Energy efficient bulbs

[Knifemaster]

I was just wondering if there are any EE bulb reviews out there or if there are any you guys recommend for a natural light. I bought a few but they have that florescent glow to them that I don't like.

[brickbat]

Hey, welcome aboard. Might want to include details about what you tried and didn't like...

Not sure what you mean by 'fluorescent glow'...

[James S]

you mean like compact florescent bulbs? There have been MANY threads where we all compared them around here Digging with search will turn up more than you can possibly read

What I advise is to pick an online retailed and order an inexpensive bulb of each of the prevalent light temperatures. If a bulb doesn't list a temperature it's probably green.

I did this, ordered 4 or 5 bulbs at 2700k, 3000k, 4100k and 5500 (I think) The 2700 ones are generally what is available at home depot and the GE bulbs at the grocery store are the same unless they say differently. I still own a lot of these and for some things they are OK, but they are too green/yellow really and I dont buy them anymore. My personal favorites are the 3000k bulbs, which are only available locally from Lowes and are panasonic branded. Unfortunately I'm not as happy with the quality of the panasonic bulbs, I have more failures I think.

Anything higher than that I dont like at all. But other folks around here swear by the higher temperatures. You'll have to experiment and see what type you like the best.

[jtr1962]

Originally Posted by James S

I did this, ordered 4 or 5 bulbs at 2700k, 3000k, 4100k and 5500 (I think).

You left out 3500K and it's 5000K, not 5500K. 3500K is another common color temperature and might suit someone who finds 3000K too yellow but 4100K too blue. I noticed many stores these days seem to have standardized on 3500K. IMHO it's warm enough to satisfy those would typically object to the usual 4100K cool whites but not so warm that people like myself get headaches.

I personally swear by 5000K and prefer the 4 foot tubes since they're available with high CRI. Most CFLs have a CRI in the 82 to 85 range which may explain why you personally dislike the higher color temperature ones. Poor CRI tends to be a little less noticeable with 2700K and 3000K tubes but a lot of the higher color temp ones tend towards the greenish when their color rendering is poor. Unfortunately, with the exception of 5000K there are few CFLs available with CRI past the high 80s, and the 5000K high CRI ones tend to be pricey. For this reason if someone is going flourescent I always recommend fixtures using T8 32 watt tubes instead of CFLs. Granted, it involves changing out a fixture, but the selection of tubes is much wider, the efficiency is 50% more than CFLs, and the tubes last longer (20,000 to 35,000 hours instead of 6,000 to 10,000 for CFLs).

[James S]

also, the higher temperature lights are more acceptable if you have more light overall. If you're replacing a single 60 watt bulb, a higher temp light looks pitiful. However, if you're replacing 600 watts with them it can be a lot better and very nice over a work area or something. And yes, I'll keep trying various higher temp bulbs But I can buy the 3000k ones locally for not too much money and I do like them...