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 have really been wondering about these bulbs actually, thanks for this post, totally answered my questions. And thank you for using the soft white too, I don't know why anyone would buy the others to put in your home :)
I currently use a mix of LED and incandescent. The LED give a bluish hue to the light but I haven't tried the more expensive LED. We do have a kitchen light that is LED that I LOVE, gives fantastic light.
LEDs are really such a great idea – they need to catch on!
Better color reading? I’ll buy that bulb.
I just put up some really cool LED outdoor lamps. They give off a really cool glow.
We use LEDs cause they last a very long time and the lighting is great!
These last twenty years! AMAZING! We purchased some LEDS when we moved but not for every room.
I totally need to start making the switch. I was afraid the color tones would be off but these LED's look great!
We're switching over gradually- would love to be able to do a few more!
We've been making the switch for a couple of years now as we move from place to place. In the process, bulbs (I think usually just the old incandescent kind) have gotten broken. So even though the LED bulbs are supposed to last a long time, do you know what is the recommended way of disposal for these bulbs? Thanks!
would love to spend 100 at home depot. not on light bulbs, though. i am an incandescent fan for life. my mother in law uses led in her home and they turn everything purple. i can't stand it.
would love to buy a new kitchen faucet in black matte….was inspired by the latest bhg to do it.
I accidentally bought LED Christmas lights a few years ago, and they were so ugly I wanted to cry. I've been hoarding incandescents ever since.
Love this post! We are in the process of switching over too
We've been switching to the Philips LED. We love them!
LEDs are so expensive! We're (very) slowly upgrading to LED from CFL.
We have bought several LED bulbs, lots more to buy!
my husband found a few on clearance so he bought them all up. thanks!
b
My favorite light bulb is actually a faceted halogen bulb I have in the Moroccan star pendant over my sink. The combination of the two is so beautiful!
We just bought our first house and I would LOVE to switch out all the recessed bulbs for LEDs! Thanks for the chance!
We just got some new LED bulbs at Home Depot, and we definitely will be buying more over time. After a move into a new house without many lights, we have a lot of updating to do.
Sadly I'm NOT using LED bulbs, but would love to!
x Lily
http://whilemyboyfriendsaway.blogspot.com/
I still have so many free CFLs that our energy company sent us when we moved into our house that I hate to have to buy new bulbs. I would like a recommendation on an LED option for a fridge type light bulb… one of our lamps is too short for a typical bulb…
Been thinking about this lately.. would love to use these in our new house!
We still rock the cfl's but now that the LED's offer softer lighting we may need to switch.
we still have mostly incandescent, and a few CFL. you may have just convinced me to do a gradual switch to LED!!
We are slowly changing to LEDs when they are on sale.
All of our bulbs are LED and I could use more as we are about to move!
Currently, I dont have any fave light bulbs, but I am on the hunt for some to use in my new umbrella lights when I make my videos. Good Luck to everyone!
Prissy
http://www.rushourfashion.com
i have a whole bunch of CFLs that my father bought us. as soon as those run out, we will be switching to LEDs.
We have a mix of regular/old fashion bulbs and LED bulbs :)
Wish I was local and could have come to your class! Love Home Depot
We are still using up the last of our incandescents. We have replaced a few with CFLs, but for some reason, they seem to burnout quickly. We will be making the switch to LEDs once the others start needing replaced.
We use LEDs and love them.
Sadly, I'm still using GE Reveals and I kind of like living with my head in the sand on this one! When the energy saving ones came out I tried to do the switch but I couldn't stand the pinkish hue they gave off. Do they really last 20 years?? Maybe it's time I gave these new ones a try!!
We have been switching over to the Cree bulbs this past year and really like them! When we moved, we got an energy audit, which included CFL replacements for all our incandescent fixtures. I instantly regretted it, as the lighting was terrible and the colors were all strangely different from each other. I would definitely consider a few more LED bulbs if I won the giftcard!
We just moved into our new house without one light bulb! We'd love to fill this place with light!!
We've also mostly dabbled in the CFL world but recently put in some new can lighting and bought LEDs. They don't have that yucky blue tinge at all, so I'm sold.
I'd love to try that CREE LED light. We have mostly CFLs at this point…good time to start switching over.
I will have to try LED's. I have given up on CFL's, I just don't like the light they give off at all.
We have a few LED bulbs but I really need to find something that works with a dimmer.
I haven't tried LED's yet. I totally gave up on CFL's though, I didn't care for the light they gave off.
I have been meaning to make the switch to LED, but this gift card sure would help!
I just moved into a new place and would love to try some LED bulbs!
I change out my bulbs to LED once they die but it would be quite the expense to swap them all at once. However, I will admit, I have a beautiful chandelier in my dining room that I refuse to change… it has Edison bulbs and the fixture would just lose its luster if I used LED lights in it.
– Jaime
Great post. It is hard to bite the bullet and spend $16 on a bulb that you aren't sure will look good. Now I know which ones to trust!
They can be pricy, but what really matters is when you see your bill go down a few dollars every so often! It's the little things, right?!
I am moving into a new condo at the end of the month (my fist home, I'm so excited) and would love to start the electricity savings right away! I have been interested in trying LEDs, this might be the push I need.
I have a couple of the Cree LEDs and really like them.
We've been slowly switching to LED over the past couple of years, but I've had the same complaint: that color reads odd most often. Hopefully I'll find a kind I love :)
We are slowly switching over to LEDs