Tom's OSU: LED Pixi flat panel light replaces my laundry room light

Friday, April 10, 2015

LED Pixi flat panel light replaces my laundry room light

PHOTO: I recently replaced my twenty years old laundry room's 60 Watt incandescent light bulb and fixture with a new LED flat panel light, reminiscent of the old "Star Trek" science fiction space age, which has a lower color temperature (2700 degrees Kelvin) than I've been able to purchase before: Pixi Light Model Number FLT12R27MD1622 S/N307V1-4B03D0562 bought at homedepot.com Apr. 2015. As somebody who suffers from low vision blindness, I have become very aware of the difference between lights with a lower color temperature (a more reddish light) versus bluer lights that have a higher color temperature. Yes, it is easier to get more light from the higher color temperature lights, but my eyes are unable to see these higher frequency light waves and I am able to see things better if they are lit with a lower frequency wavelength of light. This new LED lighting has enabled me to see better as I step inside from my garage to my mudroom, entry closet and laundry room area, where I recently had to replace some plumbing for my laundry tub and my new washer-dryer. (See previous post Wheelchair accessible Speed Queen Washer Dryer replaces old Maytag stacker (7/7/14))

I have been happy with this Pixie light so far -- it provides better light than what I previously had in my laundry room and I hope it lasts for decades because it will be very hard to replace when the light burns out, unlike how easy it was to replace the 60 Watt conventional incandescent lightbulb that was in my laundry room ceiling fixture. LED lights promise to last a long time, but there have been many reports of infant mortalities. The Pixie light uses much less electrical energy, which also will keep it cooler in the laundry room in the summer because the light generates very little heat, unlike the 60 Watt bulb that would get too hot to touch when on. Also, the flat Pixie light doesn't hang down below the ceiling like my old bulb fixture did, which means I no longer have to worry about hitting it when I take a storage box off of the laundry room shelf.

My biggest customer dissatisfaction point is that the box I bought at Home Depot was missing the installation instructions and I was unable to find them online without some searching. Also, the ground screw is hard to install on the back while holding the light in the air and connecting the pother wire connections. I suspect many installers will skip installing the ground screw to save time because the light will still work OK, but this could lead to accidental electrocution, if an electrical fault occurs inside the unit, and it could cause more RFI or radio frequency interference with other devices in violation of FCC rules.

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