For California kitchen ceilings that are being inspected after rewiring, I can only use LED or fluorescent bulbs that don't screw in. I also need these as closet lights (National Electrical Code).

The fixtures I bought take 50 watt GU 10 bulbs and I would like something that bright. I bought the only GU 10 fluorescent I found, which was 7 watts and not very bright. A couple of sales people told me 7 watts is about the same as 30 watts incandescent. Which may be OK for a closet, but I want something more useful in the kitchen.

So I looked at LEDs. My fixtures were meant to have small halogen bulbs, which appeared to be very plentiful at Home Depot. But the small LEDs were scarce, and the few I found confuse me:

--A Philips bulb says it's 6 watts and 6 watts equals a 50 watt incandescent and gives off 300 lumens.

--An Ecosmart bulb says it's 6 watts and 6 watts equals a 30 watt incandescent and gives off 320 lumens.

Both say they are dimmable and the color temperature is 3000k. (Oh, and, left on for three hours a day, the Ecosmart will last 23 years while the Philips will give out after 22.8 years.)

A salesperson said the difference is simply that they are made by different companies.

Can a 6 watt in one brand have higher wattage and lower brightness than a 6 watt in another brand? I can buy one of each and try them out--but shouldn't the numbers have the same meaning across the board?

Any suggestions on a brand of small fluorescent or LED GU 10s that would be bright and not outrageously priced?

 

I suggest that you search ebay for GU-10 LED. You can refine the search to "buy it now" if you so desire. Lots of GU-10 LED lamps rated at 9 watts which is definitely bright enough for a kitchen provided you have enough of the recessed housings. Most will have free shipping from China.

 

You want to do your shopping by lumens and not by watts. We are still accustomed to shopping for a 40, 60 or 100 watt bulb but in this new world of lighting, lumens are the thing. Look at this table:

LED light bulbs: Comparison charts - Eartheasy.com Solutions for Sustainable Living
Incandescent Bulbs (watts), Minimum Light Output (lumens), Watts
40w = 450 Lumens = 9 to 13 watt CFL = 4-5 watt LED
60w = 800 lumens = 13 to 15 watt CFL = 6-8 watt LED
75w = 1,110 lumens = 18 to 25 watt CFL = 9-13 watt LED
100w = 1,600 lumens = 23 to 30 watt CFL = 16-20 watt LED

 

Thanks for the information. The chart is helpful, especially showing the difference between LED and CFL watts.

I hadn't thought of eBay. Some prices there are a lot better than local stores, but I'm wary of buying direct from China. Is it likely that they would ship products that wouldn't be up to safety standards here?

 

That's where the bulbs are made, so you're just cutting out the middleman.

That said, I would never buy light bulbs that way. For openers, the middleman I'm cutting out is my neighbor, who needs his or her job. In addition, I want to be able to look at the light bulbs and their packaging before I buy them (if I'm only buying a few). I want to be able to return them as easily as I bought them, especially if it's just because I didn't like the color rendering when I got them home.

I buy all light bulbs from a home improvement center, a hardware store, or a supply house. And I cover my hands, with gloves, a dish towel, a clean sock, or anything that will allow me to handle the bulb without leaving any skin oil on it, before I pick up a new one to install it. I like to have them light up the first time and last for years - which your new GU-10s should do!