Comment by mmh0000

Comment by mmh0000 4 hours ago

19 replies

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This is super interesting, and I'd actually be quite interested in buying a 60K-Lumen lamp... but not at $1200.

Years ago, there was an HN article "You Need More Lumens"[1], which in turn led me down a rabbit hole.

I ended up purchasing:

   4 standard table lamps from Target,
  28 2000-lumen Cree LEDs bulbs[2] and,
   4 7-way splitters[3].
The end result is somewhere around 56,000 lumens. And I LOVE it. Makes me much happier in my home office, especially in the winter months.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10957614

[2] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H4RJQTT

[3] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FKIE6M4

wolfi1 a minute ago

don't worry, there soon will be knock-offs way cheaper

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404mm 21 minutes ago

$1200 is a lot, and it would be a straight dealbreaker to me as well. But I also noticed it draws 580W, which is a lot too.

Besides not wanting to waste the money, I doubt the lamp will last 5 years (not 5 years of projected use of XX minutes per day…). 580W converted to heat on a small disk will take its toll.

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  • the_arun 19 minutes ago

    It is way too expensive for me as well. Yeh, world's brightest lamp is costliest to buy & maintain.

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jjcm 3 hours ago

I did something similar, but a slightly different approach. I installed grow lights in my ceiling conches: amazon.com/dp/B07BRKT56T?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

In my office I have 6 of these, for a total of around 13,000 lumens. It effectively 6x'd my light output for around $150. Worked wonders, especially in the PNW winter.

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eek2121 3 hours ago

Just a fun random fact from me: We do need more lumens. Not for normal (non-production) indoor lighting in most situations, however, I always want a bright light for my outside lights, and I find that most 100w-equivalent (1500 lumens) are just not quite enough. 2,000 lumens is almost there, however, 2,500 lumens would be beneficial. Both 2,000 and 2,500 lumen bulbs either don't last in temperature extremes, or are super expensive. The power on time (think hours per day of use) and color of the light matters as well. In my use case, I need a bulb that can withstand long periods of time being run from dusk till dawn. I am willing to pay a decent amount for a guaranteed warranty for X years, however most bulbs of ANY amount of lumens only guarantee 1-3 hours a day for 1-5 years. When you need 7-10 hours a day, well...

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  • Nition 3 hours ago

    Have you seen the Philips TrueForce Core 40W LED bulbs? Not sure if they're sold in the US, but they're 4000 lumens, "last up to 15,000 hours" (whatever you make of that phrasing). They're quite huge but fit into a normal light socket. Not very expensive either.

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  • Rychard 3 hours ago

    I have a pair of PAR38 LED bulbs from Cree Lighting (2100 lumens) that are rated for 25,000 hours. They're in a flood-light mounted under the eaves of my house.

    I never got around to putting them on a dusk-to-dawn timer, so they've been burning 24/7 since I purchased them at the end of 2020 (except for the occasional power outage, of course). I paid $20/each for them.

    Sample size of 1 (technically 2), but there are definitely products on the market that meet your criteria.

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    • mylifeandtimes 2 hours ago

      Don't know enough about your neighborhood, and I might have misread your comment (the "under the eaves" makes me think these are outdoor)

      but as someone who appreciates darkness I'd be really upset to live near someone who did this.

      Unless you can keep your light on your property (as in, you are extremely rural).

      why are you lighting up outside unless you are outside in the light?

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      • Rychard 2 hours ago

        The lights are indeed outdoor, and cover most of my backyard. It's a neighborhood within a major metropolitan area, but the light doesn't bleed beyond my property lines.

        As for the "why", the answer is security. If someone attempts to hide in my yard, they'll find it quite difficult to remain unseen.

        Most of my neighbors have floodlights of their own (though mine are easily the brightest), and I've gotten no complaints in the years I've had them. If any of my neighbors voiced concerns about them, I would try to work with them to find a solution. I have to live next to them, so it only makes sense to stay on good terms.

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  • Scene_Cast2 2 hours ago

    Try looking into videography COBs. I would recommend something like the Zhiyun Molus G300, SmallRig RC 220B or similar.

    The absolute cheapest lumens per dollar COB would be the GVM SD300D, although I highly question the reliability and light quality.

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  • jjcm 3 hours ago

    Relinking what I've already linked in a sibling comment, but I've just started having these die after 4 years of continuous use ~12hrs/day: amazon.com/dp/B07BRKT56T

    Interestingly, 4 of the 6 that I had running all died in the same ~3mo period, but still I was pretty happy for 4 years of use for $25/ea.

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  • ungreased0675 2 hours ago

    Why do you need bright lights on outside all night?

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    • brewdad 2 hours ago

      In my case, I park a car in my driveway overnight. My lights also help deter anyone who might wander near my neighbor's open carport. I run GE daylight 100w equivalent bulbs purchased from Lowe's from dusk to dawn. They last for years and are cheap. Two bulbs at my driveway and two 60w equivalents on my porch.

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  • hahahahhaah 3 hours ago

    I throw 200w led onto my garden. Enough to see where you are but a long way from daylight.

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JKCalhoun 3 hours ago

Curious if LEDs can really match the black-body that is our sun (and therefore incandescents).

I would get/build such a thing for my mental health, but I worry the LED illumination will be counter-productive.

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  • syncsynchalt an hour ago

    Look for the CRI rating of bulbs that you buy. It's a measurement of how close to a blackbody spectrum the bulb is putting out, the highest fidelity being 100. Note that this is not the temperature measurement, and you can have e.g. 2700K or 5000K bulbs with high CRI.

    Newer LED phosphors are typically 90+ CRI, and I commonly find 93 CRI bulbs available off the shelf.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_rendering_index

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    • JKCalhoun 26 minutes ago

      Interesting. The Wikipedia entry mentions SPD and I think that is where I think LEDs fall down—having a skewed and/or incomplete spectrum. Even though it may make certain target colors look correct.

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    • hollerith an hour ago

      Sunlight diverges significantly from a black-body spectrum because the atmosphere absorbs so many wavelengths.

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  • jedbrooke 3 hours ago

    I've found that a 250w incandescent bulb (can be had for ~$10) paired with a 4000 lumen LED produced decent results on a budget. Search for "reptile" or "chicken" lamps, they are usually red. You can feel the HEAT from a 250w light bulb.

    The only thing to watch out for is that the lamp base you're using can support the high wattage.

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