We were lucky in that our plumber's prices were right in line with what I found online. However, I think there is something to be said for maintaining the goodwill of the plumber (he's not exasperated if bits and pieces are missing, or other issues due to delivery), as well as potential warrenty type issues. Aditionally, our builder uses a local guy, and in this small town I'd call him if we had plumbing issues 4, 5, 10 years down the road- he knows his work, he can fix it back up, and I I'd rather not leave a bad memory. I also find it much more effective to go park myself in a store if there is a problem rather than deal with people online (if a part happened to fail down-the-line). Now, what this may be worth is up to you, and which items are worth potentially annoying the builder and/or plumber vs. other things you may want to do differently in your build.

You need to be careful when making fixtures. If you are building a house, the fixtures may not pass electrical code. We have advised individuals the following: 1. Where you need to have a light, go to Home Depot, Lowe's or Habitat for Humanity and buy a new cheap fixture to hang there for the time being. It will be cheaper than time and parts to make a chandelier. Use that until you are ready to purchase what you really want. 2. Where you want to put a light but don't need to have it right away (i.e., ceiling fan, bedroom light, etc.) just have the electrician wire for the fixture and put a cap on it. If you need to have a light there to pass code, get a keyless or pull chain porcelain fixture with a bare bulb. 3. If you should have cathedral ceilings and need to hang a foyer light from 12' or more, you should look into a ceiling lift. Although expensive, you can have this put in and then put your own fixture up. The lift allows you to lower and raise a ceiling fixture so you won't need to have an electrician back with an extremely tall ladder or lift. You can lower the lift and wire the fixture yourself. If you are intent on making your own fixture, you can get wiring and ceiling plates probably by Googling it or going on eBay, but I would really seriously think about doing really cheap fixtures with UL listing before putting the time into making my own fixture and then not have it pass inspection.

I've only been using LED downlights for about 9 months, but my oldest lamps, BR40s made by Lighting Science (both their Definity brand at 3000k and the Home Depot Ecosmart at 2700k) are going strong. Our au pair never turns out the lights, even on a bright sunny day, so these have been on for at least 16 hours a day (full blast for 8 or more hours a day, dimmed at night). Almost as old are two Phillips Airflux BR30s in 2700k and 5000k, and a Lighting Science Definity BR30 (GP30) at 4000k. The reason I went with LED in the first place because (1) we were going through halogens left-and-right (lights left on all day), (2) LEDs are dimmable, and (3) the halogens left on all day really warmed up the kitchen and family room. Right now I'm experimenting with Feit/Utlitech 22-watt (1350 lumen) BR40s in the basement. The previous owner had installed 65watt Br30s in the 6-inch cans, it was like a dungeon down there. As each bulb burns out, I'm replacing it with LEDS (also, the au pair never turns out the lights in the basement). They are WAY bright and dim well, but I've only had them for a month. One thing I have learned is that I definitely prefer 3000k over 2700k (2700k is too dingy), and 4000k over 5000k (5000k is too blue, and 4000k seems to be just right). So far, only Lighting Science seems to make bulbs in those colors. I did try a CREE CR6 (it didn't fit my cans), but I was unimpressed with the brightness and color.

Several comments 1. The typical operating temperature for Led diodes is much wider i.e. most should operate between -40 to +140 degrees celsius. Real example The max junction temperature for a Cree XM-L Led diode is ~ 150 celsius or 50 above the boiling point of water. 2. There is a wide selection of LED diodes on the market with a wide range of color, efficiencies, current drive, voltage, ... 3. A LED lamp's longevity is affected by how the lamp/ fixture designer design decisions for example- i. Over driving the current at the expense of lifespan. ii. Which LED components to use - more efficient vs greater max output vs cheaper (given the anticipated production run), ... iii. The quality of the other necessary components - capacitors, resistors, ... iv. The quality of the manufacturing process. SMT (surface mount technology) consistently beats the quality of manual soldering and individual wires. 4. Active cooling (i.e. - fan) is no longer used - not effective or cost efficient, prone to failure and reduces the overall efficiency. The use of the motherboard as a heat sink/ spreader is preferred. The Switch lightbulb utilizes an inert liquid and convection circulation to sink the heat produced. 5. The pricing will drop more when the the LED diode costs are reduced as well as when lighting device designers figure out how to reduce the BOM (bill of materials) cost and simplify the manufacturing process. FWIW, the L prize bulb is not competitive with the Cree bulb (or even the newer Philips LED bulbs) from both a manufacturing and end user consumer standpoint. 6. From an electrical standpoint, the E26 connector is no less efficient than a GU24/ bi-pin connector / wire nuts. 7. The more advanced LED deployments today are done in aircraft, automotive and custom home designs where cost is less of a concern. 8. For the rest, it will take a while before more and better fixtures/ lamps designed with LEDs in mind appear since most folks are used to the traditional glass forms ( bulb, tubes).