( Editors Note: This article appears in the Home Decor section of Merrimack Valley Magazine’sSeptember/October 2011 issue available Sept. 7th. )
As a light-sensitive, blue-eyed migrainer, I have a deep-seated loathing of harsh, overly bright lights. So I don’t take the demise of the old-fashioned incandescent light bulb lightly. The new bulbs may be energy efficient, but most aren’t pleasing to my eyes.
Careful thought went into choosing the color of my walls and the foundation on my face, and now those selections are unfavorably altered with the flick of a switch.
I know the market will eventually produce affordable and aesthetically pleasing light bulbs, but I’m struggling to embrace this change having lived with a first-generation, low-flush toilet. I find myself stockpiling incandescents with the same frenzy as weatherworn New Englanders buying milk before a snowstorm. Hoarding incandescent bulbs will hopefully allow me to bypass the messier part of this transition.
Starting in January 2012, retailers will begin selling off supplies of bulbs that do not comply with the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, which requires about 25% more efficient light bulbs. The 100-watt bulbs will be the first to go.
Not having much room for a “bulb cellar” has forced me to investigate the alternatives available locally. Years ago, I tricked out my late 1960s, center-entrance colonial with enough recessed lighting to operate an airport landing strip. Finding suitable replacements for these overheads became my first task.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs, are reasonably inexpensive and are not a bad choice for people who aren’t light sensitive. I found that the light they cast was too harsh, so I installed them sparingly and in places where I don’t spend much time: the garage, my husband’s home office and my 16-year-old son’s bedroom.
The supposedly warm CFLs I put in my son’s room were anything but. Neither of us could bear to be under them for very long.
I stopped by Design Lighting in North Andover and caught up with bulb buyer John Maria, who has selected their inventory based on the best options currently available. “Standards weren’t in place until September 2010, and the market was flooded with a lot of foreign junk,” Maria said. He’s looking again at U.S. companies like Solais Lighting in Conn. and their LED bulb with built-in cooling fans, heat being a problem for LEDs.
LEDs (acronym for light-emitting diode) are currently used in places where long-term illumination is necessary: street lamps, traffic lights and automobile headlights. They are considered by most experts to be the future of lighting, but for now, the residential products are expensive and clunky. Much of the problem arises from the fact that these new bulbs with their new technologies are being forced into lamps and fixtures built for older style bulbs.
Solais bulbs cast an aesthetically acceptable light, but the whirring noise of the supposedly silent fan sounded more like a bathroom NuTone. An engineer at Solais told me on the phone that they’ve already adjusted the fan noise, and that my older home with low ceilings made the whirring more noticeable. A much quieter replacement set arrived two days later.
I found tweaks like these reassuring, but long-term bulbs don’t come cheap.
The three Solais bulbs I purchased are guaranteed for 50,000 hours and cost $69 each. Perhaps they will be part of my son’s dowry.
The technology coming down the pike is incredible and will continue to advance. Manufacturers will be forced to improve aesthetics and pricing in this sink-or-swim marketplace. And although the interim won’t be pretty, I am optimistic that our country will continue to do what it has always done best:
adapt, invent and innovate.
We were the first nation to put a man on the moon; we’ll eventually invent an attractive, energy efficient light bulb.
If you have to buy a new bulb, here are some helpful hints: 1. How and where will you be using the light bulb? Some LED bulbs cast light only in one direction, whereas incandescents cast light uniformly. Keep this in mind when looking for bulbs for table lamps. 2. How long will you be in your current location? If you’re staying for 20 years, it may be worth it to buy a more expensive, long-life bulb for permanent light fixtures. 3. Understand the difference between the descriptive terms “warm white light” and “cool white light.” The warmer lights attempt to imitate the glow of an incandescent, while the cool white lights are what we normally associate with traditional fluorescent lighting. 4. Disposing CFLs properly. These bulbs contain mercury and must be recycled. If your town doesn’t have a drop-off center, you can find drop boxes at many supermarkets and hardware stores. 5. An important measurement is the color rendering index, or CRI. Natural light and incandescents are the gold standard, measuring at 100. A higher CRI means a better looking light. 6. Consult with a knowledgeable sales person regarding your end use. Will the bulb work with a dimmer switch? How will it look in a recessed lighting can? 7. Look for halogen-incandescent hybrid bulbs. Philips makes one called the EcoVantage that looks and glows like an incandescent. The light cast is a bit pink and it has a short lifespan, but it wins big for meeting 2007 energy efficiency standards, is dimmable and costs only $2.50 per pack. 8. Check out www.masssave.com, an industry-sponsored website that offers suggestions and rebates.
Lights Out
As a light-sensitive, blue-eyed migrainer, I have a deep-seated loathing of harsh, overly bright lights. So I don’t take the demise of the old-fashioned incandescent light bulb lightly. The new bulbs may be energy efficient, but most aren’t pleasing to my eyes.
Careful thought went into choosing the color of my walls and the foundation on my face, and now those selections are unfavorably altered with the flick of a switch.
I know the market will eventually produce affordable and aesthetically pleasing light bulbs, but I’m struggling to embrace this change having lived with a first-generation, low-flush toilet. I find myself stockpiling incandescents with the same frenzy as weatherworn New Englanders buying milk before a snowstorm. Hoarding incandescent bulbs will hopefully allow me to bypass the messier part of this transition.
Starting in January 2012, retailers will begin selling off supplies of bulbs that do not comply with the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, which requires about 25% more efficient light bulbs. The 100-watt bulbs will be the first to go.
Not having much room for a “bulb cellar” has forced me to investigate the alternatives available locally. Years ago, I tricked out my late 1960s, center-entrance colonial with enough recessed lighting to operate an airport landing strip. Finding suitable replacements for these overheads became my first task.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs, are reasonably inexpensive and are not a bad choice for people who aren’t light sensitive. I found that the light they cast was too harsh, so I installed them sparingly and in places where I don’t spend much time: the garage, my husband’s home office and my 16-year-old son’s bedroom.
The supposedly warm CFLs I put in my son’s room were anything but. Neither of us could bear to be under them for very long.
I stopped by Design Lighting in North Andover and caught up with bulb buyer John Maria, who has selected their inventory based on the best options currently available. “Standards weren’t in place until September 2010, and the market was flooded with a lot of foreign junk,” Maria said. He’s looking again at U.S. companies like Solais Lighting in Conn. and their LED bulb with built-in cooling fans, heat being a problem for LEDs.
LEDs (acronym for light-emitting diode) are currently used in places where long-term illumination is necessary: street lamps, traffic lights and automobile headlights. They are considered by most experts to be the future of lighting, but for now, the residential products are expensive and clunky. Much of the problem arises from the fact that these new bulbs with their new technologies are being forced into lamps and fixtures built for older style bulbs.
Solais bulbs cast an aesthetically acceptable light, but the whirring noise of the supposedly silent fan sounded more like a bathroom NuTone. An engineer at Solais told me on the phone that they’ve already adjusted the fan noise, and that my older home with low ceilings made the whirring more noticeable. A much quieter replacement set arrived two days later.
I found tweaks like these reassuring, but long-term bulbs don’t come cheap.
The three Solais bulbs I purchased are guaranteed for 50,000 hours and cost $69 each. Perhaps they will be part of my son’s dowry.
The technology coming down the pike is incredible and will continue to advance. Manufacturers will be forced to improve aesthetics and pricing in this sink-or-swim marketplace. And although the interim won’t be pretty, I am optimistic that our country will continue to do what it has always done best:
adapt, invent and innovate.
We were the first nation to put a man on the moon; we’ll eventually invent an attractive, energy efficient light bulb.
1. How and where will you be using the light bulb? Some LED bulbs cast light only in one direction, whereas incandescents cast light uniformly. Keep this in mind when looking for bulbs for table lamps.
2. How long will you be in your current location? If you’re staying for 20 years, it may be worth it to buy a more expensive, long-life bulb for permanent light fixtures.
3. Understand the difference between the descriptive terms “warm white light” and “cool white light.” The warmer lights attempt to imitate the glow of an incandescent, while the cool white lights are what we normally associate with traditional fluorescent lighting.
4. Disposing CFLs properly. These bulbs contain mercury and must be recycled. If your town doesn’t have a drop-off center, you can find drop boxes at many supermarkets and hardware stores.
5. An important measurement is the color rendering index, or CRI. Natural light and incandescents are the gold standard, measuring at 100. A higher CRI means a better looking light.
6. Consult with a knowledgeable sales person regarding your end use. Will the bulb work with a dimmer switch? How will it look in a recessed lighting can?
7. Look for halogen-incandescent hybrid bulbs. Philips makes one called the EcoVantage that looks and glows like an incandescent. The light cast is a bit pink and it has a short lifespan, but it wins big for meeting 2007 energy efficiency standards, is dimmable and costs only $2.50 per pack.
8. Check out www.masssave.com, an industry-sponsored website that offers suggestions and rebates.