Remember how you used to be able to go into a store and buy a light bulb without having to be an electrical engineer? You can't do that today. Watts don't mean so much anymore but lumens are all over the place. You could buy a frosted, a cool-white, or just a plain bulb. Now you have to choose super white, yellow, or cool blue just so you can read. Make a mistake and you're stuck with a $10 or more bulb. It's nuts. If you replace your incandescent (and even old fluorescent) bulbs with new, well-chosen bulbs, you can save money and add some very nice decorative touches. Obviously, I want you to hire me to do the work but here is some information about the choices you can make. First, choose how much light you need. The most common bulbs used to be 60 or 75 watts. That translates to 800 and 1100 lumens. Many times, you can use less wattage without changing how well you can see. Next, choose what type of bulb to get. This is trickier because some lighting choices don't make a lot of sense. LED's always use less electricity, but they are not always the best light to use. LED's are great when you are looking to use lights to decorate. More on this later. Use the chart below to choose the brightness you need.

Here's some additional information on long term costs. For hard to reach places, I always recommend the LED's to avoid the cost and hassle of replacing the bulbs. Wait, that's how I make a living.

Finally, choose the type of light that you need to get the best coverage. Here are a couple of different ways to look at your lighting.

There are some other considerations, too, like whether or not you use a dimmer switch or would you like to have a remote controlled light show in your kitchen or den? Call me and let me give you a free estimate of the work to be done. I'll save you more than I'll cost. Want to see how much you can save? Click here for our Savings Estimator.