The one pictured is my bedroom light.

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[โ€“] 7 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (3 children)

OMG. As an old (Gen x) lighting designer who lives in CA, may God help you if you asked me this question at a party. In order not to bore you to death I'll try to spit it out before you fall asleep. Never ask me "What is Power factor?", All would be lost. Or for god's sake, "What is Dark Bastard Amber?"( Rosco 03)"Are ellipsoidal fixtures most accurately called Lekos or source four?". You could die of regretful boredom within 9 seconds". At least you'd have someone to talk to for the duration of the party

Yes. I have a handful of very beloved, non-LED bulbs and fixtures. I have to trouble the out of state family to help me smuggle these into my home. For example, "Halogen" bulbs. I have a floor standing, up firing, dimmable lamp that will transport any room immediately to the surface of the sun. Cleaning? Look out dust. It would be easy to accidentally start a fire with this lamp using the bulbs I put in it. I use it every day in my office, which is so much brighter than any room in average people's houses. A home tour of my house always results in an "OMG It's so bright in here, I love it!". Me too. I think it's sad that normies can't have good lights or good drugs.

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  • [โ€“] 3 points 6 hours ago (1 child)

    Ok, what are power factor and dark bastard amber?

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  • [โ€“] 3 points 45 minutes ago

    My thumbs will fall off if I answer that. I sort of answered in another response you can read about Dark Bastard Amber (Rosco 03). Power Factor is why it's stupid to ban Halogen's and why LEDs are not as efficient as has been claimed. A Halogen bulb has a much higher CRI and power Factor of 1, a cheap LED has a Power factor of half of that (.5). That means the cheap LED uses twice as much current as the Halogen and can't come close to the Halogen's CRI. In commercial applications ( Like a stadium, for example) the power company charges on Kva demand and charges extra for Power Factor. That's because in real energy terms and on a commercial building's bill, a building full of cheap LEDs is way more expensive than the light it provides should be. So they often have to install capacitor banks on commercial buildings. And the LED needs just as much or more copper (Wire gauge/ breaker capacity) as the Halogen. All for a much shittier quality. Sure, encourage the USE of LEDs, go for it. But that old Twaine quote applies here: "don't ban steaks for men just because babies can't chew them".

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