e-watt LED light bulbs - what has been your experience

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by rsisk

Can you share this with us? I'd like to maybe do something similar.

Agreed, I believe 1538 has a fantastic display for these lightbulbs as well?

-RC

[pfreivald]

Well, I wasn't expecting people to be buying five at a time... Sold 12 today (including one to myself to try out), so the case has already paid for itself and then some... The rest is profit. We'll see how the rest of the case goes, and then look at the judiciousness of ordering more.

[Cynette]

Originally Posted by Cynette

One of the mentors made a comparison display that holds 4 bulbs with a watt meter to show the energy use. It's very cool.

Originally Posted by rsisk

Can you share this with us? I'd like to maybe do something similar.

I'll describe it now and take a photo the next time I'm in the shop!

He built a wooden box and wired in 4 light sockets (porcelain?) Each socket has a on/off light switch underneath it. They are wired in parallel and at one end is an outlet. He provided a watt meter that plugs into the outlet. The four slots are intended for use for a regular 40 watt incandescent bulb, a compact fluorescent bulb, the FIRST bulb and a competitors 40 watt LED bulb for color comparison. At the back he has attached a piece of foam board to provide a surface to show the displacement of the light from the bulbs. Because each bulb has it's own switch, you can measure the watts for each bulb individually. Or turnthem all on and measure the total output!

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Cynette

They are wired in series

From the rest of the description, it sounds like they are wired in parallel.

[MishraArtificer]

Originally Posted by Cynette

Don't forget about taxes! I saw the bulb for sale at Lowes for $18.98. That's $20.50 with NY taxes!

I think if we throw in that it is a fundraiser for a good cause, people may forgive the cost a bit as long as it is close to the market rate.

Our team just received the cases we ordered (sponsored by a few parents and mentors - if the bulbs sell, the sponsors get their money back. If they don't, they get the bulbs.). One of the mentors made a comparison display that holds 4 bulbs with a watt meter to show the energy use. It's very cool. We will probably rely on sales at parent's and mentor's workplaces and with friends and families. We've been given permission to sell them at our largest demo of the summer, the Monroe County Fair.

Monroe County WHERE?!!

Also, I want to say this: most of the sales tips I've seen in this thread so far is almost exactly how I used to sell band candy when I was in high school.

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by MishraArtificer

Monroe County WHERE?!!

Monroe County, NY (Rochester).

Originally Posted by MishraArtificer

Also, I want to say this: most of the sales tips I've seen in this thread so far is almost exactly how I used to sell band candy when I was in high school.

You hooked up candy bars to 115VAC? Cool!

[Cynette]

Originally Posted by Ether

From the rest of the description, it sounds like they are wired in parallel.

When you turn on more than one light bulb, the wattages add up. I think that makes them in series.

But I will admit that electrical has never been my strong suit. If I really have it backwards, let me know!

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Cynette

When you turn on more than one light bulb, the wattages add up. I think that makes them in series.

But I will admit that electrical has never been my strong suit. If I really have it backwards, let me know!

If the bulbs were wired in series, they would not operate properly. Each one requires the full 120 volts.

The 120v light bulbs in your home are all wired in parallel, and you can turn them on and off individually, and the wattmeter on your home reads the sum of the power they use.

[the man]

Originally Posted by Ether

If the bulbs were wired in series, they would not operate properly. Each one requires the full 120 volts.

The 120v light bulbs in your home are all wired in parallel, and you can turn them on and off individually, and the wattmeter on your home reads the sum of the power they use.

So If you had a switch on each bulb in the display set up you could turn them on one at a time to show how much power they use right?

[Ether]

Originally Posted by the man

So If you had a switch on each bulb in the display set up you could turn them on one at a time to show how much power they use right?

Right. Like so.

[Cynette]

Originally Posted by Ether

If the bulbs were wired in series, they would not operate properly. Each one requires the full 120 volts.

The 120v light bulbs in your home are all wired in parallel, and you can turn them on and off individually, and the wattmeter on your home reads the sum of the power they use.

That is a great visual for me! Exactly! So it's parallel then!

[MishraArtificer]

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

Monroe County, NY (Rochester).

Oh, ****. For a moment there, I thought you were coming all the way out here to the Monroe County Fair. It's even larger than the Michigan State Fair.

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

You hooked up candy bars to 115VAC? Cool!

Well, there was that one time we sold these massive sausage links...

[KarenH]

One of my concerns with the FIRST light is that we don't use 40-watt bulbs much in our house; mostly we use 60-watt bulbs. This bulb is supposed to have light output equivalent to a 40-watt bulb. Our team leader tried one out and said it's as bright as a 60-watt bulb, but he used two different types of light fixtures to display them. While they both nearly blinded me, I didn't think that was a "scientific" enough test, so I devised a somewhat more "scientific" test, using the bulb my husband bought from the team. (If we like it, we'll probably buy more.)

We have a ceiling fixture in our house that had two CFLs and two soft white 60-watt incandescent bulbs. One of the CFLs was burned out. (CFLs do NOT last as long as traditional bulbs.) So I replaced the bum bulb with one of the e-watt LED lights, and turned on the switch. Cameras tend to be pretty objective about things, so I also took pictures. Here is one picture, taken from directly below the fixture. Can you tell which bulbs are brighter or dimmer? Can you tell which is the CFL and which is the LED light?

By the way, if you would like to use a larger version of this picture in your sales pitch, feel free to PM me.

[Ether]

Originally Posted by KarenH

One of my concerns with the FIRST light is that we don't use 40-watt bulbs much in our house; mostly we use 60-watt bulbs. This bulb is supposed to have light output equivalent to a 40-watt bulb.

I thought the FRC LED was rated as equivalent to 60Watt incandescent.

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by Ether

I thought the FRC LED was rated as equivalent to 60Watt incandescent.

The problem is that the light is much more directed, which is why the literature says that in downlight and spotlight applications it apes a 60W bulb, but in 'most other applications' it apes a 40W. I have one that I bought from our team to try in various applications around my house, and I find this to be almost exactly true.

In a standard lamp (where the bulb is upright), it's a bit dim -- the ceiling above the lamp is plenty bright, but it doesn't do that much for the room. In a light fixture where the bulb is at the ceiling and directed downward, it's great...

...and I think it's important to emphasize this distinction to customers when you're trying to sell the bulb if you want them to be happy with their purchase.