LED Basking and Ceramic Heater

[edgley]

Howdy,

Am thinking of ditching using lightbulbs and surrounding a ceramic heater with super bright LEDs.
There is something I just don't like about using a lightbulb. Also, doing it this way should allow me to use the ceramic heater at night on the few that it gets cold enough.
It would also allow me to use pulse dimming; not only cheaper to buy but also to run (I am hoping!).

I have just switched to a G10, just about enough heat, and at only 50w a third the running costs. Just seems wrong in 2013 to still being using things like old skool bulbs :?

Anybody else doing something similar?

 

[Claudiusx]

LED's still haven't been proven safe for use in bearded dragons.

Your same thought process is what started people in on the compact fluorescent bulbs. They figured it's cheaper to run, so why not. But we know that CFL's (uvb and non uvb) are not fit for being used in our beardies tanks.

There has been very minimal testing on LED's (I have been writing a paper on CFL's and LED's being used with our dragons for the past year it seems) but the research that has been done seems to point to them having some of the same problems as the CFL's. The light they put off is just way too intense and glaring.

I would stick to using what is known to work. You are only saving like $2 or something miniscule like that per month by lowering your wattage used per day that much.
I'd gladly pay the extra $2-5 to know that the light I'm using isn't harming my dragon.

-Brandon

 

[BotanicalStig]

^There has been a fair amount of research on the safety of LEDs. Irritation and (worst cases) temporary blindness have occurred on tests with mice directly exposed to intense blue light for a number of hours. Suggesting that regular exposure to a household LED is a health concern is a bit of stretch. Staring directly into any sort of light is harmful. That said, I never recommend cool color lights as they are particularly hard on the eyes (consider this when picking up your "super bright LEDs). I've used LEDs for extra light in Moose's tank over the last year and he's never had a problem with them.

To the OP, my experience with CHEs must differ from yours. It took 200 watts to keep my 40gb warm directly beneath it. If I kept it on, it would stay in the 90's... not exactly basking temps. In my new 5x2x1.5, I have to dim a 45 watt halogen to keep basking temps cool enough. You can use the CHE if temps are right, but in my experience they are less energy efficient than even a typical incandescent, and much less efficient than a halogen.

 

[edgley]

Thank you for taking the time to correct my ignorance.

I am currently using a 50w GU10, but can only get basking temps to the mid 90s, not high enough at all.
Being a complete dimwit, I have forgotten that I have a controller that does temps and dimming, so I will be spending time this afternoon setting it up; cool thing is that it has a web interface to show and config.

It *should* mean that I can go back to using the 100w old skool bulb, but run it at only 80-90% power. That should be good enough for me. I am not after saving money, however, inefficiency is very offensive to me (down to even pointless mouse clicks :lol: ).

It will also allow me to:
- Ramp up and down the heating for basking / daylight simulation (which was one of the main drives for using LEDS originally)
- Decide whether to fire up the ceramic if ambient drops
- Lastly control the tube
- Will also do other lighting if I want ambient

This means I should be able to create a much more natural fade in and out of heat&light to help simulate a natural environment. Will post some pic's once done.

 

[DuaneHuff]

^There has been a fair amount of research on the safety of LEDs. Irritation and (worst cases) temporary blindness have occurred on tests with mice directly exposed to intense blue light for a number of hours. Suggesting that regular exposure to a household LED is a health concern is a bit of stretch. Staring directly into any sort of light is harmful. That said, I never recommend cool color lights as they are particularly hard on the eyes (consider this when picking up your "super bright LEDs). I've used led lighting for extra light in Moose's tank over the last year and he's never had a problem with them.

To the OP, my experience with CHEs must differ from yours. It took 200 watts to keep my 40gb warm directly beneath it. If I kept it on, it would stay in the 90's... not exactly basking temps. In my new 5x2x1.5, I have to dim a 45 watt halogen to keep basking temps cool enough. You can use the CHE if temps are right, but in my experience they are less energy efficient than even a typical incandescent, and much less efficient than a halogen.

Thanks for sharing your experience.. I have been trying to get new lights but little unsure.. now I will get leds.. Thanks again