incandescent vs CFL vs CFL

[Hank70SS]

Both upstairs bathrooms have a light bar above the mirror. They have 8 40 watt globe style bulbs each. Makes the bathroom like a sauna if you leave them on for awhile. Saw some LED replacements at Costco and thought I'd give them a try. They're supposed to be 40 watt equivalent, more like 100 watt. Good thing they're on a dimmer or you'd have to wear sunglasses in the bathroom.

Anyway, pleasantly surprised, only 8 watts each and brighter than the old bulbs. We have some CFLs in different places, I'm not a fan of those. Some take awhile to come up to full brightness which isn't as bright as the incandescent they're supposed to replace. The LEDs I bought are also a brighter white, not a warm white, I like that better.

So I'll be checking Costco to see what other LEDs they get in, hope the prices come down. They were expensive but the old bulbs were like running a space heater in the bathroom.

[Ken Hayes]

I bought a 6 40 watt bulb mirrored back light fixture for our bathroom at Lowes....found it in a clearence bin, and then they put another discount on it plus something else and the final price was $6.99. They are the same bulbs that you had, clear globes, 40 watt kinda bright but dont get that hot in there.

How much were those LED bulbs?

[flash]

I have no experience with the LED's yet but dont care for the CFL's at all ,mine dont seem to last very long and are not as bright .Once LED'S come down some I may try them .

[Hank70SS]

Originally Posted by Ken Hayes

I bought a 6 40 watt bulb mirrored back light fixture for our bathroom at Lowes....found it in a clearence bin, and then they put another discount on it plus something else and the final price was $6.99. They are the same bulbs that you had, clear globes, 40 watt kinda bright but dont get that hot in there.

How much were those LED bulbs?

What a deal Ken. I paid $20 for 3 so $60 to do one bathroom. If we like them I'll buy more and do the other one. These are frosted globes and they are super bright. It hurts your eyes to look directly at them when the dimmer is all the way up. Lynda was always complaining about how hot it got in our bathroom when she was doing her hair, this should help. Doubt will use them cranked up all the way so 60 watts or less compared to 320 watts and shouldn't have to be replacing one every other month. They have a 3 year warranty but should last longer than me.

Originally Posted by flash

I have no experience with the LED's yet but dont care for the CFL's at all ,mine dont seem to last very long and are not as bright .Once LED'S come down some I may try them .

That's my experience too John. They say the CFLs should be used in locations where they are left on for awhile not where they're turned on and off frequently. Funny thing is we have one over the door in the garage, the door from the house. We have a fridge in the garage for beer, pop, water, a deep freeze and my tools so that light gets turned on for 30 seconds then off again, it's been there for years. We have several 100 watt equivalent CFLs in the basement, they're no where near as bright as the 40 equivalent LEDs I just bought. Not sure who rates those CFLs but they're not doing a very good job.

Another good thing about LEDs, no mercury or nasty gases like CFLs.

[Ms Grumpy]

Hank you must have been to the same Costco as me. lol David and I had to replace my kitchen bulb and went to the local hardware store and bought a box of 4 bulbs that were equivalent to 75 watt bulb. It took me a while to get used to how different the CFL are. And of course we paid top dollar for them. Then the next day we go to Costco and got twice as many bulbs, even though they were 60 watt equivalent. They were 1/2 as much.

[flash]

I bought 2 cases of the CFL bulbs this past summer at a garage sale for $10 and they are the best ones Ive ever used .I still like the old regular bulbs better .