After many years of LED lightbulbs being “tomorrow’s” wonderbulb, and watching prices creep downward as economies of scale kick in, tomorrow seems to have finally arrived.
Out at a big box store I got 10 sixty-watt-equivalent bulbs for the princely sum of $6.95, about 25% of which was tax. That’s about 69c per LED bulb. Through the next while there is a rebate scheme whereby one of the electricity suppliers/regulators/transmitters (who can keep track?) is giving “e-coupons” which are automatically subtracted at the cash register. Provided the cash register is manned by a person, and is not self serve. [preserving those $15/hour jobs?][BTW, notice the dollar store now accepts credit cards? that’s leading up to self serve payments, to do away with another of those minimum wage jobs].
I bought 5 cool white bulbs and 5 warmer white bulbs, all dimmable.
While early generations of LED bulbs had sometimes spooky and harsh lighting, I find the most recent bulbs just fine.
These bulbs are now so cheap and the cost of electricity so inflated that I guesstimate it is probably cheaper to throw away any “inventory” of incandescent bulbs in the basement cupboard and replace them with these.
Plus, it won’t be necessary to climb up high any more to replace bulbs in ceiling fixtures since the bulbs may outlast me.
The biggest bugbear in all of this is that the economies of scale have come only to the 60-watt-equivalent bulbs. The 100-watt-equivalent bulbs are still pricey. And being elderly and decrepit, I depend more and more on the stronger light bulbs.
Maybe next year the 100’s will be cheaper. And then it will be time to load up again.
Great news and thanks for sharing the deals with us. I will also relamp my place.
But for spot-lighting artworks, is there an equivalent to the fine minitaure halogens with reflectors?
Ben: yes, there are LED to replace the miniature halogens for small spots. I have two such track lights. However, on my tracks the halogens let some light out of a grid on the back side of the bulb (probably for cooling) which in turn throws a nice pattern of light onto the ceiling. The LED are closed-backs, so the uplight disappears. So I stick with the halogens. Since I use these mostly in the winter, the waste heat has some function.
Can I ask what is the difference between “cool” and “warm.” Can you try to explain the colour difference if any?
A cool light will give a more bluish light, whereas a warm light will have a bit more of a golden cast.
Would suggest visiting Home Depot. Last time I was there they had a display with one of each shade of bulb so you could see.
When those pigtail or compact flourescent lights came out, I tried to find the warmest colours, trying to mimic the incandescents we are so used to. But with LEDs, I find to my surprise I now prefer the purer white light given by the “cool white” label, which to add to your confusion, is the higher “temperature” bulb of 5000. The lower temperature bulb (which isn’t the temp.the bulb burns it, it is something else) of 3000 gives a warmer colour of light, like the old fashioned bulbs. The whole light bulb thing has gotten ridiculously confusing because we refer to them in the old watt numbers (40,60,100) to express brightness, and other numbers have crept in too. I notice the GE bulbs are marketed around this, with 3 words like task, comfort, relax, or something like that, then they left the other measures off their packages so you cannot compare them to the other brands. It’s like cell phone plans, endless confusing and designed to confuse in guise of offering choice. Buy a pkg of each (they were cheap, remember??) and screw one in and see if you like it. After a week, try the other bulb. Other on line guides recommend whiter bulbs for areas like the kitchen and warmer bulbs for the living room. What about the light in your closet? Aghhh.
I don’t know about these specific bulbs, Grant, but typically a ‘cool’ bulb casts a more blue/white light, where ‘warm’ has more of the typical incandescent glow, yellowish in colour.
The Loblaws SuperStore on Richmond is also selling LED bulbs at a discounted price. A week or so ago they had single 60 watt LED bulbs selling for 75 cents ea. Last visit this display was gone and replaced by an end of aisle rack display priced at $6 for a quantity of 5 (I think it was 5) 60 watt bulbs.
How I wish I had better eyesight (which is not that bad) but for years and still now I cannot see well enough with anything much less than the old 100 watts incandescent bulbs. I have a mix of types around the house depending on the function I need light for. Despite the present and future cost of electricity, I’ve missed the savings in order to be able to see without strain and errors. Wonder if I am a loner in having horded the old 100 watt bulbs in attic. On the “bright” side, I do like the softer mellow yellow leds now and so have less to gripe about.