoming very popular. Stop in to Vegas Trailer Supply and check out the working display to see the light output and color of these fantastic low voltage light bulbs.
It's a good day.
