Light Bulb Burdens

             If you've been to the lighting section of a hardware store lately, you know how difficult picking up a replacement bulb has become these days.

Before, when you needed a replacement you made a quick dash over to the local hardware store and grabbed a single or maybe even a multi-pack of bulbs. If there was a particular brightness you needed you simply looked for the higher wattage.

Today, that process is no more. Hardware stores have evolved into these massive buildings with rows and rows of sections and subsections. The light bulb shelf has become an isle in the Lighting Department surrounded by even more stuff.

And if by chance you do happen to make it into the right subsection of these stores your immediately swallowed up by the abyss of colorful packaging filled with highlighted charts, efficiency ratings and lists of functions guaranteed to overwhelm even the most passive of shoppers.

To be fair, these mega hardware stores have educated their employees in their respective subsections, but if a question cant be answered or there aren't enough specifics, most aim the customer back to the charts or give bad advice before heading off to restock and organize their endless Departments.

So how can the average person navigate through these waters and still maintain their sanity? Believe it or not its simpler than you might think. I'll explain.

Okay, first and foremost knowing what type of bulb your replacing is a must, using terms like standard, regular or a normal bulb just wont cut it these days. The biggest advice I can give you is to bring the bulb that needs to be replaced, with you.

Doing this will dramatically reduce wasted time and of course improve your experience with the Department associate.

The second thing, know where the replacement bulb will be used, will it be used inside the home or outside? If its for the inside of your home look for terms like "soft White, or Warm White" printed on the box. Also, look for a color temp of "2700K or 2700 Kelvin", above "3000k" and you'll end up with a bluer looking light.

Since most replacement bulbs are moving toward efficiency you wont need to focus so much on wattage just look for bulbs that are LED.

LED or Light Emitting Diodes are some of the most efficient bulbs around and they use a fraction of the energy that Incandescent and Compact Florescent bulbs use.

If the replacement bulb is for the exterior of your home then look for terms like "Bright White, Daylight, and Cool White". The spectrum for these are 3000k to 5000k.

Now remember the higher the K or Kelvin, the bluer the light color will be so unless you really enjoy the bright blue color at night stay within 3000-3500k to be safe.

The third and final piece of advice I want to give has to do with the CRI. The CRI or Color Rendering Index effects how natural the colors of objects appear under the light.

Bulbs with a 90 CRI or above tend to present a cleaner, crisper, more vibrant room because of how the light washes over each item in the space. Its an inexpensive way of brightening a room and drawing the eye to richer looking colors that you may not of noticed before.

Designers who know about this little piece of information tend to use it to help bring out the rich colors of the newly designed space. If your looking to maximize from a bulbs color benefits stay within 90-93CRI, you'll appreciate the clarity and difference.

In my opinion the higher CRI is always worth it, not so much for the outside but definitely anywhere indoors. One other thing, the closer you get to 95 CRI the higher the price the bulb will be, but a bulb with a minimum of 90 CRI is more than sufficient for any budget and style.

Bonus Tip #1: If your replacing an old bulb with a new LED bulb, and there is an existing dimmer switch, odds are the new bulb will not be compatible with the old dimmer. You have two choices, either you don't dim the new LED replacement bulb, or you ask the department associate to provide you with a dimmer switch that is compatible with the new bulb your purchasing.

This will require a competent person to replace the existing dimmer switch with the new one.

Bonus Tip #2: Most people are computer savvy these days so when you buy a replacement bulb create a file on your computer identifying the information of each new type of bulb you've installed, and for what room. This prevents having to redo any new searching if and when another bulb in the same area goes out.

It's a good organization habit to have when it comes to all parts for your home. Also these new LED bulbs are being marketed as long lasting so be sure to scan or photograph a clear copy of the receipt just in case one of these replacements don't live up to there claim, then add it into the same file folder as the bulb that you purchased. In most cases you can replace the bulb for free, as long as you have a receipt.

I hope this article helps you get through your next Hardware Store visit, as always thanks for reading and stay safe.

M. Hernandez Sr.