Lighting buying guide

Lighting Buying Guide!

LEDs! Light emitting diodes, or LEDs as they are known, are the most durable light bulbs you can buy. These energy efficient bulbs last as long as 20 years. That’s not a misprint. LEDs are designed to run 8 hours a day for two decades before they need to be replaced. The secret to their longevity is their efficiency. They convert up to 80% of the electricity they use to provide light, with only 20% lost to heat. Compare that with traditional incandescents, which convert 20% of the electricity they use to provide light and up to 80% lost to heat.! !

LEDs also have the added benefit of not containing any mercury.

Mercury, even in small amounts, can be dangerous to your health.

But LEDs do not contain any. That’s not to say they do not contain ANY toxic materials. They do have trace elements of lead, arsenic, and nickel. But the amounts are not likely to cause any harm. When used properly, they are risk free.! !

LEDs have been criticized for producing harsh, unappealing light.

However, manufacturers such as GE produce LEDs with a “color enhancement,” to give the bulb an appearance more like a traditional incandescent. This enhancement, coupled with its near limitless lifespan, make an LED an excellent replacement bulb for an incandescent. If you want an LED to closely mimic an incandescent, it is recommended to get an LED with a Kelvin count of 2700 or below. !

LEDs!

Cost: $$$$!

Average Life Expectancy: 20 years (50,000 hours)!

Dimmable: Yes, but not all LED models have dimmer capability. If your traditional dimmer is not compatible with LEDs, you can replace it with a leading-edge dimmer, which is built to dim LED bulbs.!

Types of light: “Warm white,” “soft white,” “bright white”!

Disposal: Do not throw LEDs in the regular garbage - LEDs are considered hazardous waste. Take to your local recycling center for proper disposal.!

Fun Fact: If you installed an LED to light your newborn’s room, you wouldn’t have to change the lightbulb until your child was off to college!!

CFLs! Like LEDs, compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs, are extremely durable and long-lasting lamps. (Technically, they are not bulbs.)

They last nine years on average and ENERGY STAR estimates that changing even ONE bulb from incandescent to CFL will save you $30-$80 over the course of the CFL bulb’s lifetime. Such are the benefits of using 75 less energy than incandescent bulbs. Even though these corkscrew-shaped lights cost more than incandescents - $2 per bulb as opposed to 30 cents ! for incandescents - they are still more economical. ! !

Besides energy savings, there are environmental benefits as well.

ENERGY STAR also estimates that if every American home replaced one incandescent with a CFL, it would prevent the emission of 500,000 pounds of greenhouse gases into the air. ! !

For best results, do not install CFLs outdoors. They don’t do well in cold weather, and may not turn on at all. ! !

Like LEDs, CFLs have been manufactured to fit with older fixtures.

They are known as “screw base” CFLs and they are designed to work in fixtures originally built for incandescents. “Pin base” CFLs, on the other hand, may not work in traditional fixtures. !

CFLs!

Cost: $$$!

Average Life Expectancy: 9 years (10,000 hours) !

Dimmable: Yes, but not all CFLs are dimmable. Only use dimmable CFLs with dimmer switches.!

Types of light: “Soft White” (warm yellow glow); “Bright White” (white light, good for tasks); “Daylight” (similar to natural light)!

Disposal: CFLs contain trace amounts of mercury, which can bedangerous in a landfill. Take to your local recycling center for proper disposal. !

Fun Fact: CFLs save about $700 million a year in energy costs as opposed to incandescents.!

Tip: CFLs work best when left on for awhile. They tend to lose longevity when turned on and off for short periods of time. Why? CFLs have a “warm up” time. A CFL’s cathodes need time to be fully heated up to reach their full brightness. But don’t worry - that “warm up” time is only about a minute before the CFL attains its rated lumens.!

Halogens!

Halogens can be thrown in the regular trash, but wrap in a newspaper or paper towel to prevent shattering.! !

Halogens are probably the most similar to incandescent bulbs, but they contain halogen gas inside the bulb with a tungsten-filament.

The gas recycles the burned up tungsten back onto the filament, improving its efficiency over incandescent light bulbs by about 30%. They have the same screw-in capability like incandescents.! !

It is a very versatile light bulb, with many benefits. It can be hooked up to a dimmer, but is not affected by being turned off and on frequently. It does not contain any mercury and has a nice a color temperature, emitting a light that is close to the warm tones of sunlight. It also does not require any warm up time to reach its full brightness.!

Halogens!

Cost: $$!

Average Life Expectancy: 2-3 years (2500-3500 hours)!

Dimmable: Yes.!

Types of light: Whiter, brighter lights, providing excellent rendition of incandescent lighting.!

Disposal: Halogens can be thrown in the regular trash, but wrap in a newspaper or paper towel to prevent shattering.!

Fun Fact: Unlike other bulbs that see their brightness dim over time, halogens retain their intensity throughout their service life.!

Tip: Do not handle halogen bulbs with your bare hands. The oil left behind on the bulb will cause it to heat up once the bulb is turned on, causing an imbalance and rupture the bulb.!

Incandescents!

Incandescents are the traditional light bulbs we commonly think of, having been around for more than a century. They work by electricity heating the filament trapped inside the glass bulb.

Although this technology changed the way we live more than a century ago, it has since been eclipsed by modern innovations.

Incandescents are much more efficient than they used to be, thanks to government regulations, but they still lag way, waaaay behind LEDs and CFLs in longevity and efficiency.Over the course of 50,000 hours, incandescents use 3000 kilowatts of electricity. By comparison, LEDs and CFLs only burn 500 and 700 kilowatts of electricity, respectively. The cost for powering a household with 25 incandescent light bulbs over 50,000 hours can be as high as $350 (estimated). Compare that with $85 for LEDs and $90 for CFLs over the same amount of time. ! !

However, what incandescents lack in efficiency and long-term savings, they make up for in aesthetics. They provide a soothing pale-yellow light that is pleasing to the eye. Although there have been many advancements in the quality of light of LEDs and CFLs, many people still prefer the soft, comforting atmosphere that incandescent light bulbs offer. They also work well for lighting small areas in ways that LEDs and CFLs do not.!

Incandescents!

Cost: $!

Average Life Expectancy: 1 year ! (or 1200 hours, running 3+ hours a day)!

Dimmable: Yes.!

Types of light: “Soft White” (warm yellow glow); “Bright White” ! (white light, good for tasks); “Daylight” (similar to natural light)!

Disposal: Incandescent bulbs can be thrown in the regular trash.!

Fun Fact: Incandescent light bulbs have existed, in one form! or another, for 200 years.!

New Labels !

When purchasing light bulbs, you may have noticed anew “ingredients�-like label. The Federal Trade Commisiondeveloped this label to give consumers more informationabout a bulb’s energy saving properties. It contains infoon brightness, estimated yearly cost, life expectancy,light appearance and energy used.!

New Labels !

In years past, watts may have been the only consideration when buying new light bulbs. Watts are a familiar measurement - we all have an idea of how much light a 60 watt light bulb provides. But the labels now include lumens, which measure a bulb’s true brightness. So, how many lumens do you need to light your home? Below is a chart to help you decide how many lumens you need with a “watt equivalency.”!

Source: ENERGY STAR!

Lighting Appearance!

Below is a breakdown of bulb types with their watt and lumen equivalency. Incandescents, although aesthetically pleasing, rank at the bottom in terms of energy efficiency. Halogens, technically an incandescent, are a bit better, but still lag behind more advanced lighting. For maximum energy savings, light your home with LEDs or CFLs.!

Lighting Appearance!

Light color is measured in Kelvin (K). Although it sounds like a trip back to high school science class, understanding the Kelvin scale can help you pick the right light color for your living space. ! !

On the Kelvin scale, a lower number means the light appears more yellow (or “warmer�), registering in the 2700K-3000K range. This kind of soft white light is good for matching the look and feel of standard incandescents. ! !

On the higher end, bulbs registering 3500K-6500K, light appears whiter or bluer. Light bulbs that measure between 5000K-6500K mimic daylight and are good for reading. ! !

Below is the Kelvin scale. The higher a color temperature ranges on the Kelvin scale, the cooler it appears. The lower the Kelvin rating, the warmer the light appears. Here is the Kelvin scale showing color temperatures of common light sources.!

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