Which bulb to buy?

The lighting aisle has become increasingly more confusing ever since we discovered that Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb was no longer energy efficient. With the last of the federal government’s mandated phaseout of many “old-fashioned” general-purpose incandescent bulbs in January of last year, many people are left scratching their heads over all the choices.

We’d like to help clarify!

Source:LiveScience

Here are a few tips when shopping for bulbs:

Shop by lumens
Lumens measure the amount of light that a bulb emits. Almost all light bulbs now use a minimum wattage — usually well below 40 watts — so the measurement by watts is no longer determines the brightness of a bulb. Now it’s lumens: The higher the lumens, the brighter the light.

Shop by color
Light bulbs are now available in a number of “colors” –from daylight to bright white– and each of these colors has a temperature rating that is measured in degrees Kelvin. The lower the Kelvin number (between 2,700 and 3,000) the more yellow the light, and the higher the Kelvin (between 5,500 and 6,500), the bluer the light. We recommend buying a few of each and trying them out in different rooms. Lighting “color” can make a big impact in a room.

Buy different bulbs for different uses
LEDs are great bulbs and last for decades but still might have some sticker shock for many folks. So use LED bulbs in hard-to-reach fixtures such as in stairwells and high-ceilinged great rooms. Use a combination of CFLs, halogen incandescents and your leftover incandescents in other rooms based on your needs. CFLs are great in kitchens, hallways and bathrooms. Most people will probably use CFLs as a stopgap while we watch the price of LEDs fall over the next few years.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][message type=”e.g. information”](Halogen incandescent bulbs –the “new” incandescent– complement the tungsten filament of a traditional incandescent bulb with halogen gas, which helps them burn more efficiently. Manufacturers claim halogen incandescents look and work nearly identically to the original. GE says they can have the same shape, size, brightness, color temperature, color rendering index (CRI), and dim the same too.)[/message]

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][feat_text title=”Try the Light Bulb App”  icon=”cog” href=”http://www.lightbulbfinder.net/”]Here’s a free, handy app that can help you decide what light bulbs you need and where to find them: http://www.lightbulbfinder.net/[/feat_text]

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][heading]Here’s how it works:[/heading]

A few more notes about light bulbs:

• CFLs and regular fluorescent lamps contain a small amount of mercury, a toxic element. You must dispose of the bulbs properly and handle them properly if a bulb is broken. Many large retailers, such as Home Depot and WalMart, will take old bulbs back and dispose of them for you after they have “burned out.” For more about potential health issues with fluorescent bulbs, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website at: www.fda.gov/CDRH/radhealth/products/cfl.html.
• Shop carefully to avoid lower-cost, lower-quality lamps.
• Make sure your electrical systems are up-to-date and maintained by professionals.
• Consider lighting controls to further reduce your lighting costs.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that if every household replaced just one incandescent bulb with an “Energy Star”-rated LED or CFL (compact fluorescent), Americans would save close to $700 million per year in energy costs.

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About Tim Kyle Electric

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