How are things? I hope you’re well and you haven’t had any trouble with your electricity recently, as that’s always the best way to be!

I have a couple of tidbits here that are going to reduce the amount you swear because a lightbulb has just blown. Because they always blow after you’ve installed a new one, don’t they! (There’s actually no scientific reason for this. I think they call it sod’s law...)

Now, there’s a golden rule that I abide by every time it comes to investing in a new lightbulb, and it’s this…

The more money you spend on a lightbulb, the longer it will last.

(I’ve inserted a cheeky little comparison chart at the bottom of this email, so that you can see how the stats stack up.)

That’s true in most cases, but not always. Occasionally you’ll get unlucky and you’ll get stuck with a dud one from the factory. Not much you can do about that, but as time goes by, that scenario gets less and less likely. Also, different types of bulbs have different lifetimes, so here’s quick run-down of what to look out for…

CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp)

A CFL looks a bit like this…

It’s a fluorescent tube that is great for energy saving and won’t break the bank. You can pick a descent one of these up for £5 and they’ll typically last between 8000 to 12000 hours.

This bulb is exactly the same as a big fluorescent tube, except a little smaller and curled round to save space.

Incandescent Bulbs

You’ll probably recognise these ones. They’re pretty good and the most common to have in the home, but on the downside, they’re also very liable to breaking as they’re so cheap. You can buy slightly more expensive ones that will provide a happy medium, but they’re also let down in the energy department, too. These bulbs will provide you with between 750 and 1000 hours of light on average.

LEDs

When it comes to sticking around a bit, you can’t beat LEDs. They have a great light output, are cheap to run as they don’t use much energy, have a very small heat output and last, typically, 25000 hours. That’s around 20 times longer than a CFL bulb and that translates to around 20 years if you’re using it for three hours every day.

So, as I promised, here’s that handy comparison chart. All these bulbs are at the same brightness but use varying amounts of energy (watts), have differing running costs and lifetimes. Interesting!

So there you have it, a little information on buying bulbs. I hope it helps for the next time you’re on the lightbulb isle at Tesco!

Talk soon,

Carl.