How to Choose Light Bulbs
March 12th, 2010
The sad thing about buying home appliances is that sooner or later you know they’re going to need replacing. It’s a bittersweet time, because while you know it’s going to mean spending a little more of your hard-earned money on the replacement, it also gives you a good opportunity to try a little something new in your home that you may have never had the chance to give a shot to before. As comical as it is to think about, some frugal homeowners actually look forward to the day they’ll have to go buy new things for their home. Usually they’re just waiting on their old stuff to break first.
Fortunately, lightbulbs are something that tend to go out fairly quick, at least compared to other home appliances. While it may seem strange to view this as a good thing, it it can give you a much-needed opportunity to assess how well your home’s energy usage profile fits into a new economy that is more focused around being “green.” Obviously, you’ll need to replace the spent bulbs. How you choose to replace them, and what you choose to replace them with will say a lot about how you feel about your community and your country’s future environmental needs.
Why Care Which Bulbs to Choose?
Coming into a new decade, Americans are going to be faced with the challenges of becoming much more environmentally independent. Part of the reason we’re as dependent on foreign oil resources as we are is because of our voracious appetite for electricity. Americans own relatively large houses, and they require a lot of electricity consumption over the course of a given year. Many long years of research have gone into trying to find ways to decrease these needs without imposing too much cost on the average American consumer. We are fortunate to be living in a time when that research is bearing fruit in the marketplace. You’ve now got options when it comes time to go to the hardware store to buy new light bulbs, and they can save you some money.
The light bulb brand name, or the name of the manufacturer matters a lot less than the type of light bulb you purchase. The two main types of bulbs that are used in interior household lighting are incandescent bulbs, and fluorescent bulbs. LED bulbs are also starting to come into the mainstream, but they are relatively new technology. In time, LED bulbs will come to compete with the other varieties of home lighting, but not for a while. If it’s been a while since you replaced your light bulbs, the odds are good that you have incandescent bulbs currently in your sockets.
One place to consider when shopping for light bulbs is Bulb America. They often have discounts and coupons available.
