And yes, in the past, mercury lamps lasted longer

In fact, today's lighting is not near being boring crap. Compact LED sources allow for some really creative luminaire designs if you look around. And what do you say for example about modern high-CRI LED module, emitting nice red-rich CRI98 light just by applying DC current? No high voltages, no explosion risks... Or other modern wonders like 200lm/W lamps emitting a LOT of acceptable quality light just by using some 5W of power...

True, not all LED lights are boring! ... but allot are (not that didn't also apply to many modern non-LED lights as well).

But 'crap' does apply to the vast majority on LED fixtures I see, be it cheap or expensive. Anything with integrated non-replaceable parts fits tn this category. (note: "non-replaceable" meaning not replaceable with a standard part - such as lightbulbs/tubes/ballasts/etc, how most older fixtures were )

Now efficiency, that simply put is where LED stands out! Along with lifespan - if it is a decent quality lamp.
Also decorative/colored is another place where LED has done great things (Christmas lights being one example, all the various RGB lights, being another)

Well, today's lanterns are no more heavy cast aluminium/iron body. And since most of the body is plastic now, one can expect that large part of lantern cost goes for semiconductor light source and its driver. And even more cost goes to the energy consumed. Assuming this, it may be economically feasible to replace the whole lantern in the event of some serious failure, or at light source EOL (some 20-100K hours depending on quality). Even a mediocre 20K life means ~5.5 years of 10 hours at night service, note even a classic heavy duty luminaire will probably require a thorough refurbishment after 5 years of service in a typical city environment, which is costly!

 



 

Current (ge), cooper and ael in the states all released new lanterns recently, all were aluminium.

Even then, likely metal parts mass is heavily optimized, and is not dominating the lantern cost.

Most hid lanterns lasted far longer than 5.5 years, needing only lamp or photocell replacements. Even many fixtures from 50 or 60 more years work fine now, if it wasn’t for led conversions.

Regardless, I don’t care about led fixtures. I don’t even own a home, and at 35 already, it’s unlikely I never will. So I don’t get to make the lighting decisions. I don’t have that kind of power or luxury. I simply live there.

20K hours / 5.5 years is a rough minimal estimate for somewhat crappy lanterns. When thermal design done properly and adequate moisture protection, I bet 50K+ hours is achievable. That is usually enough for most luminaires to survive till next renovation, and as they will burn the energy much over their cost, it is not really matters economically if luminaires will be thrown away and replaced at that time.

 
I have a small boulevard/park near my old home. One half of it has MH luminaires, some 70 or 150W, not bad originally, but now somewhat run-down and spot replaced with HPS or even mercury lamps. Installed about 10-15 years ago. The other half was renovated and lighted recently, probably ~3years ago with LED luminaires. As much as I love HID lamps, honestly I have to say I prefer the look of the second part, luminaires are in proper 3000K, glare is controlled notably better than HID in the first part, color is nice, design is nice for a green area, no dead ones yet. So in this example, things definitely got better, not worse, over the course of time.

My 2022 erl1 has a pretty thin casting.

I’ve just gotten so frustrated. I feel like I should ge married and have kids like everyone else is but I’m not interested in those things.

The only dream I had was to own a home and make it mine but I don’t even able to do that despite saving all I can for 13 years now.

I’m such an ugly irrelevant, poor, loser. My family is extremely poor and I grew up in an alcoholic household. So I did not want to end up like that. So, I went to college and tried to work and save as much as I could and I knew I could have a home someday and I never drank a drop. But, it wasn’t enough!

I’ve never seen a person as irrelevant or worthless than me. I have come to the conclusion that I am a bad person and God does not love me as those that he gives friends, popularity and money. I have never helped anyone become better.

I don’t even look at nor speak to anyone anymore, I only keep to myself.

You're most definitely not irrelevant to us here, you make contributions to this site that are certainly appreciated by myself and others. Try not to value yourself by comparing yourself to others.

Cole, I am so sorry you are feeling this way. I know you are at a loss, but try to hang in there.

As takemorepills mentioned, is there any chance you could move cross-country into an area where home prices are more reasonable? Here on the East Coast, in something like upstate New York you can get a 4bed 2.5 bath at ~425K, and that's fully renovated. My buddy purchased a (poor-condition) cabin on the river for 35K and a full-on home (5bed 2bath, albeit built in 1896 and a foreclosure) for 55K. They make do with what they have and live with friends while they insulate their home for next winter...

I think it would really help you to diversify from what you know and are used to... Try to step away from your current boundaries, your current job, your current limitations, your current life and start anew. I seriously think something like this would not only inspire you to keep moving forward in life, but it will also provide you with the opportunity for financial and social growth. Hang in there buddy.