Thank you to the locals that stopped by the lighting DIY Workshop that I partnered with the Home Deport on last weekend! I LOVED meeting you and it was great to get tips from the on-site lighting expert about how to increase lighting energy efficiency. It’s a topic I’ve been sadly pretty ignorant about until recently. We have a lot of CFLs in our house, but the Home Depot guy encouraged me to look at their LED offerings while I was at the store on Saturday.
I think it sort of stinks to have to drop $8-16 on just a single bulb, but how crazy is it that LED bulbs last for literally 20 years and they use a fraction of the wattage that an incandescent bulb uses?!
I picked up a pretty expensive (almost $16!) Cree bulb that has a new technology that’s supposed to help colors read more correctly, which has been my main complaint about LED in the past. I also bought this Ecosmart two-pack as a cheaper comparison that brought the price-per-bulb down to about $8. And I threw in to the test group an incandescent I already owned for good measure, just because I was curious. All of the bulbs were Soft White in tone and 60 watts or equivalent.
Well, here are the results of my extremely technical and super scientific light test results! ;)
I actually really liked the tone of the most expensive LED bulb (surprise, surprise), but really the Ecosmart brand wasn’t bad at all. I’d probably use it in bedrooms or for fixtures we use a little less. And actually I’ve read that it’s a good idea to switch over to the more expensive bulbs over time to help spread out the initial expense, but that you should put the new bulbs in your most frequently used fixtures so you can start the energy savings right away.
As a part of the workshop last weekend, Home Depot gave me a $100 gift card to give away today! Maybe you’ll want to spend the gift card on a dozen or so new LEDs? :) To enter, leave a comment here on this post. I’d love to hear about what bulbs you’re using and loving.
Contest ends next Thursday at midnight. Winner will be emailed. Good luck!
PS Home Depot has lots of great (free!) DIY workshops coming up! To see what your local store has to offer, check out the registration page here!
I've had the same color complaint with LED bulbs before, but if I had a $100 gift card I'd try out the Cree bulb. It seems to be the season for the bulbs in my house to go out, so if that works out I could slowly start replacing all of them one by one.
We still have some incandescent bulbs to use up- then it will be time to start switching to energy efficient bulbs!
Very cool to see how far LED lights have come!
What a great giveaway! We are slowly switching over to LED bulbs as well :)
I've change most of my light bulbs to the LEDs.
Twenty years? Wowerz.
LEDs are super cool and it's great that you are promoting them!
It's been great to see the updates that have occurred with LED technology. The lighting quality has definitely improved.
I was thinking that the incandescent bulbs being phased out was such a bummer because I really dislike CFL's. After reading this, and seeing the comparisons, I will for definitely be replacing my incandescent bulbs with LED's.
We've been using LED's.
mami2jcn at gmail dot com
I've never tried the LEDs, but would like to!
Our new home came will all LED but I hate the way everything looks with them, so we have been slowly upgrading to better ones. Thanks for the recommendations.
We use the REVEAL light bulbs and like them… although not as cost effective. Maybe we'll switch over as they die!
We have a mixture of bulbs in our house. Slowly moving over to LEDs.
Was thinking of buying some cree bulbs but the price always stops me. Will just buy a few for my kitchen and table light.
This is great! I need to make the transition.
We had switched out almost all the bulbs in our old (small) house and now are in the (slower) process of doing so in our new, bigger home. I do love only having to change that bulb once!
We still have so many CFLs, but we're switching over to LEDs as the CFLs fail. Their such an improvement over what was available just a couple of years ago.
the old bulbs give off so much heat. but, it is hard to make the switch to something so much more expensive. I get it thought. It will just take me a while to get totally on board
Just switched out our master bath fixtures this week.
We use the energy efficient bulbs that are twisted and too big for the covers that go over bulbs
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
We use energy efficient bulbs, but honestly it's just whatever brand is cheapest…
Try Feit bulbs!
As my bulbs burn out, I replace with LED's.
Home Depot was having a sale (sponsored by our local electric company) a year or so ago and I was able to get a pack of 4 CFLs for 1.97! So I stocked up then and still have 8 of them left. But I have been wanting to try out the LEDs and this would give me a great excuse!
I would love to try the LED bulbs!
Slowly making the switch to LEDs, though it can be hard to figure out the right color
We have switched about half of our lights. The off light bothers me. I'll take a look at that brand.
I like the reveal bulbs, but this might convince me to make the switch. Usually, the LED lights give off a blue-ish light, so I'll be interested to see these in person.
I always go for the LEDs – they last a long time!
I like using the LED bulbs since they dont go out as much
Making the switch from incandescents has been weighing on me for a couple of years now, so I was really thrilled to see a couple of LED options with your stamp of approval!
Love the LED lights. At 1st I was worried because they weren't so bright but they they brighten up.
vandenbossche3@hotmail.com
It's crazy what a difference a bulb can make!
Thank you so much for the opportunity! I'd love to try these!
Great giveaway!
We made a sputnik chandelier like yours (love it btw!!!) and I was surprised that the LED light from IKEA worked better than the regular. I was for sure that I would like the regular better – glad LEDs are getting better!
My dad and I were just talking about this – he is having an existential crisis about replacing the dining room candelabra bulbs. I'm happy with the advent of LEDs, though – CFLs make me nervous!
I would love to switch more of our fixtures to LED. I have a few (from IKEA) that I am loving!
I am still usin gold lightbulbs. I need to get LEDS!
I would LOVE to switch out all of my old bulbs! Love this post! Thank you!
I want to try LED bulbs now that they don't look blue!
I use CFLs but plan on looking into replacing them with LEDs as needed.
We're moving in a week so I'm sure we'll need some new bulbs! We mostly have a mix of CFL's now, but nothing fancy. It would be so nice to throw some LEDs in the mix.
Thanks for the helpful info. Did not know LED are used in the home like this. Will be trying soon!
When we first met moved into our home I thought I hated the orangey granite in the kitchen. Turns out it was the sallowy tinge of the bulbs. Soon cooler LEDs and I was a happy camper!
I need a light bulb primer! I enter the aisle and break into a sweat trying to figure it all out!
I honestly haven't tried anything other than CFLs, haha. I did hear about some new dimmable LEDs, so those are next on my list to try.
I am totally against LED for reasons that relate to my love of muted lighting. My husband has been sneaking them in anyway! which when i dont' notice makes me feel better about the environment. I'm sure i will love the most expensive bulbs as well – which is why I need to win this gift card!
Go green!
Kind of skeptical of LEDs since I like the warmth of incandescents, but I guess it depends what kind you get.