A 3-Part Series
Things are changing so quickly in the lighting industry that
you may feel you need a specialized degree just to replace a light bulb. Today
we’ll be looking at incandescent bulbs.
The US started phasing out traditional incandescent bulbs in
2012. Many have been replaced by a 10-40% more efficient halogen bulb which
looks and operates in a similar fashion. Because they contain a small halogen
capsule instead of the familiar filament, you may have difficulty finding a
halogen bulb with clear glass. You can still use any incandescent or halogen
bulb with a dimmer. In fact, this is likely to extend the life of your bulb, as
well as saving you money on your energy bill. For best performance, halogen
bulbs should be run at full brightness for at least 15-20 minutes a week.
There’s no need to start hoarding bulbs. Several types of
incandescent bulbs are exempt from the reform legislation, and those that are
affected by the next wave of changes aren’t scheduled to be phased out until
2020. You can read more about the reform here.
Next time, we’ll talk about matching LED and fluorescent
bulbs with dimmers. In part 3 of this series, we’ll compare the benefits of
fluorescent vs LED without the use of a dimmer.
Remember, if you need a replacement bulb, you can always
bring your original bulb down to Lighting Design by Wettstein’s and have a
lighting consultant help you find the best match for you!
