I am in sequester yet. Not going to the Menards because I have enough curbsides to do now.
Besides I don't know if their picker will even get the right thing.

I want to replace incandescent with incandescent-- Sylvania soft white standard base etc. The big issue is not brightness but color. I can't get the straight of which newer one has the usuai yellow cast rather than bright white which looks like your kitchen is an operating theatre in a hospital.

Before the stay-in I did go to HD and there's a lot of stuff in the HD but it all looked alike and not showing what is, I guess, called daylight. The goal is 'reading light' or something close to easy on the eyes. This is all 'iffy' since I don't want LEDs or the other replacements. They _don't_ last longer for on/off use like kitchen or bath.

My supermarket has Sylvania Halogen but as I read about the heat of those, seems another one too avoid.

Something from Ebay would help. I avoid Amazon as much as possible.

 

Well you don't want anything that says "daylight" even in LED bulbs. But the soft white LED bulbs do hold up well from on and off cycles I don't know where you got that idea. If nothing works out for you I have a large supply of incandescent bulbs that I won't ever use, send me a PM and we can discuss them, I might be able to set you up.

 

Daylight is nominal light, cool white is brite good for work shop/garage but not for inside house.

Just go with LED, CFD, the world is winding down on incandescent and once you make the switch you will be glad you made the change!

 

This color chart may be of some help.

<img src="https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/664x205/color_3502158196cd6024062e7dd7bb9f1df45dfdd403.jpg" width="664" height="205"/>

 

If you plan to stick with incandescent, color temperature doesn't vary that much. Even most "daylight" bulbs that are incandescent are only slightly cooler, and not the bluish-white available in LED and fluorescent. The reduced-wattage halogen incandescent lamps that hit the market nearly 10 years ago tend to be a bit whiter than the conventional incandescents, but only slightly so. It's so minimal most people don't notice the difference. For those that want even warmer, light "rough service" lamps will appear even more yellowish than the typical incandescent. They often last longer too, but provide only about 2/3 the output. Vintage edison-style lamps will be warmer still, but may offer less than 1/2 normal output.

As far as LED lamps go, there are many good options these days. As others have said, as long as you get some labeled soft white with a color temperature about 2700K, they'll give off warm light like the old fashioned bulbs. You can even buy all-glass LED lamps now that look practically indistinguishable when lit. Note there are both regular soft white 2700K as well as vintage-style 2200K glass LED lamps available. Normally you'd want the regular soft white unless you're after the antique-look.

 

Welcome from another Badger!
Like you, I prefer the look of incandescent. I have found that these LED bulbs do a pretty good job of mimicking the incandescent look. This is a Menards link, but it is possible that Home Depot has them as well, and can ship straight to your home.
https://www.menards.com/main/electri...581-c-7482.htm
Good luck,
Andy

 

Why do my logins fail at DIY but my gmail login goes through? I recall I had two different passwords written down-- tried both but failed.

Anyway, onward.

Thanks for the replies. I'll respond to the PM just to see what's going on with that
and thanks for the offer. Shipping may be the deal-breaker. Store price is about $1.25 each for a box of 4 Sylvania at Menards. I suppose I can set up another account. Big Lots has been very cooperative with the curbside-- no picking charges either.

So the thing to do is look for the lighting temperature of 2700. I'm looking for that kind of
sound advice on this. I need the soft white bulbs but all are under shades of one sort or
another. And I have a "boob light" in the kitchen area. That would seem to pose
a heat build up problem. When I change that I leave it loose on the finial so it
can breath a little.

As to the various new kind, a lighting shop steered me away from them when
it was to their advantage to sell the more expensive ones. So that's my source of
"they don't last longer under a lot of on/off switching." I see them go in
the apartment hallway here even as not having significant switching. Simply
put, I am happy with the incandescents.

Menards had some soft white incandescents that were on deal. From China -- GE branded I think- - that were crap. Light bulbs are the last thing I remember buying (at Menards) inside a store since the Superbug started.

 

If you don't like the typical LED take a look at EDISON bulbs. They are LED but have a yellowish light and you can see the "filament".

You are in the minority. Todays LED bulbs far out last and outshine incandescent bulbs. They use less energy, never get hot to the touch, and come in a variety of color temperature. And you can use a much higher wattage than what the fixture recommend and get more light.

What I tell my customers (usually the elderly) use bright or day light (4000K or above) in a work area such as kitchen where you prepare food, laundry area, work bench, sewing room, bath room and outside security. But use warm color (2700K to 3000K) for dinning area, bedroom and hallways, but not the closet. Living room is optional. Depends what you expect for that room.

Keep in mind, wattage is what you pay the power company regardless of the amount of light. But lumens is what measures the amount of light.

 

The thing that I have found, once you make the change the "things" that you thought were an issue simply fade away.

Was unhappy with CFL's at first, took time to warm up but now it's not even a concern plus I have learned to use certain type of bulbs in certain places.

CFL are used in areas where lights are on for long periods, kitchens, basements etc, LED's for more moderate use and yes even incandescent for closets where you want instant light but only used for a few minutes per day.

 

I built my house 5 years ago and, at that time, picked up a bunch of LED bulbs from Costco. Regular bulbs for lamps and floods of the same color/temp to match. The 6 floods in my kitchen pretty much stay on all the time. At 11 watts per light... It sure saves me A LOT on my electric bill. I use them outside as well and the cold temps don't bother them at all. I even bought some yellow "stain glass paint" to tape off the bases and make my own yellow bug bulbs since I couldn't find any of those on the market.

The bulbs are similar to the warm white of an incandescent bulb. Over the years I have replaced (counting on fingers) 4 bulbs do to failure... They either started blinking or just quit on me.

The only other type bulbs I have are two halogen lights in my cooktop and 3 Edison bulbs for effect in the 3 pendant lights in the kitchen. LEDs save a BUNCH on your electric bill!

Just my .02....

 

Hello Andy,

I'm the OP from Appleton

The link you gave showed what appears to be a clear bulb rather than a white coated one (or however they do it.)

Just now I have two curly flourescents that I removed from the boob light recently installed
in my kitchen area and went back to -- incandescent that I could find left at the Menards hardware store. Right outside my apartment door they put in _some_ kind in the boob light ceiling fixture in the hall
that looks like the right color temp. I don't know what kind that is.

I'll see if I can start to read focussing on the 2700 temp. You always have to get a minimum of four ( so far as I know) so I son't want any more extras or unusable spares.

The chart above gives a good description. But matching that description to product means more
naming conventions. Even at the Menards, last time I was in there they took down the display
of bulbs and what they meant.

 

Yes you do. I have had bad luck with bulbs. As soon as I find one that I like, and install a dozen of them, one will burn out. Then I find it's been discontinued and no available bulb matches the others. Then I have to buy another whole dozen. Maybe that's just my luck. So now I always buy extras for that inevitable burnout.

I found some nifty color-temperature-changing bulbs that I use in my home office. Using any old dimmer, they vary from dim and warm to bright and cool.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-pack-of-S...QAAOSw5i9fBjIB

A long Ebay number but a product I've seen locally. The reason I'm here for the straight dope (there actually is a straight dope website that will answer questions on anything) is to be able just to read the label.

The first one I landed on from GE talked about lumens-- no Kelvin temp at all.

Here these Sylvania have some hard to read box info including some Kelvin numbers lower left. All I want in this is lampshade light even in ceiling fixtures which take more than one. But not bright white.

So here is a starting place. I have that box of new Syvania plains yet I got in March so there's time to get
this worked out. And I thought of another curbside place I use to look.

 

This is an interesting thread. I am less concerned about bad luck stories than climbing what is a too- short step ladder to change the ceiling boob light. The less often I go up there (where everything starts going around) the better. If the major supermarket has a brand like that at the Ebay of Sylvania they must have waded through enough complaints that their buyers are getting the kind people can use. They actually have a house brand. Perhaps in all supermarkets like Top Care soap.
But there's always that hesitancy. I've driven by houses with an attractive lamp in the window
and one of those dreadful bright white bulbs in it. I truly believe people don't know or care the difference. I can hear the humming of florescent shop lights too. I don't know how people can stand it.

 

2700K is the closest to "standard" soft white incandescent you will find. It doesn't matter if it is CFL, LED, halogen, or incandescent. 2700K is 2700K. Disregard terms like "Daylight", "Warm White", or "Bright White" as they are all subjective. Just look at the package and find the part that lists the temperature color (K). If it doesn't list the temperature K put it back and move on.

The next thing to look at is the lumen output. This is the amount of light the lamp produces. Many cases manufacturers will list the "equivalent" to incandescent the lamp is. This is typically OK but to match apples to apples you should just look at the lumen number. Typically a 60-watt incandescent puts out about 800 lumens.

I also am pro led lamps, they are much better than incandescents in many ways. I do not like 5000K lamps in a home and will typically recommend lamps no higher than 3500K. But everybody is different and likes their own thing.

 

Don't buy store brand. They are China made and the least cost made with cheapest material and minimal quality assurance. You want quality and long life, go with Phillips, GE, Westinghouse. All come from South east Asia but the name brands are head and shoulders above quality wise. If you buy a store brans you will be disappointed and will be turned against using this better type bulb.

With reference to Toyln remark about 5000k in the home. It has it's place. Sewing room, cellar washer machine area, work bench, food prep, even the office. Especially as you get older, the brighter the better.

I need glasses for close up reading. But if I have very bright light available I can read without glasses.

 

I agree with Norm, 5000K lighting has its place. I had some in my workshop before changing to LED direct drive lamps and I liked it very much. The new (free) LED direct drives I have now are 4000K which is still pretty good.

 

What do you mean by "FREE"?

I've been buying two tube LED's to replace all my fluorescents. I pay $22 a light. Up to 4 can be daisy chained. The have a pull chain on/off and plug directly into any outlet.

 

You might wonder why the formerly common incandescent lamps give light of about 2700 degrees Kelvin. It was the best compromise between a reasonable light output (in lumens) per watt of power consumed, and lamp life. Increase the color temperature (by increasing the voltage) and the lifetime goes down. For example a 3400K (about the practical upper limit) incandescent lamp the lifetime is about five hours and such lamps are made and used only for photographic lighting (flood lights for movie shooting). A longer life lamp, about 2000 hours, give a much lower color temperature, noticeably yellower (mellower if you insist) but also much fewer lumens per watt. So most of us are used to 2700K or so color temperature for a lamp bulb lasting around 1000 hours.

For 120 volt power, the higher color temperature (and higher lumens per watt) photoflood lamp is one designed for about 80 volts for 2700K light output. A long life, also most rough service, lamps would be designed for about 135 volts for 2700K and standard lifetime. If you actually had 130 volt power, which some rural areas actually had intermittently or continuously in years past, then the "standard" 120 volt bulb would give a higher color temperature with shorter than normal life.

A halogen (not halide) lamp gives off approxmiately the same amount of heat as an "ordinary": incandescent lamp of the same actual wattage. It can be more of a fire hazard when it does not have both outer and inner glass bulbs because the surface temperature of the one and only and smaller glass bulb is greater..So long as flammable objects are not too close to the light fixture, the fire hazard is no greater compared with other incandescent lamps with the same distancing and wattage.

 

Sorry for the confusing phrase. I meant I got them for free otherwise I would not have changed the lamps from 5000K to 4000K as I did really like the 5000K.

 

I agree with this, my 8' v shaped name brand bulbs are going strong, but I picked up some of the 4' "cooler" fixtures and have had 5 failures in less than a year.

LED's are ok but the power drivers fail,

 

If you're ever bored, read up on the Phoebus Cartel. In the 1920's-40's, the big light bulb manufacturers agreed to decrease the life of bulbs from about 2500 hours to 1000 hours. There were big testing apparatuses and fines to any company whose bulbs lasted more than 1000 hours.

There's a documentary about it and a number of articles written about it.

 

Zorfdt,
I've read that before. Makes you wonder if it's not currently being done now. When LED's first debuted they seemed to last longer than now.