How To Buy White Light Bulbs

Buying a light bulb is a little more complicated than it used to be. You can't just pick up a similar watt bulb and expect it will match the other bulbs in the room, or even work in your fixture. So before you purchase your next bulb, you should arm yourself with these five facts.

how to buy white light bulbs

Light bulbs come in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on where you're using them. The standard light bulb used in U.S. households is an A19 bulb with E26 base. The E means that the bulb has an Edison Screw and the 26 means the base is 26mm across (in Europe you'll find E27 bulbs). The A refers to the bulb shape. A is for arbitrary and is the shape that we all think of when we envision a light bulb (C is for candle, G is for Globe etc.) The number 19 designates the size. Bulbs.com has a great light bulb shape chart for reference. The site also has a handy light bulb base chart.

Wattage is no longer the best way to determine which bulb will be a direct replacement for the bulb that just burned out. Instead of watts, look for the number of lumens, the measure of how much light a bulb produces rather than how much energy it uses. You'll usually also see a watt equivalent, but to be sure, look for the lumens. Here's a cheat sheet for replacing incandescent bulbs:

The fixtures in your home will have a rating for the maximum watts they are capable of safely handling. If you buy an energy-saving bulb and want a brighter light, you can buy a bulb that delivers more lumens and still stay safely within the maximum wattage allowed. For instance, a 9-watt LED bulb delivers the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. So you could safely move up to a 15-watt LED bulb, which would deliver the same amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent bulb.

White light bulbs have a color cast. They can be the warm, yellow light of the traditional incandescent light bulb, the cool, blue light of daylight or somewhere in between. Manufacturers like to use terms like "soft" or "warm" or "daylight." Unfortunately, these terms aren't standard across manufacturers. To determine the direct color replacement, you should look at the color temperature, which is measured in degrees Kelvin. Here's how

Finally, not all light bulbs accurately show the true colors of an object. Color accuracy is measured on the color rendering index (CRI) on a scale from zero to 100. Incandescent and halogen bulbs have a perfect CRI of 100. As long as a compact fluorescent or LED bulb has a CRI of 80, it's considered good, and over 90 is regarded as excellent.

Not all light bulbs can be dimmed or used in 3-way fixtures, especially compact fluorescent and LED bulbs. The packaging should specifically say that the bulb is "dimmable" or "3-way" in order for you to know that the bulb will indeed work with your dimmer or 3-way fixture.

Light bulbs that are used in enclosed fixtures and recessed fixtures heat up more than if they're used in open fixtures. LED bulbs are especially sensitive to heat won't last as long if used in these types of fixtures. If you want your LED bulb to last longer, make sure you look for a bulb that rated for use in a enclosed fixture. You can find enclose-fixture rated LED bulbs on Amazon.

As you can see, with the falling price of LED bulbs it makes less sense to bother buying older, less efficient bulbs. Even with a higher up-front price, the energy savings over the life of the bulb can be substantial.

You can use any brand to replace those bulbs. The key thing is to match the lumens and light color as closely as possible. The original Zilotek are 1000 lumens (65-75W equivalent), have a color of 3000K (warm or soft white) and are size/shape BR30. If your floods are dimmable, make sure you buy bulbs that are dimmable, as well. These options are available on Amazon which come very close to what you are looking for:

First, congratulations you choose such distinct topics to write about. Honestly, I had never imagined, I will ever read a blog on this topic, but since my light bulbs have started betraying me and my husband complains of improper lighting, I am here. Do you think installing Smart LED bulbs like -bulbs/led-bulbs around the whole house is a good idea?

Not so very long ago, if you wanted a light bulb, you bought an incandescent bulb, the kind Thomas Edison created for commercial consumption. You can still buy old-school incandescent light bulbs, which have a filament whose brightness depends on the amount of power running through it. That time is fading: New energy-saving regulations will phase out the sale of incandescent bulbs in 2023, so stock up now if they are your favorites. But now you have other choices:

*When a bulb displays "Up to" a certain number of lumens in its specifications, it displays the maximum lumen output of the bulb. It shows how bright the bulb can get at 2700 K (White bulbs) or 4000 K (White ambiance or White and color ambiance bulbs). Learn more about brightness.

• LED light bulbs come in different categories according to the type of chip used. The three types are dual-inline package (DIP), surface-mounted diode (SMD), and chip on board (COB). The SMD variety of LED light bulbs is the most common, but COB LED light bulbs offer very bright light with less energy consumption. DIP LED bulbs were the original type and are still used today, but less frequently in consumer lighting applications than the other two types."}},"@type": "Question","name": "How do you dispose of light bulbs?","acceptedAnswer": "@type": "Answer","text": "You can dispose of incandescent and halogen bulbs in your household trash. You should recycle LED light bulbs should since the microchips inside this type of bulb contain small amounts of heavy metals. CFL and fluorescent bulbs contain mercury and should always be recycled. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers information and resources on where to recycle light bulbs.","@type": "Question","name": "What happens if you use a light bulb with lower wattage?","acceptedAnswer": "@type": "Answer","text": "If you use a light bulb with a wattage lower than the recommendation for your light fixture, you can expect less light output. However, it will not harm the fixture because of using a lower wattage bulb. "Technology improvements are constantly occurring, which provide greater light while using lower energy," says Knopfler. "It is much more accurate to look at the lumen output than the wattage." Keep in mind that using a bulb with a greater wattage than the fixture's rating is a safety hazard."]}]}] .icon-garden-review-1fill:#b1dede.icon-garden-review-2fill:none;stroke:#01727a;stroke-linecap:round;stroke-linejoin:round > buttonbuttonThe Spruce The Spruce's Instagram The Spruce's TikTok The Spruce's Pinterest The Spruce's Facebook NewslettersClose search formOpen search formSearch DecorRoom Design

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Get daily tips and tricks for making your best home.Subscribe The Spruce's Instagram The Spruce's TikTok The Spruce's Pinterest The Spruce's Facebook About UsNewsletterPress and MediaContact UsEditorial GuidelinesWhat to BuyHome Improvement ReviewsSmart Home & TechThe 9 Best Light Bulbs of 2023 The Philips 60-Watt Equivalent Soft White LED Light Bulb is our top choice

LED light bulbs come in different categories according to the type of chip used. The three types are dual-inline package (DIP), surface-mounted diode (SMD), and chip on board (COB). The SMD variety of LED light bulbs is the most common, but COB LED light bulbs offer very bright light with less energy consumption. DIP LED bulbs were the original type and are still used today, but less frequently in consumer lighting applications than the other two types.

You can dispose of incandescent and halogen bulbs in your household trash. You should recycle LED light bulbs should since the microchips inside this type of bulb contain small amounts of heavy metals. CFL and fluorescent bulbs contain mercury and should always be recycled. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers information and resources on where to recycle light bulbs.

If you use a light bulb with a wattage lower than the recommendation for your light fixture, you can expect less light output. However, it will not harm the fixture because of using a lower wattage bulb. "Technology improvements are constantly occurring, which provide greater light while using lower energy," says Knopfler. "It is much more accurate to look at the lumen output than the wattage." Keep in mind that using a bulb with a greater wattage than the fixture's rating is a safety hazard. 041b061a72