Author Topic: Light bulbs.  (Read 13474 times)

jwystup

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Light bulbs.
« on: November 18, 2012, 07:44:56 PM »
So we all know that CFLs and LEDs are the way to go. But has anyone had any success in finding the weird bulbs in these varieties? We have a lot of "candelabra base" fixtures, and I can't stand the prices I've found. The best I've seen is $10 for 2 cfl candelabra base bulbs :\ When the normal-sized ones are like $2 on average, it makes me sad to spend this much on the bulbs (I need at least  13 to outfit our whole house for these-sized ones. Has anyone had any luck purchasing these in bulk? I can't find them in any packs bigger than 2 each.

We also have a dimmable fixture in the dining room with 3 bulbs (these ones are normal based though). The best price I've seen for these has always fallen around $15 for each frickin bulb. Any thoughts?

iamlindoro

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2012, 08:25:43 PM »
You should bear in mind the lifespan of CFLs is 6-15 times longer than incandescent.  If you pay 5x for the bulbs, you're already ahead, and then you add savings in electricity cost on top of that to come out even further ahead.

iamlindoro

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2012, 08:31:43 PM »
You may also be able to find what you're looking for in bulk here:

http://www.wholesalebulbs.net/

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2012, 08:33:44 PM »
What a coincidence, I just bought a whole bunch of bulbs on Amazon to replace the energy guzzling incandescents that were in place in my new apartment!

I got these full spectrum 5000k candelabra bulbs: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YNWSNC/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00
Still waiting on them to arrive. Shipping's a bit steep but if you get a few you can get them under $4/bulb. 5000k bulbs mimic daylight, but some people prefer a 2700k bulb for a warmer feel in bedrooms or bathrooms. Yeah they're more expensive than the regular CFL bulbs, but you can't do much about it.

For the dimmable fixtures, you might want to consider an LED light.
For a good 60 watt 2700k replacement, try the 12.5 W Philips http://www.amazon.com/Philips-409904-423343-2700-800-Dimmable/dp/B004IUMGV4/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1353295484&sr=1-1&keywords=phillips+LED

For a brighter 75 watt 5000k/2700k replacement, try the 15 W KOBI: http://www.amazon.com/KOBI-ELECTRIC-LED-AD-15W1100-50-Cool-Light/dp/B009EU825C/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1353295555&sr=1-2&keywords=kobi+led

Yes they're $20-$25 but unlike a CFL:
1. The light is way better
2. They look pretty cool
3. They don't contain mercury like CFLs so you can be smug to know you aren't killing as many baby pandas as your "green" friends.
4. They use even less energy than a CFL
5. They last for around 20 years, supposedly

If your alternative is a $15 CFL, these will definitely pay for themselves in a few years on longevity alone.

TomTX

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2012, 08:58:01 PM »
I spent ~$35 on a replacement dining room fixture which takes normal-base bulbs and installed it (with CFLs) 8 years ago. The same bulbs are still there. WAY paid for itself in that time.

Matte

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2012, 10:14:51 PM »
eBay has candle base led bulbs dim able.  Cree is a good brand name

Jamesqf

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2012, 11:07:54 AM »
Does anyone know of a place that has a good selection mechanism?  I'd like to buy several LEDs that are semi-directional (that is, they'd be going in fixtures for reading lamps) and have a normal outdoor color temperature (5000K or so), yet on the Amazon links all I get is a hodge-podge of types, mostly "warm white" (hey, if I wanted something that looked like an oil lamp, I'd hunt my own damn whale!), and I haven't time to spare to hunt through them all.

TwoWheels

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #7 on: November 19, 2012, 12:31:27 PM »
I too was frustrated by the price of dimmable CFLs when I decided to ditch my incandescent bulbs. And when I put them in, they had a weird color and made a buzzing noise. I ended up just replacing the dimmer switch with a regular light swich. It's surprisingly easy to do (there are plenty of websites with step-by-step instructions) and way more cost-effective than dimmable CFLs. If you want dim/romantic lighting, candles are better anyway.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2012, 09:02:35 PM »
eBay has candle base led bulbs dim able.  Cree is a good brand name

I looked at candelabra LED bulbs, but none seemed to have a high enough lumen output to be as bright as the 60W bulbs I was replacing. Maybe a few more years.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #9 on: November 19, 2012, 09:08:59 PM »
Does anyone know of a place that has a good selection mechanism?  I'd like to buy several LEDs that are semi-directional (that is, they'd be going in fixtures for reading lamps) and have a normal outdoor color temperature (5000K or so), yet on the Amazon links all I get is a hodge-podge of types, mostly "warm white" (hey, if I wanted something that looked like an oil lamp, I'd hunt my own damn whale!), and I haven't time to spare to hunt through them all.

There just aren't that many quality regular sized LEDs with enough lumen output to match a 60 watt bulb or higher (12.5 watts+) let alone 5000k. I'd suggest looking at the Kobi bulbs up above that I recommended.

kisserofsinners

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #10 on: November 19, 2012, 10:12:48 PM »
I too was frustrated by the price of dimmable CFLs when I decided to ditch my incandescent bulbs. And when I put them in, they had a weird color and made a buzzing noise. I ended up just replacing the dimmer switch with a regular light swich. It's surprisingly easy to do (there are plenty of websites with step-by-step instructions) and way more cost-effective than dimmable CFLs. If you want dim/romantic lighting, candles are better anyway.

2nd against dimming CFLs. Maybe buy one from a hardware store with a lose return policy to test it out before the big order online.
They aren't really desided for dimming and they still haven't worked around the issues. If you're at all sensative to sound it will be the crazy making.

Scuba Stache

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #11 on: November 20, 2012, 09:16:55 AM »
I found this video to be fascinating to challenge the idea that you should replace all your incandescent bulbs with fluorescent. It is a very well researched and tested presentation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gjvOOlHmsU
 

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #12 on: November 20, 2012, 03:25:11 PM »
I found this video to be fascinating to challenge the idea that you should replace all your incandescent bulbs with fluorescent. It is a very well researched and tested presentation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gjvOOlHmsU
 

That's a fair critique of CFLs for short use locations. Some of the longevity and immediate brightness does depend on brand as well. Also light color has improved.

In theory it does make a difference, but here's the thing- many bulbs in short use-locations will take FOREVER to burn out. Because even if a bulb's life is reduced to say, 500 hours if it's turned on for 2 minutes at a time, that's good for 15,000 cycles. So even if you turn a bulb on and off 5 times a day for two minutes (maybe a bathroom?) the CFL will still last for over 8 years. And that's assuming you continuously cycle the bulb- I'm guessing they'd last for a few more cycles if they're given longer to cool down. So yes you might spend maybe $3 more to have a CFL in a low use area...but over 8 years that's absolutely trivial. Plus, if you're replacing all the bulbs in your house, you might end up saving a bit per bulb by buying a larger pack.

And there's always the possibility that you in fact end up using the bulb for longer periods than you anticipated over that 8 year period or that your usage varies between short and long cycles. If your bathroom gets taken over by a teenage daughter, the average bulb usage could go from 30 seconds to 30 minutes. Or perhaps the kitchen light you normally  flick on and off to grab a snack starts being used for four hours a day when you're baking and serving meals over the holidays. Then the CFL is lasting for close to its expected lifespan of 6000-10000 hours AND it's using significantly less power than an incandescent- and that's where you could save quite a bit, perhaps as much as $60 per bulb.

The guy in the video says he spends $8 a year on electricity for light bulbs. Yeah right. At 15 cents a kwh (what most people probably pay with taxes) that's enough to power a single 60 watt bulb for a little over 2.5 hours a day. So this guy either is not home, asleep, relying on sunlight or living in darkness for 21.5 hours a day and sitting around a single 60W incandescent bulb for the other 150 some minutes.

So sure, maybe you don't need to replace the bulb in your dusty basement or attic with a CFL. But generally speaking, considering how much people pay for power for lighting as a whole, CFLs do save quite a bit of money in the long run. Ultimately, LEDs will probably win out- they turn on instantly, have beautiful light, are dimmable, contain no mercury, use less power than either CFLs or incandescents, last longer than CFLs AND their lifespan isn't dramatically harmed by short on times. They're just a bit more than CFLs, but the price is falling dramatically.

James

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #13 on: November 20, 2012, 03:42:06 PM »
I found this video to be fascinating to challenge the idea that you should replace all your incandescent bulbs with fluorescent. It is a very well researched and tested presentation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gjvOOlHmsU


Sorry, I got to the point where she was using the bathroom and couldn't watch any longer.  My time is worth more than that.  I hate CFLs because they die early.  I've purchased a few dozen over the years to replace most of the bulbs in my house, and I've watched them die within a year in some cases, even less than a few months in some cases.  Some have lasted a few years, and maybe somewhere in the house there are some which have lasted more than 3 years, but it's a minority.  So I've gone back to incandescents until LEDs drop in price.


So this is coming from someone who doesn't like CFLs, that video is annoying...  :)


I'm going to pull the trigger on some of those Kobe LEDs that chucklesmcgee linked to, just need to decide whether to get warm or cool temp.  $25 is low enough to dip my toes in the water.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #14 on: November 20, 2012, 04:28:02 PM »
just need to decide whether to get warm or cool temp.  $25 is low enough to dip my toes in the water.

Go with warm for a bedroom or bathroom, probably cool for a reading area or office. Kitchen or family room is more a personal call, I'd do cool if you want a modern feel, warm if you want something more traditional. If you aren't replacing all the bulbs in a room then you definitely want to match the LEDs with whatever other lights you have.

focusaurus

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #15 on: November 20, 2012, 09:39:26 PM »
I also found this video to be much more (seemingly) balanced than Mr. Money Mustache's posts, which I think are oversimplifications and ignore important factors. I have had about half a dozen CFLs burn out on my within weeks/months. I thought it was the fixtures in those rooms, but now I'm leaning toward sticking with incandescent for most places and getting a few key LEDs. I've also broken at least 2 or 3 CFLs due to their stupid fragile design just screwing them in or out by the bulb, which I know is not how you need to do it, but 30+ years of changing incandescents that way is a habit that dies hard.

Here's the thing. I have yet to stay in a residence in my adult life longer than my 3.5 years in my current house, so my plan is to get a few good LED bulbs and use them in portable lamps: floor, desk, clip-on, so if I move to a different residence, I can bring them with me and light my key places (office and bedside reading lamp mostly).

Jamesqf

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #16 on: November 20, 2012, 10:25:48 PM »
I have had about half a dozen CFLs burn out on my within weeks/months.

I'm puzzled by that, since I've been buying CFLs since the early to mid-90s.  Used to work for the local utility, and got a discount when they were going for about $20/bulb.  I've had maybe 3 burn out in that time, of the couple of dozen in various fixtures around the place.  I even have a couple that are designs from before the familiar twisted design became standard.  On of those is in my bedside reading lamp, which probably has been used close to an hour a day for the last 15 years or more.

StetsTerhune

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #17 on: November 21, 2012, 05:01:17 AM »
I've always planned on buying incandescents for as long as possible.

1. I live in an apartment, and I'm not going to take the light bulbs with me. Any bulbs I change will almost certainly last for as long as I live in this apartment. So I get absolutely no savings from the (purported) extra longevity.

2. I don't turn lights on very much in the summer. It's light till really late, and I have windows, so artificial light isn't that necessary. Why does this matter? Because summer is the only time incandescents are actually less efficient. The rest of the year, all that "wasted electricity" from incandescent bulbs is actually just being used to heat my apartment, which I have to do anyway. It may be slightly less efficient than my gas furnace, but not enough to justify any of the "saved money on electricity" calculations that people do.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #18 on: November 21, 2012, 09:47:23 AM »
I've always planned on buying incandescents for as long as possible.

1. I live in an apartment, and I'm not going to take the light bulbs with me. Any bulbs I change will almost certainly last for as long as I live in this apartment. So I get absolutely no savings from the (purported) extra longevity.

2. I don't turn lights on very much in the summer. It's light till really late, and I have windows, so artificial light isn't that necessary. Why does this matter? Because summer is the only time incandescents are actually less efficient. The rest of the year, all that "wasted electricity" from incandescent bulbs is actually just being used to heat my apartment, which I have to do anyway. It may be slightly less efficient than my gas furnace, but not enough to justify any of the "saved money on electricity" calculations that people do.

Fair. Also the incandescent will be on just in the room you're in, so they'll be acting like a bit of a space-heater and could be more efficient than using your furnace to heat the whole place. My apartment's on the top floor and with everyone below and next to me overheating their places, my place stays a toasty 72 even with 30 degree nights, so all that heat would just be wasted.

With $180 in LED bulbs installed in my apartment (and a 7 year warranty on each bulb) I'm definitely taking those suckers with me.

At the end of the day, buying fancy bulbs, more efficient cars, efficient appliances, insulating materials, better credit card cash-back etc. are really just second best to reducing consumption in the first place. I could have unscrewed 5 of the 6 60 w incandescents in my bathroom vanity, saved just as much on electricity as the fancy LEDs, and I still would have had enough light to see the toilet and brush my teeth- for free. It makes me think about ERE and how as consumers we've been taught that more consumption and spending is the solution to everything, including saving money. But well, it's tough to truly compromise and I think as Mustachians we tend to lean a bit more towards "enjoying amenities other people enjoy in a cost-effective manner" than forgoing it altogether.

focusaurus

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #19 on: November 21, 2012, 04:35:29 PM »
At the end of the day, buying fancy bulbs, more efficient cars, efficient appliances, insulating materials, better credit card cash-back etc. are really just second best to reducing consumption in the first place. I could have unscrewed 5 of the 6 60 w incandescents in my bathroom vanity, saved just as much on electricity as the fancy LEDs, and I still would have had enough light to see the toilet and brush my teeth- for free. It makes me think about ERE and how as consumers we've been taught that more consumption and spending is the solution to everything, including saving money. But well, it's tough to truly compromise and I think as Mustachians we tend to lean a bit more towards "enjoying amenities other people enjoy in a cost-effective manner" than forgoing it altogether.

Here here. Having read both the ERE book and the entire MMM blog, I find a pretty strong division between the goals and end state of each lifestyle. I have no desired to ever learn how to make my own soap at home like ERE does nor do I feel that would be a compelling way of becoming self-reliant. However, on the topic of light bulbs in particular, I feel like both ends of the spectrum are on shaky ground in their reasoning at best. ERE probably is along the lines of "don't use lightbulbs at all and kick it 18th century style with sunlight + candles" and MMM is all about light meters and CFLs and extensive online research and purchasing of lots of bulbs.

dahlink

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #20 on: November 21, 2012, 11:18:09 PM »
I hope I am not alone on the hate of the light of CFLs.  I really cannot stand that extremely white light. Perhaps there are ways to go about this but most of the CFLs i have used or seen are those extremely annoying white lights. Incandescent lights seem to be a lot more close to natural light and are much more pleasing to my eyes.

  As far as life span goes, just getting out of the US Navy for 12 years, I have replaced so many of those fluorescent lights or the starters with them that it was ridiculous. 

  I remember the article that MMM had about the LED lights an that may be something I look out for in the future.  I just cannot stand that super bright white light...its like im at walmart or something.

James

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #21 on: November 22, 2012, 10:40:09 AM »
I hope I am not alone on the hate of the light of CFLs.  I really cannot stand that extremely white light.


You can get CFLs in a variety of color temperatures, just look for one down around 2700.  Having said that, CFLs put out a different sort of light that can mimic the warmth of incandescence, but can't truly replicate it.  Unless you are highly sensitive though, warm CFLs should not be noticeably different once you get used to them.  I do think there is a very small subset of people who can actually sense the different sort of light a CFL has, and don't like it.  For them I would suggest starting to upgrade to LEDs, switching out the high use areas and working your way around the house as LEDs drop in price.  But for most people CFL light isn't a big issue, we adapt to the slight difference within a few days and don't notice the differences after that.

Jamesqf

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #22 on: November 22, 2012, 10:59:02 AM »
I hope I am not alone on the hate of the light of CFLs.  I really cannot stand that extremely white light. Perhaps there are ways to go about this but most of the CFLs i have used or seen are those extremely annoying white lights. Incandescent lights seem to be a lot more close to natural light and are much more pleasing to my eyes.

I'm curious: where do you live that the yellowish light of incandescents is at all close to what you get as natural light?  I'm just the opposite: I prefer the CFLs - at least the ones that aren't so-called "warm white" - precisely because the light quality is so much closer to natural light.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #23 on: November 22, 2012, 11:23:53 AM »
I prefer the CFLs - at least the ones that aren't so-called "warm white" - precisely because the light quality is so much closer to natural light.

Poor quality and early version CFLs tend to have an artificial bluish tint. Newer CFL bulbs that have taken the effort to list a color temperature can be pretty close to natural light. 5500k is supposed to be natural light, I like 5000k.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2012, 11:32:53 AM by chucklesmcgee »

Hamster

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #24 on: November 22, 2012, 11:53:15 AM »
FWIW, at my local Lowe's, CFL candelabra base bulbs are $6.73 for 2 bulbs (7W--supposed to be 40W equivalent).

I've been debating the switch as we have expensive chandeliers that my wife would never part with, but they use a lot of bulbs. I've also had a number of CFLs burn out in weeks, and others still going after 5 years, so I am hesitant.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #25 on: November 22, 2012, 03:00:47 PM »
FWIW, at my local Lowe's, CFL candelabra base bulbs are $6.73 for 2 bulbs (7W--supposed to be 40W equivalent).

I've been debating the switch as we have expensive chandeliers that my wife would never part with, but they use a lot of bulbs. I've also had a number of CFLs burn out in weeks, and others still going after 5 years, so I am hesitant.

I think my bulbs came with a 2 year warranty, so check the package.

dahlink

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #26 on: November 22, 2012, 06:22:55 PM »

I hope I am not alone on the hate of the light of CFLs.  I really cannot stand that extremely white light. Perhaps there are ways to go about this but most of the CFLs i have used or seen are those extremely annoying white lights. Incandescent lights seem to be a lot more close to natural light and are much more pleasing to my eyes.

I'm curious: where do you live that the yellowish light of incandescents is at all close to what you get as natural light?  I'm just the opposite: I prefer the CFLs - at least the ones that aren't so-called "warm white" - precisely because the light quality is so much closer to natural light.

"Incandescent lights seem to be a lot more close to natural light and are much more pleasing to my eyes."  I am colorblind and that may have something to do with it.  Natural may have been a poor word.  The light is pleasing to my eyes and not piercing.  I have not seen the warm white ones and perhaps these are much softer on the eyes.  The ones that are similar to the walmart stores lighting is what I cannot stand.

jwystup

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #27 on: November 22, 2012, 08:28:03 PM »
WOW I had no idea there were so many replies to this! I think I got a notification for the first one and never checked again (and thus never got any more notifications!). I am kicking myself for not checking this thread first, I just bought a buttload of light bulbs online today. Depending on shipping, that wholesale bulbs place might've been better for some of these :\ This is what I wound up with:


Note - all of these had free shipping too.


I have never had an issue with cfl's. The light is fine for me and I've never noticed any noise (I'm sure our house is too noisy to hear it anyways). I've noticed delays but who the hell cares? None of mine have ever burnt out and I've been using them probably since 2006 or so (when I moved out of my parents' house) in various light fixtures, although I've never been in any one place for more than 2 years yet, I have moved lamps with me and they've been fine. Now we own a home and will be here for a while. I'm excited to see how the LEDs do though.

Oh! And in my sudden burst of CFL-ing, I finally went through and double-checked all of our light fixtures. I promptly punched myself in the face 4 times as I threw out that many incandescents. 2 were in a fixture where you can't see the bulbs, I have no excuse for the other 2.


chucklesmcgee

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Re: Light bulbs.
« Reply #28 on: November 22, 2012, 09:07:29 PM »
    I'm excited to see how the LEDs do though.

    I'm a bit leery of those LEDs. They're only 5.6 watt and 380-420 lumens...that's dimmer than a 40 watt incandescent, despite what it claims. If you only need that much light you'll be fine. Otherwise I'd suggest the Phillips bulb as that's a real 60 watt replacement at 805 lumens with 7 year warranty and good projection.[/list]
    « Last Edit: November 22, 2012, 09:16:26 PM by chucklesmcgee »

    jwystup

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    Re: Light bulbs.
    « Reply #29 on: November 22, 2012, 09:13:14 PM »
      I'm excited to see how the LEDs do though.

      I'm a bit leery of those LEDs. They're only 5.6 watt and 380-420 lumens...that's dimmer than a 40 watt incandescent, despite what it claims. If you only need that much light you'll be fine. Otherwise I'd suggest the Phillips bulb as that's a real 60 watt replacement at 805 lumens with 7 year warranty and good projection.

      Hmm, interesting... Well they will be in the dining room where there are 3 bulbs in the fixture anyways. That room doesn't get used much at all, but we usually turn the light on to go outside since there is no light on the back of our house (so dumb) and that light gets left on, which kills me since it's incandescents at the moment. That's the only fixture with a dimmer and I like having the dimmer (for fanciness) so I didn't want to just change it to a normal switch. But the lack of use of that room means it won't be the end of the world if it's a little too dim - I'll have to let you guys know how they work out when they arrive.[/list]

      chucklesmcgee

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      Re: Light bulbs.
      « Reply #30 on: November 22, 2012, 09:17:14 PM »
      Those are some really dinky bulbs you're getting, light-wise. Have you checked that the lumen output on all your bulbs here are close to the bulbs you're replacing?  I went with 13 watt CFL bulbs to replace my 60 W incandescents. If you're alright with dimmer lights I guess more power to you (and less to the bulbs).

      Jamesqf

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      Re: Light bulbs.
      « Reply #31 on: November 22, 2012, 11:02:08 PM »
      The ones that are similar to the walmart stores lighting is what I cannot stand.

      That's an odd comparison, since WalMart has been known for "daylighting" their stores.  That is, they have skylights that provide enough natural light during sunny days so that the artificial lighting is turned off: http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2005/01/07/some-facts-about-wal-marts-energy-conservation-measures  So if you go into a WalMart store during a fairly sunny day, that light you can't stand probably is natural light :-)

       

      Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!