How Many People Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb?

I have a day job, but as part of that day job I’m doing a retail experiment. I’m working a few hours a week at a big box home improvment store. When I was hired, I was supposed to work in hardware, but on the day I arrived they said, “We’re moving you to electrical.” The extent of my electrical knowledge at that point was how to turn on and off a light. Most of the time I got it right with the exception of three-way switches where at times up can mean off and down can mean on. It’s very confusing. Anyway, one of the really cool bits of knowledge I’ve picked up along the way is regarding lightbulbs. Yep, lightbulbs. The old joke about how many ______ does it take to change a lightbulb, really isn’t funny anymore if you stand in front of the lightbulbs at your favorite big-box store. There are litterally hundreds of different lightbulbs. There are different bases, different types of bulbs — LED, CFL, halogen, mercury vapor, metal hallide, even a few incandescents in the specialty bulb area. So the punchline to all those old jokes is “HUNDREDS!” Or so it would seem. Today I’m going to help you out with just a couple of bits of information.

Kelvin

Kelvin is not a guy, it has to do with the color of the light. Before I started this retail experiment, I bought some daylight compact flourescents (CFLs — the twirly bulbs). I had no idea what that meant and I put one of those bulbs in the fixture in the walk-in closet. It gave the immediate feeling of being in the bathroom at 7–11. Kelvin is measured in numbers. For lightbulbs it goes from about 2700–5000. If you like the warm golden light, you want a bulb around 2700 or soft white. If you like that blue-white light of the bathroom at 7–11, you want to get bulbs around 5000 or daylight.

What’s the Deal with LED?

The next thing to know, is that LED bulbs are much more energy efficient. Usually you can burn 5–6 LED bulbs for the energy it takes to burn an incandescent. What’s more, LED bulbs will have a lifespan of 10–23 years! They are a bit more expensive — for now — but that pricing is coming down and so it will typically take a year to a year and a half before they start to pay for themselves in long-life and energy efficiency, but the DO pay for themselves. Add to that the difference in the light can’t be noticed by the human eye. If anything LEDs are brighter by about 10%.

Do they take a long time to warm up? No! Not with LEDs, they are instant-on. Some CFLs requre time to warm up but even many of those are instant-on. You just have to check the packaging. CFLs will last 5–7 years and are also energy efficient, but LEDs are definitely your best bet. If you were to change all the bulbs in your house, you would notice a significant reduction in your electric bill right away.

So there’s the skinny on lightbulbs from an insider. If you want to learn about my day job, go to Qwerke.com. Oh, and check the “lighting facts” on the package for more helpful information. It’s like “nutrition facts” on food but more lighty in nature.