Light Bulbs

Light Bulbs
light bulbs?

Can you please tell me the best light bulbs to use in my house? I have almost 60 lights in my new home and i don't know what kind of bulbs are best and the wattage i need! please help me with this!

60 lights--wow, you're going to have a megalight bill unless you make most of them compact fluorescents (CFL). CFLs cost more to start with, but they last 7 times longer and use 1/4 of the electricity. They are available in spirals, globes, spotlights, dimmables, and 3-way now. A company called EFI has some good CFL bulb choices.

Here's some general guidelines: for bedside lamps, about 60W regular, or 13-15W CFL. For reading lamps, 75W-100W, or 20W CFL. For bright lighting in areas like the kitchen, you may want 100W regular or 20W-25W CFL.

But more important than Watts is lumens. Lumens tell you how much illumination you will get (how bright the light will be), but Watts is a measure of how much energy you will burn to get the light. In general, you'll get a better deal if you try to get the most lumens for the amount of Watts (sort of like miles per gallon in a car). You'll see that CFLs are much more efficient when you're trying to get a lot of light for a little money. When you're shopping for bulbs, if you want a lot of light, choose a bulb with high lumens, and when choosing between bulbs with equal lumens, get the one that uses the fewest watts for that number of lumens. Again, the purchase cost for a bulb that optimizes lumens per Watt may be more expensive, but over the lifetime of the bulb, you will more than get your money back with savings on electricity.

If you are going to use some bulbs outside, and you are considering CFLs, you will also need to check the temperature ratings for the bulbs. Some CFL bulbs can handle low temperatures, but others don't perform well when it's cold until they warm up for a few minutes.

For More Light Bulbs Info Click On The Blue Links Below