This incandescent halogen bulb from GE can dim and turn on instantly like its incandescent-bulb cousins.
Photo courtesy of GE Lighting
Question: We are remodeling our home and need new lighting options. I’ve always used 60- and 100-watt bulbs, but they are difficult to find now. What new types of lights are best to use?
Answer: Lightbulb options have changed. The familiar high-wattage, incandescent bulbs don’t meet current energy-efficiency standards. Also, the bulb life for traditional incandescents is short compared to newer technology, so the cost of using older bulbs is high.
Today, your primary choices for bulbs—in order of increasing efficiency—are halogen, CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) and LEDs (light-emitting diodes). As you shop, remember the wattage of a lightbulb refers to how much electricity it consumes, not how much light it produces. The amount of light is measured in units called lumens.
A 60-watt incandescent lightbulb produces about 800 lumens of light and a 100-watt bulb about 1,600 lumens. The higher the lumens, the brighter the light.
Halogen
Halogen bulbs are basically incandescent bulbs with halogen gas around the filament to improve efficiency enough to meet newer standards. Halogen incandescent hybrids use about 25 percent less energy and last three times longer than regular incandescents.
Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs)
CFLs are much more efficient, using only about 25 percent as much electricity as incandescents to produce the same amount of light—and they last 10 times longer.
Today’s CFLs have improved over original versions. Some people objected to the cool white light of early CFLs—they wanted something that mimicked the warmer color of incandescent lamps. Modern CFLs can produce true, full-spectrum (simulating natural sunlight) light quality and can be purchased in warm white, cool white and daylight color options.
Consumers also disliked the CFL’s delay in lighting up, so instant-start models are now available, as are dimmable options. Turn off CFLs if you will be out of the room for 15 minutes or more—switching them on and off more often will shorten their life.
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
LEDs, the newest and most efficient light source available, provide an excellent payback. A 12-watt LED produces as much light as a 60-watt incandescent. Over time, LEDs gradually get dimmer, but a bulb should last a minimum of 20,000 hours.
Because LEDs are dimmable, work well at cold temperatures and reach full brightness immediately, they are a good choice for home use, although they cost more initially.
Choosing your bulbs
Refer to the bulb’s packaging for its “lighting facts”—including lumens (the brightness of light it produces) and its light appearance (or color temperature), ranging from warm to cool. If you have been using incandescent bulbs, you are probably accustomed to a warm, yellowish light. LEDs and CFLs often offer a cooler, whiter “daylight” color.
You may also see the CRI (color rendering index) on packaging. A higher CRI makes objects in a room look more like they would look under natural sunlight. A CRI above 80 is adequate for homes, but 90 or above makes everything look better and doesn’t cost much more.
The goal for lighting efficiency is to use as little lighting as needed. Ambient lighting provides general illumination with comfortable brightness. Use accent lighting to create a mood or highlight objects. Decorative lighting is when the light itself is the object, such as a chandelier. Task lighting is for reading or a specific activity.
In your new rooms, install several grouped circuits with dimmers to control and vary the lighting schemes. For example, high-CRI bulbs over a dining table will enhance the appearance of food. An overhead, cool-color bulb would be good above a reading chair.
For existing rooms, where it may be hard to rewire or add circuits, switch to LEDs in most fixtures, and install dimmer wall switches. New types of LEDs are available to replace almost any incandescent bulb.
To increase efficiency where there’s no wall switch, such as with a table lamp, install a three-way socket with a three-way LED. Add a four-bulb lighting kit to a ceiling fan with a switch that allows you to use fewer than all four lights.
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