Various types of bulbs with different characteristics and features are available in market. You need to be choosy in selecting a perfect piece for your house that could save both energy and money for you. It is not the time of selecting a simple bulb (of 60 or 90 watts) because a lot of new and more efficient bulbs are being introduced in the market.
Generally people choose to have a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) for their home as these bulbs are highly energy efficient and have also got an energy star rating. These bulbs consume 1/4th of electricity consumed by a normal bulb to produce the same amount of light. These bulbs are also very durable and reduce the heat production by 70%. Due to this reduction in heat production, energy cost of air conditioner is also reduced.
Due to advancement in features of these bulbs, they can be used at any place where a normal bulb is used means you do not need any special kind of fixture for these bulbs. You can get these bulbs in various colors (warm and cool colors), sizes and patterns. You can install these bulbs inside the home as well as outside the home. These bulbs can easily operate with dimmer and tri-way switches.
Besides, compact fluorescent bulbs you have many other options like incandescent (regular) bulbs, general fluorescent bulbs and halogen bulbs. You need to keep certain things in your mind while choosing a bulb like quality of light, color of light, brightness, location where you need a particular light, energy efficiency and suitability as per your lighting fixtures.
Safety should always be your biggest consideration while choosing the power of bulb. You should never exceed the recommended wattage for your light fixture. It is a good idea to save the bulb being replaced so that you can match its specifications including wattage, voltage and bulb base size.
When you change the old standard bulbs with CFL, don’t forget to match the bulb’s wattage. You can get the details from the product description of the CFL. However, the calculation is very simple, for a fixture where you are using a bulb of 60 watts you need to have a CFL having one forth watts that is 15 watts to generate the same light.
If you are replacing standard bulbs with energy-efficient CFLs, focus on the areas where lights are used the most, such as family rooms, living rooms and kitchen. This will make the most of energy savings.
You should prefer using the lowest watt bulbs that can satisfy your needs. Also buy a bulb that is durable to use especially for an area where you can not reach easily like track lighting mounted on a cathedral ceiling.