So.. Lokie brings in this lamp that originally took a 12VAC 20watt incandecent bulb one day and said bulb is out... do something with it... well since it would have made no sence what so ever for me to actually drive out and buy a bulb and just make it work like normal I started taking the screws out of it... Come to find out it just uses a simple Transformer to step down 120VAC to 12VAC... hmm... that's right around the range I need for LED's

Well being a bit lazy yesterday I grabbed and literally dusted off some really old perf board that we have not used in a while (since I started etching my own boards) and went to work...

I built a very simple regulated voltage converter which simply converts the AC voltage to DC.. I used the regulator to well.. regulate the votage going out to the LED's as well as filter.... all together it didn't turn out to bad... I could have went WAY overboard and put massive amounts of LED's in the hood.. and I actually started to... This just looked better and actually provides a nicer, more even glow... Now I just have to wait for Lokie to show up today and see if he likes it ok..

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HAHA your too modest, I wish I had it on camera....

Twizted - Ok, here I go (plug in hand), this is going to work or go BOOM! (the other hand covering his eyes)

Needless to say it worked and once again found a use for DM products and your knowledge

That's pretty impressive Twizted, LEDs are the way forward! Good work

Yeah that was kinda funny this morning... hehe..

It was true though... It was either going to work.. or go catasrophic which would have probably been pretty loud with those Caps on it.. and I have seen those voltage regulators explode before hehe

awesome twizted, i wonder why no company has really started to make LED desk lamps energy efficient, pure white, and of course awesome looking.

Why didnt you use a 1W LED? You have practically infinite power available. Dam thing would have been brighter than the sun! But cool mod, been thinking of doing something like that myself.

Quote: Originally Posted by Nerdz Why didnt you use a 1W LED? You have practically infinite power available. Dam thing would have been brighter than the sun! But cool mod, been thinking of doing something like that myself.

If I had a 1W or even a 5W I could have.. But I was not going for uber bright, this is just a simple desk lamp... And what I used was all free except the LED's of course.. Besides I could think of alot better things to do with high power LED's....

i have that lamp, but it uses a halogen bulb, one of those uber hot running forever type bulbs, its clamp style though, hooks to my head board in my room.

It would be kewl to use led's for all my lamps, how much power do you think it would save, and how long with the led's run?

Good quality LEDS, run at their proper voltage, will run 100,000 hours +...

As far as the wattage goes, I'm not sure about that halogen bulb. With using LED lamps, you save even more than with the florescent bulbs. It's really cool to see all the traffic lights converting over to LED lights.

The halogen that was in it was 12VAC x 20W... where as the LED are running at 16VDC (in two series of 5) at approx 0.8W total (this could be off as I just woke up and my brain is not fully functional yet)

So were talking a full 19.2W off your KWH.... Now I am not saying this this is going to be a stellar change in anyones utility bill.. but over time it will save quite a bit as appose to the halogen.. and if you already had LED lighting in your house.. well, this would be good... but, if you can afford LED lighting in your house, you can afford a LED desk lamp

Now I am going to say this before some asshat says it...What is the brightness difference between the two? Doesn't the halogen give off more mcd? What would be the mcd/ voltage/ wattage difference be?



Those will get your brain working this morning...or fry it!

I like the lamp looks good Lokie, Vernon you did a great job on the led's.

LOL, now as to your question Lokie you no i am very confused as it is, but when it comes to this and to come up with a answer for you had just maid me really confused and dumb as a rock and a idiot for not knowing.

Well, I dont know the Lumens or Candella's of the original bulb but it would have been VERY bright... As far as brightness its apples and oranges... with out using something such as a luxeon star or similar (5w+ High power LED) there was not good way to get it near the brightness of the halogen... BTW... MCD stands for Milicandels or Millicandelas where 1MCD would be 1 thousandth of a Candella. Now, Candella's and Lumens are measured VERY differently and it really is not possible to convert from one to the other. Lumens are measured by how much light is produced as measured at the light source. Candela are measured by how much light actually falls on a surface.

Voltages from 12 to 16 (due to conversion)
Wattages from 20 to 0.8

So if we were to match the wattage to wattage, the LEDS would smack the puddin out of the halogen? Or woudl I just be to blind to even care?

well, The LED setup I have in it now is flippin the bird at the halogen... and even if I used a 5watt Luxeon... it would have still be a 75% reduction in power usage..

so technically if i redid all the lamps in my house with LED's, i could effectivley remove theissue of replacing bulbs, and save some money.

Or would it take around 10x as many LED's to light the room up as much at the regualr bulbs do? I gotta say it would be pretty pimp to get my whole house LED driven, that would kick 75% of the lighting bill alone, then i could run a few more borg...

I use CFL bulbs in my home, when we switched over to them our electric bill droped about 10% from the classic 100w bulbs we use to use.

My room is lit by four 4ft blaclight bulbs, and one CFL. But i have that halogen clamp lamp in there too, which probally sucks as much power as my computer room.

EDIT: Found this site on the energy effecient bulbs
Eartheasy Shop: Energy-Efficient Lighting

LEDs will certainly greatly reduce power consumption. The issue with why houses aren't all fitted with LED lighting is converting 120VAC to 12VDC. Unless your house is already completely converted to solar/wind power with a massive deep-cycle battery farm and inverters galore, each individual light will require a transformer mod such as what Twizted used.

But one day, I predict all new houses will use hybrid power, just like cars do, with a battery bank, solar panels on the roof, and a wind generator all providing 12V DC, and maybe only use 120VAC for backup power or when extra power is needed. LEDs are far more energy-efficient than any kind of 120VAC bulb.

Actually i am pretty sure the bulbs he linked are direct replacment bulbs... I have read alot of articles related to directly powering LED's of AC mains... but if I ever make the big time and become rich your darn skippy my whole house will run on 12VDC

The cost up-front would be pretty major, but it would pay for itself within a few years. No more power bills to pay! And maybe you would also be able to heat your hot water tank too. Here in Alberta, our energy bills are skyrocketing, and it would feel great to not be a whore to the power companies!