I asked you all last week what your favorite benefit of LED light bulbs is, and I think it’s pretty safe to say that the longevity of them came in first. But the facts that they’re mercury-free, glass-free, don’t give off heat, and use far less electricity were all mentioned repeatedly as well. And check out those savings pictured above!
These were all benefits that I was also excited about, so I was really looking forward to shopping at The Home Depot to check out the selection and learn more from an expert. They provided me with some tips to review before we went shopping.
Shopping for LED light bulbs:
- Identify Your Fixture Type: With so many bulbs to choose from, it’s important to educate yourself about your fixture and lighting needs before you make a purchase. Light fixtures can dramatically alter the look of a room, so be aware of where shadows will fall and how that will affect the atmosphere. To ensure safety, and the maximum life of your bulb, review the information on the package to be sure you have selected the correct bulb shape for your light fixture.
- Choose Your Desired Brightness: Watts, a measurement of power, is a common way traditional light bulbs are identified (ex: 60-watt, 75-watt and 100-watt bulbs). Since CFL and LED bulbs use less energy than traditional bulbs, be sure to look at the measurement of light output, known as lumens, instead of watts to select the right bulb.
- Understanding Color Temperature and Intensity: When selecting an LED light, choose a color of light that suits the mood and activity taking place in your room.
With these tips in mind, we made a quick tour of our downstairs fixtures to assess our lighting needs and then headed out to The Home Depot. Upon our arrival we first had to grab one of the infamous Home Depot race car carts of course…
And then we were met by EJ, our local Home Depot Master Trade Specialist. He was extremely knowledgeable about the LED light bulbs and also shared a number of other tips for decreasing the energy consumption in our home. I never knew there was such a thing as a water heater timer! Definitely something we need to check out further.
I was impressed at the large selection of light bulbs carried by our local store. We have a few fixtures that call for some unusual sized bulbs, but The Home Depot has an even larger selection of LED light bulbs online.
EJ made finding the LED light bulbs we needed a snap, and we filled our cart and checked out in record time. The real challenge was prying the kiddos our of their hot rod to head home.
Next week I’ll share the installation process and hopefully whether we’ve been able to see any savings on our electric bill. But in the meantime, you can win a $50 gift card to The Home Depot!
To enter: Just leave a comment! Do you have any lighting fixtures that call for an unusual size light bulb or wattage? If so, were you able to find a suitable LED light bulb on HomeDepot.com?
This giveaway will close at noon EST on 1/21/11.
The Home Depot works with bloggers such as myself to conduct product reviews. They do not tell bloggers what to say about their products or how to say it. THD fundamentally believes that people should be free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot often provides product – free of charge – to bloggers for review as they did for this post. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.
Kelly
We have a giant motion light on top of our garage. The bulb was burned out when we moved in 3 years ago. I forget to keep getting a bulb for it. I didn’t see a LED equivalent on Home Depot.com though.
Leah
We only have a need for any irregular-sized bulbs, but I am excited about trying out the LED lights in all our light fixtures!
Tara
Unusual size in the bathrooms over the mirror as well as flood lights outside. Love Home Depot – they have what we need!
Alessa
We don’t have any weird size lightbulbs, but we love LED’s. We’ve noticed that they have dropped in price significantly over the past couple of years, and hope to see that trend continue.
Barbara
We don’t have any unusual size bulbs but we do buy our LED bulbs at Home depot and would love to win:)
Victoria Heydenreich
No unusual sizes that I can think of. We love the LED lights and use them all the time in our home.
caroline
As far as I know, all of our lightbulbs are the regular size. My hubby usually changes them though so i’m not sure.
Ann K.
I have an unusual light fixture that requires a GU90 CFL light fixture. Home depot had one labeled as a GU90 but it did not fit. They told me that it was a mistake. Would like to go back there and get the the right one, finally.Thanks.
Julie
This is an awesome give-away!! Who wants to switch from mercury- laden bulbs to LED??
*raising my hand*
anju
Don’t have any unusual bulbs but would love to win the gift card.
Laurie
We don’t have to use “regular” bulbs. I would love to win the $50 from Home Depot. I’ve started changing everything over to LED lights but I still need more! Thanks!
Cheryl B
We have tried a few led bulbs in our house and so far have not been impressed at all! I am very curious to hear how they work out in your home. course we bought ours at the local walmart, so would be great to win a $50 card and buy some more upscale bulbs at the home depot.
Debbie
We do not have unusual sizes, but I would love to try the new LED lights!
Cheryl
The bulbs above are stove are unusual. I was able to find them at Home Depot & Target. The thing I don’t like is they get HOT!!!!!
Virginia
I only have lamps that use regular bulbs, but I’d like to try these LED ones.
Lisa
We are looking at adding recessed lighting in our kitchen as part of a mini-remodel and my husband wants to check out LED fixtures. It makes sense but the saving timeframe for the budget will have to be extended! We have an LED reading lamp that I love! Other than that we have CFL bulbs almost all through the house except the master bathroom. We hope to change those light fixtures next year!
Jim Trietsch
Would love to try out LED lights further.
Jacob Allred
Nope, all my sockets use normal bulbs.
Anne Marie
I would like to find a CFL in a three way bulb – wonder if there is such a thing!!
Sandie Emig
We’re slowly replacing all of our lighting with LED as the old bulbs burn out. I’d love to win the gift card!!
Jessica-MomForHim
so far we’ve been able to find all the sizes we needed. :-)
Rachel
No unusual light bulbs needed for my home :)
Cheryl
Fortunately all of our lights take easy to find bulbs!
Michele
ours are pretty standard, but the bulbs for the recessed lights in the kitchen are expensive, so I’d love to stock up at home depot!
Jackie
We just remolded our home and most every fixture has unusal size bulbs. We could really use this. Thanks for the great giveaway.
Bethany
Honestly, I’ve never tried LED light bulbs. But I’m definitely very interested. The most unusual sized bulbs we have are for our chandelier, which are flame-shaped, but have a different size base than is normally found in stores. It would be great to see if Home Depot sells these in the size we need!
Shelly T.
No, we do not have any unusual light bulb fixtures. I would love the chance to try the LED light bulbs in our home!
carla
Nope, all standard here! But as I deplete my regular bulb stock, I would love to use a gift card to head over to HD and replace w/ new LED’s!
Stephanie Skelonis
We don’t have any unusual size bulbs in our house.. not that we’ve found needing replacement yet!! We have mostly CF bulbs, for years, since they were supposed to be long lasting and used less wattage.. but maybe it’s a time to change to a new saver!
Claudia
No I don’t. E-mail subscriber.