Thanks to all who have checked out the Blog lately! I will be writing more posts soon! Keep in mind this Blog is not about any one topic or thing (It’s about what at I am writing about at that particular moment when my post is made) ……so my apologies if you are a little confused here at times! Thank You for Reading.

These are some thoughts and so on I have about Light Bulbs….as this is now I guess what one could call a very odd hobby or dare I say interest. I am not an expert on Light Bulbs or the safety of them or anything at all in relation to anything whatsoever (in this particular case Light Bulbs). I encourage you to do your research and go to your local stores yourselves if you are able to do so. I welcome the exchange of thoughts and ideas on this topic and I will share what I can with you – but I am sharing my thoughts and opinions (not expert advice as I am Not an expert) and really just wondering who else out there has had (or has) some of the same experiences as have I with Light Bulbs at home.

I changed all of our bulbs to CFLs, we have one LED for a nightlight……but the rest are all CFL now…..even all 3 of our 3 way lamps are as well (3 way cfl 50/100/150 equivalent). Some of the CFLs I have are 60 watt equivalent Walmart brand – 4 for 0.88. There are a few 40 watt equivalent bulbs that cost 2 for 0.88 & another style of the 40 watt equivalent bulb 3 for 0.88. (All are the Walmart brand, except for the LED I got from Menard’s along with a candle shape cfl bulb.) (The 3 ways I think are GE brand bulbs, purchased at Walmart for I think like 7.77 each…….compared to as much as 20.00 at some other stores.) We also have 2 lights outside we keep on at night, they are CFL 60 watt equivalent and do fine year round (I have yellow cfl bug light bulbs for outside when its spring, summer, etc).

Yeah of course LEDs are better! However they are generally (from what I have seen online as well as at all of our local stores so far) much more expensive than CFL bulbs! However, they do not contain any mercury and they come on instantly at full brightness as compared to many CFL bulbs which can take up to a few minutes to reach full brightness depending on your bulb (granted though, most CFLs do not take this long to reach full brightness……though some can).

LEDs are more energy efficient than even CFL bulbs, and that is a good thing…..and the light from them can rival the quality of light from any bulb (assuming you are not someone with a medical condition and you tolerate all types of light well that is).

However where are all of these bulbs? A lot of types and styles of bulbs, I cannot find in any store at any price…..and yes of course the answer to that is “Well why don’t you just buy them online then – duh?”. Well one note is that more and more websites are charging you sales tax (depending on where you live and what the website is). So to that end for a lot of these products (especially with the shipping costs for most bulbs) you are going to pay the same or more than retail in many cases online for energy efficient light bulbs. Also light bulbs are one of those tricky things (unless you are maybe getting more of an exact bulb you already have) that you almost have to see to know if it’s going to work for you. For example, while yes you get the size and dimensions of a 3 way CFL Bulb online……you have to see it in person to appreciate how much bigger than a regular Incandescent 3 Way Bulb they actually are.
A typical 3 way CFL Bulb may not fit in your particular 3 Way lamp depending on what typed of lampshade you may have and or desire.

Then there are some downsides to CFL and even LED light. For example while I have grown to appreciate them (mainly to save money on electricity) the light IS different than what you may have grown accustomed to with your typical Incandescent Bulb. I personally do not have much of an issue with the difference in the way the light looks…..or makes the room and objects within the room look as compared to Incandescent Bulbs. However anyone who says there is no difference is full of it…..there is a major difference! I say there is a Major difference because to myself anyways – I can tell that the light is not coming from an Incandescent Bulb….its obvious! However while its obvious and I can see it clearly – it does not bother me and I usually do not notice it anymore unless I am in someone else’s home that has Incandescent Bulbs.

Incandescent Bulbs may be so called “off the market” but I still see them in stores and there are light Bulbs after all…..so its not like they will be that hard to find until they are not made anymore (to which end I would advise if you are a fan of Incandescent Bulbs for you to stock up now as eventually they will no longer exist unless you stocked up on them when you had the chance).
Most of the LED bulbs I have purchased have cost less than any of the other Bulbs I have seen in the store. I have noticed that the CFL bulbs run a LOT cooler than the Incandescent Bulbs. I cannot really speak too much about the LED Bulbs and how they run other than the 25 watt equivalent bulb (used for a nightlight in the living room so there is enough light if we have to get up and move around at night) which runs off of only 2 watts of electricity.

I am looking into getting more LED Bulbs in the future, but there is no rush as I have not had any issues with our CFL bulbs and cycling and so on. The one place I would invest in a pair of LED bulbs over the next few months maybe is for our outdoor lights. However, I have (as of this writing) not been able to find much info about LED bulbs and if they are as durable outdoors as the CFL Bulbs have been. However, while I may have to ponder that one and possibly take a chance (of which I most certainly reluctant to take a chance with the Bulbs being so much more expensive) there is one obvious benefit to an LED Bulb for our outdoor lighting needs. That benefit is that I could more than likely have a greater level of brightness (say a 75 watt or even a 100 watt equivalent compared to the equivalent of 60 watts now) and also use less electricity than I am currently using with the 60 watt equivalent CFL).
However I have also read that if you are using an LED light within an enclosed fixture than you will need a heat sink or some type of ventilation or cooling device for the fixture……though a heat sink should work fine. However why do I need to buy a Bulb….that is more expensive than my CFL and then also have to potentially use a Heat Sink or otherwise make sure they don’t overheat!!!???!!!???
That’s just nonsense, and almost nil considering that the savings from CFL to LED are well OK they are there but that’s about it! The costs of LED Bulbs as they are now, from what I have seen thus far online as well as thus far in all of the local stores I have been into in my part of LaSalle County, IL ……. Is way too high to justify switching to them. The one obvious benefit though to the LED Bulbs, would be that they do not contain Mercury…..which if a CFL bulb does break – it’s not that big a deal as long as you are not breathing in the contents of the bulb intentionally. You have to go out of your way to even have the low level of Mercury that is in a typical CFL bulb to matter. Yes the EPA guidelines, as well as overly neurotic people would have you believe that you need a Hazmat Team for a CFL bulb cleanup…..you do not and let’s say you did. Who is going to pay for the Hazmat Team? Hmmm, if you have the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars then go for it and call the EPA and tell them you have a broken light bulb in your home. Good Luck with that!

So for me I see it as Incandescent Bulbs (the old non mercury bulbs) are OK and provide decent lighting – but the amount of energy required to run them is too high. LED bulbs are nice, I could see owing a few more for say the outdoor lights….as well as maybe one other lamp inside (besides the one LED bulb we have as a nightlight presently). However overall there are issues such as potential heat issues with LED bulbs that I do not have with the cooler CFL bulbs…..of course I have also read that LED bulbs are even cooler than CFL bulbs…………so whatever on that one. My experience so far with the newer bulbs has mostly been with the CFL bulbs…..a few of which we have had since 2012 and still have yet to see any issues (these are 60 watt equivalent bulbs that I got for 0.88 for a 4 pack).
Now to be fair to LED Bulbs….some (depending on where you buy them and what size they are) some CFL bulbs can be quite expensive as well. However when you compare a CFL Bulb to an LED bulb for the purpose of home use for the average person…………..I see the CFL Bulb as the clear cut current champion.

LEDs do not contain mercury, but the amount of mercury in the Bulbs is so small it’s a non factor……as far as being concerned about it goes. The overall cost of most LEDs is so great compared to the cost of a CFL bulb there is no point in my opinion to really consider LED bulbs as an option for your lighting needs.

I have also read that a lot of LED bulbs are touting that they can last for over 20 years! Sure, yeah OK……I mean maybe they can but they have not been available to the masses on large enough scale for a long enough period of time yet to be certain. Also, while a lot of companies warranty their bulbs for such a period of time / as I have seen stated in some postings I have read online – I have yet to see one single LED bulb or bulbs that say on the package that the Bulb has any warranty of any kind besides a few I have seen saying they come with a 1 year warranty. Sure, these bulbs may typically last over 20 years – which would mean for average or moderate home use that they should theoretically last even longer. However finding a company or store you purchase these from that will back that warranty after say 15 years remains to be seen on a large scale at least…….I just don’t see that happening.

Anyways these are just my musings on the topic….I am not an expert. So if you want to tell me I have no idea what I am talking about, let me save you the time!

I have no idea what I am talking about, hence my statement at the beginning of the post about thyself being none such expert. You’re welcome.
OK, so anyways if you have ideas or experiences and thoughts and so on to share….please do. I made the choice to go to CFL bulbs (maybe other bulbs in the future) to save money…..period. That’s my rationale ….. Yours could be completely different and maybe you went with all LED bulbs and are ready for OLED and whatever is after that too….. And if so that’s not only OK / it’s great.