I Take a Dim View of Today’s Lightbulbs Watts up with all these new terms like kelvins, lumens and ‘halogen puck’? By Stephen Miller
I like to think of myself as a smart shopper who knows what to look for when buying a car or a computer—or even a townhouse. But recently I was flummoxed looking at a display of lightbulbs: Which packet of four bulbs should I buy? Since this was a chain pharmacy, there was no one to ask for help. I decided to buy the cheapest pack, but I kept the sales slip. I thought I might want to return the packet after learning more about lightbulbs.
When I got home I found an article on the internet that explained what to look for in a lightbulb. Every writer admits that buying a lightbulb is not easy. There are so many types of bulbs: standard incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent swirls, halogen pucks and LEDs. Though I had no idea what a “halogen puck” is, I read on, in search of illumination.
I learned about lumens, which measure how bright the light is. Maybe all I need to know about lightbulbs is how many lumens is the equivalent of a 100-watt bulb, which is the lightbulb I used to buy. But I soon realized that I need to choose the kind of lightbulb I want before I check out the lumens. I ruled out fluorescent bulbs because I hate fluorescent light. LED bulbs are popular but they are expensive. They last much longer than other lightbulbs—11 years, according to one account, as opposed to roughly one year for an incandescent bulb. But I’m 79, so why should I spend twice as much money for lightbulbs that probably will outlast me?
The experts says I should know a light bulb’s Correlated Color Temperature (CCT). This tells you how amber or blue, or warm or cool, the lightbulb is. It’s measured in the Kelvin scale. The experts say a room should have only one color of bulbs. If a room has both warm and cool bulbs, you are going to get a bad headache.
I should also know the light bulb’s Color Rendering Index (CRI). This tells you how accurate colors look under its light. Color rendering light gives you an accurate sense of the color of your sweater or your sofa. By now my mind was dizzy with too much information.
An article said that I should consider the question of dimming—a question that becomes somewhat complicated if you are not using an incandescent lightbulb. I decided that I’m too dim to think about dimming, so I skipped the rest of this paragraph.
One lightbulb expert said if I really am at my wit’s end about how to light my living room, I might want to consider a residential lighting designer. I remembered the jokes about how many people you need to screw in a lightbulb. Do I really need a lightbulb consultant?
I looked at the bulbs I had bought. They were halogen with 1270 lumens. According to the package, they are energy-saving bulbs, but I’m sure they don’t save as much energy as LED bulbs. The package also gives information about the “light appearance”—it’s 2850K (remember, K is for Kelvin). There’s no information about CRI, though the package says these lightbulbs “enhance all colors.”
Should I keep these lightbulbs or buy a different kind? I decided to keep them because—to rephrase a line from Robert Frost’s “After Apple Picking”—I am done with lightbulb buying now.
Mr. Miller is author of “Walking New York: Reflections of American Writers From Walt Whitman to Teju Cole.”
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