Tips for Buying the Right LED Bulbs

Farewell Incandescent Bulbs

We just finished changing all of the light bulbs in our house in the country to LED bulbs.

Why use LED? They use 80 to 90 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs plus they last for years.

LED bulbs used to be super expensive, but the price has dropped a lot in the last 2 years.

I bought the ones we used at Costco, but you can find them just about everywhere now.

They come in all shapes and sizes now—even candelabra shapes for your chandelier and fan light styles for your ceiling fan light fixtures.

So much better than fluorescents

Essential Facts to Know About LED

Most of what I know I learned from our electrician who upgraded the lighting in our house in town and from the very helpful salesman at our local Batteries Plus Bulbs store.

1. If you are replacing incandescent or fluorescent bulbs in a dimmable fixture, you must buy an LED bulb that is rated dimmable.

2. The wattage is the actual power used by the bulb. The wattage an LED bulb pulls is far less than an incandescent bulb. So if you are replacing a 60 watt incandescent bulb then you have a wide choice in LED bulbs since most rarely use over 20 watts.

3. To make sure you get the brightness you want, lumens is the measurement you should check. The more lumens, the brighter the light.

4.There are various shades of “whiteness” that LED bulbs come in.

Generally speaking, if the descriptive label says Soft White, then that’s for bedrooms and living rooms.

Cool white is used in bathrooms, and Daylight is the brightest white—usually used in outdoor fixtures, garages, and workshops.

If you find soft white is too “dim” for your vision, then get a bulb that’s Daylight white.

Takeaway Truth

They're worth the price and the effort to change out your bulbs. You'll save on your electric bill and be surprised at how much better the lighting is in your home.