Reviews of the Best Light Bulbs - GE - Sylvania - Philips:

We should all be thankful for the invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison. It's given us the opporunity to light our homes and workplaces so that we can see properly. The variety of light bulbs on the market has increased over the last few decades with specialty bulbs and lights. There are energy saving light bulbs, household light bulbs, automotive light bulbs, full spectrum light bulbs, LED light bulbs, projector light bulbs, halogen light bulbs, incandescent light bulbs, metal halide light bulbs, fluorescent light bulbs, black light bulbs, and safety coated light bulbs. The top brands are GE, Sylvania/Osram, Philips, and TCP. Another type of light bulb are the ANSI coded light bulbs for projection, medical and specialty applications. We use lightbulbs in homes, in cars, swimming pools, motorcycles, outdoors, etc. Finding a type of light bulb that last a long time is never easy and often the bulb goes bad due to bad circuitry in your homes electrical wires. The new energy efficient lights bulbs (discussed below) are a great concept that people have been waiting for. LED light bulbs go in products like flashlights, keychain flashlights, exit signs, and night lights.

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Most of us are used to buying 60 watt, 40 watt, 100 watt, or 3 way light bulbs for our homes. There are also flood lights or spot light bulbs used outdoors or in overhead lighting areas like bathrooms. I have found that you need to use the recommended volts/watts in any item that requires a light bulb. I've tried using bulbs that are higher or lower than suggested by the manufacturer and it either goes out fast or doesn't work properly. I have a few halogen lamps in my house and the halogen bulbs seem to last longer than traditional bulbs. I use GE light bulbs and Phillips light bulbs throughout my house and certainly high use areas like the garage are always having bulbs go out. Sylvania is a reputable light bulb producer, but we only use their bulbs in specific appliances like our microwave and refrigerator where they are recommended. I recently bought some new GE bulbs for our outdoor lighting that appear brighter than ever. They are small bulbs but produce a as much light as larger flood lights or spot lights. Next up we will discuss energy saving light bulbs.

Energy Saving Light Bulbs:

Energy efficient light bulbs use roughly 70% less energy than standard bulbs. If you currenty run a 60 watt incandescent light bulb, you can replace it with a 13 watt compact fluorescent light bulb which will give you the equivalent amount of light. Many of these newer light bulbs qualify as Energy Star light bulbs and they last up to 10 times longer than traditional bulbs. A 13 watt Energy Star bulb will cost about $6 and a 27 watt runs $7 and replaces a 90W-100W light bulb. Why use energy saving light bulbs? There are several reasons. Firstly, they improve the quality of the environment. Secondly, they help reduce business and home energy costs - lighting uses 10-20% of the energy in commercial buildings and 5-8% of the total energy bill in homes. Energy saving bulbs are becoming more prominent in households with rebates from energy companies. I get a monthly mailer from my power company that usually includes a coupon/rebate to buy compact fluorescent light bulbs as replacements for my incandescent bulbs. I have replaced some of the bulbs in high traffic areas around my house that are on a lot of the time. So far they have not gone out (about 4 months into the process). I'm hoping to save about $30/year in light bulbs and energy costs per room. You can buy energy saving light bulbs online at sites like Topbulbs.com or Bulbs.com.

LED Light Bulbs:

LED light bulbs help save energy in your homes while still lighting sufficiently. We recently found some reviews of the best LED light bulbs as rated by consumers. The 36-LED Light Bulb, White Dome sells for $22 and is great for reading light, lighting porches, hallways or closets. The 70-LED Light Bulb, White Large Globe for $48 is perfect for indoor or outdoor lighting and works as accent or decorative lighting. The MR16 21-LED Track Light Bulb, Color Floodlight sells for $7 - uses less than 2 watts of electricity and has an average life of 50,000 hours. If you need a good flood light for your yard or driveway, give the PAR38 126-LED Flood Light Bulb, White a chance for $60. Lasts up to 60,000 hours.

Light Bulb Changer:

Do you have light bulbs in your house or outdoors that are located in hard to reach places which makes changing them almost impossible? If you do, then consider buying a light bulb changer. I recently bought one when I couldn't get to the 3 light bulbs that are in my garage. I have a double high garage with the bulbs in the ceiling about 22 feet up. Since they are located in the middle of the garage where no ladder can get to them, I had not choice but to buy the Bayco LBC-2000 Lamp Changer Kit for $34. It has a 16 foot telescoping aluminum pole and 3 different bulb attachments. Just extend the pole out to the required length and secure the exposed light bulb, then twist the bulb out of the socket and into the fixture at the end of the pole. Then put a new light bulb into the feature at the end of the rod and screw the bulb into it's fixture. I was able to change the bulb in about 2 minutes versus the old way of having 2 people hold a stand alone 22 foot ladder, which was extremely dangerous. You can buy them online at Budgetlighting.com.

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