Al_B on 19/9/2012 at 23:36
Quote Posted by scarykitties
there would be no practical way of doing so without replacing the entire circuit with some kind of wireless control connected to the switch.
Completely agree - and you have the added problem that a lighting switch is inline with the bulb and doesn't just work like a lamp plugged into a wall socket. You'd also run into problems with being able to control the colour of the light. These problems aren't insurmountable but you end up with making a product that's too specialist.
Quote Posted by scarykitties
To each their own. I see it as a chance to get a high-quality LED bulb that won't need to be replaced. The wireless bit is just a bonus
In the UK I can buy a LED bub of the sort they're talking about for (
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p99502)) around £15. I'm sure the price will drop in a few years but it's already cheaper to get a fit and forget solution if that's all I wanted. If I were optimistic I'd hope that in ten years or so we will possibly see a new LED lighting standard being brought in that will replace existing mains lighting circuits with lower voltage circuits where this could save even more power - possibly with control as well. (Realistically it'll be 50 years at least).
I'm not against the concept of the product - the features look good. I just think they're jumping a little too soon with a prototype into promising full production and the realities of the
vast range of different lighting situations will come back to haunt them.
scarykitties on 20/9/2012 at 01:17
They offer the bulb in three different types, one being the standard UK type, the other being the US standard, the Edison Screw.
Basically, they've got everything they need to start mass production, but things are cheaper per unit if you can purchase it in bulk, hence the desire for a million dollars to begin production. By the sound of it, they know what they're doing.
I wish that LED bulbs were bigger here, but the government subsidized Compact Florescents in the USA, which is probably why you don't see LED bulbs around here--companies get special tax credits or somesuch for selling outdated and toxic florescents. That's why I hate government subsidies.
That's a different topic, though...
Phatose on 20/9/2012 at 03:26
Er...the last I had heard, LED light bulbs never hit the big time for two reasons: 1. they were more expensive to produce. 2, while the LED themselves are electrically efficient and have long life, the electronics that are required to control them aren't. You get 25 years out the the diodes.....and 5 years out of the control electronics, since they're constantly overheating. Those fins ain't for show, they're heat-sinks.
Somehow, I doubt adding extra electronics for wi-fi and color control are going to help with that. Plus, the whole color control thing - they're equivalent to 60 watts at full on. You turn that to just red, you might as well have a 10-watt red bulb.
BEAR on 25/9/2012 at 00:21
Speaking as someone who is doing research in this area now, these will be too expensive. Much, MUCH easier to just have a smart breakerbox or something with 1 wireless connection and control more than one thing.
Cool though it would be that seems pretty pointless unless I'm missing something. I could knock out a prototype for this in a weekend for like 30 bucks, why the fuck do they need so much money. The multi-color thing is cool, that had better be 90% of the cost cause it sure isn't any of the rest of it.
Dia on 25/9/2012 at 11:00
I can see lightbulb wars breaking out in some households; my husband preferred bright lights at all hours of the day and night, but I always preferred softer, more subdued lighting. If we'd had LIFX our home would've looked like we had strobe lights as the battle ensued.
june gloom on 25/9/2012 at 19:51
We have arguments over the COLOR of lights in this house -- I prefer dim, white light, but the prevailing opinion is bright, yellow light. Combine that with the orange streetlights outside and...
House and neighborhood are ugly enough, why would you want to make it uglier?
BEAR on 26/9/2012 at 15:08
I didn't read the entire thing before posting, but having realtime control that you can link to music is kind of cool. I'd never do it, but I can see some trendy hipsters making more money than is reasonable pimping out their happening pad that way. Still, as kickstarter projects and home automation go, pretty uninteresting but if people want them I hope they can get it going.
