I recently visited IKEA again and got interested in their affordable line of home automation/LED lighting products called TRÅDFRI (meaing wireless in a play-with-words kind of Swedish). Of course there was already an internet community active in hacking these devices and I joined in. Getting started I installed the gateway and after pairing devices to… Continue reading Hacking IKEA trådfri lighting automation
Category: LEDs
Top deal of the week?
Today I received a newsletter from the publisher Elektor. I am offered a special deal on a Peltier power generator which can power an LED light from a small candle. And this for an astonishing price of €99.95 instead of the normal price of €119.95. I’ll have to buy this – or wait a second…… Continue reading Top deal of the week?
Fakes from China
Inspired by a Youtube video from Bigclive I ordered some Solar Power Rechargeable Flash lights. I knew the risk but I thought it would be a possible way to get hold of some small amorphous silicon solar cell modules for some own projects. Today I received my package from ebay seller heavends. And yes, these… Continue reading Fakes from China
That’s bright!
Transatlantic recently asked about a new IKEA LED lamp, the LEDARE with 1000 lm. It comes as a quite big globe (diameter 95 mm) with an E27 socket, an electrical power rating of 16.5 W and is supposed to be dimable! Transatlantic commented on the high quality of the warm-white light output and wondered if… Continue reading That’s bright!
LED lamps are (not) forever
Two weeks ago I wrote about my experience with special price offers for LED bulbs at Bauhaus. What I didn’t write was that I then just went to the other side of the street – well almost – and bought a 2.2 W E14 LED bulb at Jula. Why – well I have six of… Continue reading LED lamps are (not) forever
special offer at Bauhaus
Today I was at Bauhaus in Uppsala, just browsing, not looking for anything special. Close to the exit there was a table with LED light bulbs which were obviously taken out of the regular assortment and re-labelled with new prices. Usually you would expect a bargain – and since I am somewhat sold to LED… Continue reading special offer at Bauhaus
Merry Christmas!
Magic lights in Uppsala
Today the art festival “all lights on Uppsala” ended and Christmas season officially started with the 23rd annual fireworks by the local newspaper UNT. During the festival, the artists and the city officials wanted to emphasize why LEDs will be the light source of the future. At one of the installations the efficiency of the… Continue reading Magic lights in Uppsala
The best LED bulb? – part 2
Ok, let us continue the reverse engineering of the E27 LED bulb LEDARE from IKEA. After describing the actual light emitting diode assembly in the previous post, I will today look deeper under the hood into the power supply. The power supply itself is located in a plastic cylinder which is screwed to the cast… Continue reading The best LED bulb? – part 2
The best LED bulb?
At least the best one I have seen so far. After giving a lecture on LEDs yesterday I finally unpacked and tested my latest buy – the clear E27 LED bulb LEDARE from IKEA. The specs of this LED bulb are not overly impressive, with an efficacy of a mere 50 lm/W it is about… Continue reading The best LED bulb?