LEDs vs. Fluorescent Bulbs

Wandering through the home center this week to pick up a few things, I came across a clearance bin of LED bulbs - 4 x 60W equivalent, GE, soft white - 98 cents. I picked up two boxes. This morning I decided to go through the condo and pick off the handful of remaining fluorescent bulbs that got enough use to justify replacement,

I ended up replacing four bulbs - two hallway ceiling fixtures, a bedroom table lamp, and my front porch lamp. I've gotten used to the fluorescent warm-up over the years; kind of like a propane or kerosene lantern while camping - takes a while to come up to temp. I'm 100% sure I went through the condo and replaced incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs when I first moved in (2009); this is a fairly quick product lifespan. It's a testimony to the reliability of fluorescent bulbs that I've got a box of spare / replaced bulbs kicking around - rarely if ever had to replace the fluorescent devices.

I'm a bit too Yankee frugal and environmentally conscious to just toss these. I'm sure whoever is settling my eventual estate will be grateful for the task.


I did a quick survey of the remaining fluorescent bulbs - back deck (almost never used), rear basement door (ditto), two bedroom ceiling fixture bulbs (rarely used, mini receptacle), and a couple of 3-way floor lamps. There's an old pull chain fluorescent tube fixture in the basement (24" long, tool bench lighting). Nothing that gets used or left on a lot. I've also got a few incandescent bulbs left - some ceiling track PAR lamps in the yoga room, on a dimmer.

Next time I'm in the home center I'll check on the availability of 3-way LEDs and dimmable PAR LEDs, and if I see another bulb bargain I might replace these stragglers as well.

Remember when one had to replace light bulbs regularly - when flicking a switch and getting the soft pop and bright flash of a bulb burning out was a thing? I can't remember the last time a bulb went bad...

And I have to wonder if there are stats out there about the reduction in residential fires related to the thermally cooler and lower current drawing lighting tech of the modern era. Once upon a time, the watts consumed by lighting was a pretty significant part of the home electrical panel load - I have to believe it's become almost insignificant.

Tuesday morning musing by a power quality engineer with a bit too much time on her hands!