zlacker

[return to "Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product"]
1. mmh000+8O7[view] [source] 2026-02-03 23:26:10
>>sberen+(OP)
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] >>10957614

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

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

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2. 404mm+uj8[view] [source] 2026-02-04 02:49:57
>>mmh000+8O7
$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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3. SPICLK+eX8[view] [source] 2026-02-04 08:55:12
>>404mm+uj8
~100 lumens per watt is rather poor, especially given the cost. It's the same as a standard LED lightbulb, and that includes the miniature AC voltage converter.

150lm/w would make it at least a cut above domestic lightbulbs.

200lm/w would make it a premium product.

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4. antono+rA9[view] [source] 2026-02-04 13:45:23
>>SPICLK+eX8
fwiw, LEDs with higher CRI will generally be less power efficient, so the premium category has a 3-way tradeoff between brightness, power, and color quality. It's common for high efficiency LED lightbulbs to be much worse at illuminating red objects.
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5. SPICLK+xB9[view] [source] 2026-02-04 13:53:10
>>antono+rA9
True enough, although CREE's XT-E offers 140 lm/w at a CRI of 80 and a colour temp of 3000k.

I assume this product has not met any regulatory requirements, because selling a ~600W hot plate suspended at eye level cannot be legal.

These LEDs are just the ones found on imported LED strips. Adjustable colour temperature is a novelty that is not compatible with LED efficiency or lifetime.

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6. camtar+IO9[view] [source] 2026-02-04 15:00:11
>>SPICLK+xB9
CRI of 80 is not great. From my reading, you want CRI 90 if you want light that's pleasant to exist in.
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7. SPICLK+sQ9[view] [source] 2026-02-04 15:07:28
>>camtar+IO9
Fair point. Given that this product has adjustable colour temperature, I really doubt all of the lumen, CRI and watt values. It sounds like the designer also got stung when the chosen LEDs didn't give the expected power output.
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