Incandescent Bulb Ban – What You Need to Know About Lighting

Source: fab.com via Christine on Pinterest

Source: capitolromance.com via Christine on Pinterest

• Fluorescent lights are gas-discharge lamps. Mercury vapors are excited using electricity. The upside is that fluorescent lights don’t break easily so they last longer. Unfortunately, they can make you and your room look a little green! Check packaging for the color of the light. The photo below shows a clever combination of incandescent lighting surrounded by four recessed fluorescent lights and covered by mounting. Fluorescent lights are not exactly a favorite, often showing a harsh, bright white light but fluorescent lights are changing.
  

• Light-emitting diode (LED) lights glow when an electric current passes through a semi conductor. LEDs are the most energy-efficient bulb and the most expensive; lasting up to 16 times longer than incandescent bulbs. They are also available for dimmers.

A recent New York Times article has more  details on bulb differences. To find out more about other types of bulbs read this buying guide.

The amount of energy they use is one thing but for me it’s also about the type of lighting they give off and that comes back to what you are using your lighting for – mood lighting (about 40 watts), task lighting (about 100 watts) and  average lighting (often 60-75 watts). Remember, these are the incandescent light numbers. For the equivalent fluorescent or LED wattage, divide the incandescent wattage by four. That means mood lighting of 10 watt LEDs is the same as 40 watts on an incandescent bulb.

So, what watts should you use in an overhead light? What about in a porch light?  If you want to know read this article on Lighting Tips – How to Get the Best Out of Your Task Lighting for your porch, desk lighting, halls, recessed and more and the recommended wattage to use or move on to Floor Lamps- How to Choose Floor Lamps that Rock.

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