LED Lamps to Replace Incandescent Bulbs - But When?

[basspig]

There is a 50,000-watt AM/FM station just down the road from me. A while back, I thought perhaps I could get electric power from the station. All I could achieve was lighting a neon lamp by connecting it to the coax of a 175 mile range log periodic FM antenna. There wasn't enough current to do anything more than that.

[psbfan9]

Induction lighting has one big disadvantage: interferes with radio communications over a larger area. Because the plasma is excited with radio frequency waves (Nikola Tesla first demonstrated induction lighting in the 1890s), it is essentially a powerful radio transmitter with a waveguide to focus most of the energy on the glass envelope. However, I said MOST of the energy. Even if a thousandth of that energy escapes it is equivalent to a strong local radio transmitter with an inefficient antenna. Just 40mW can mess things up for a ten block radius over open terrain.

Maybe I misunderstand what you're saying... They're putting these magnetic induction lighting bulbs into to traffic signals and street lights. Are you saying that could possibly cause interference with emergency radios?

[Rickster71]

I remember some early versions of inductive lamps producing RFI. Now, almost all modern inductive units are under FCC rules.
You wouldn't experience anymore RFI than from a microwave oven or a PC.

[majorloser]

I remember some early versions of inductive lamps producing RFI. Now, almost all modern inductive units are under FCC rules.
You wouldn't experience anymore RFI than from a microwave oven or a PC.

I'm so relieved. The FCC is on the job.

[j_garcia]

I have an old lamp that needed some new bulbs. LEDs were on sale, so I picked up two 40W bright white LEDs and they are considerably brighter than the previous 60W soft white CFLs. The bright white 40W CFLs only came in single packs and were only $2 each less than the LEDs, so the cost difference wasn't terribly different in reality.

[basspig]

I remember some early versions of inductive lamps producing RFI. Now, almost all modern inductive units are under FCC rules.
You wouldn't experience anymore RFI than from a microwave oven or a PC.

That's what they said about BPL (Broadband over Power Line). Yet in every city where it was tested, the interference to the 2-80 meter bands was widespread and made communications impossible.
They can shield a lamp, so perhaps it is possible the manufacturer solved the RFI problem, but the very technology is RF noisy to begin with.

[Rickster71]

I had heard some problems with the old style ballasts.
I've only installed them in industrial / commercial locations where RFI wasn't really an issue.
The LED's are aimed mostly at residential customers. All the government funding is going toward LED's, which makes me wonder about the fate of Induction.

[j_garcia]

Under $5 LED is now on the market. Low on lumens though, so not exactly ready to light the whole home.

http://gizmodo.com/5885653/the-first...s-with-a-catch