Which energy efficient light bulbs are right for you 

As time goes on incandescent light bulbs will be phased out so many people are turning to other bulbs for their lighting. One popular choice is Led light bulbs that give off a very directed light. Another popular choice is fluorescent light bulbs that come in a compact form. When deciding what bulb is right for you need to consider what is important to you. Is it the longest life bulb or most energy efficient that is important to you? When comparing bulbs you need to take a look at price, lifespan, lumens (brightness), and wattage/electricity cost. Today the only benefit of incandescent light bulbs is their low initial cost.

If you have light bulbs that are in a position that is inconvenient to change you might want to consider Led light bulbs. They have a lifespan of 60,000 hours compared to 10,000 hours of the compact fluorescent light bulbs or the 1500 hours of life of the incandescent bulb. The Led would also be your choice if you wanted the most energy efficient bulb. Upfront the cost of the Led is the most expensive but over the life of the bulb if you consider the energy savings it is the least expensive. Led bulbs provide directional lighting which is great for task or reading light. You should try one out in your lamp or floor lamp before purchasing a bunch as with some lamps with shades it ends up providing a stream of light to the ceiling not where you want it.

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Compact flourescent light bulbs might be a better choice for you if you are finding the initial cost of Led’s expensive. They have a comparable brightness to an incandescent bulb but are less of an investment than Led light bulbs while still saving energy. This may be a better choice as you will only see dramatic savings with Led in areas with high energy costs. Both led and CFL bulbs run cooler than halogen or incandescent bulbs making them a safer choice. Led bulbs have an instant on/off whereas when CFL bulbs are turned on there is a slight delay but not like old fluorescent tubes. Most Led bulbs can be used as a dimmer whereas you need to use a special CFL bulb to work with a dimmer.

Both LED and CFL bulbs do not contain delicate filaments that break from shaking like incandescent bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs use 75% less energy and last ten times longer. The only thing that you need to be aware of is that these bulbs do contain a small amount of mercury 5 mg which is sealed in the bulb. Older thermometers contained 500 mg of mercury which it would take 100 CFL bulbs to reach this level. The bulbs should not be thrown out in the trash when burnt out so your local waste agency should be contacted as to where to recycle the bulb. If a bulb breaks you need to refer to these guidelines in order to clean up in order to protect your health. If you decide to switch to CFL bulbs look for a fluorescent wattage that is 1/3 the incandescent wattage that you normally use.