Deal Seeking Mom

Shopping for LED Light Bulbs + Win a $50 The Home Depot GC!

by


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.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Holly

    We did have some fixtures that had different bulbs that I’ve never seen before when we moved here but the lighting was very poor, so we ended up changing them to regular bulbs.

  3. Megan

    We were looking for lights for our basement that are dimmable but I’m not sure LED exists for those yet!

  4. Shelley

    We’ve been changing over – when the “old” one goes, in goes a new one! And who doesn’t love that savings!!!

  7. Elizabeth

    Our old bathroom requires a difficult to find wattage. We actually replaced it and are using the LED bulbs.

  11. Michelle L

    I have only switched to LED on about two light fixtures in our house to see the benefit and I would love to switch all of them to LED!! Thanks!

  13. amanda

    We were just at HD last weekend looking for light bulbs. Our whole basement is full (like 20 of ’em) of tiny recessed can lights that take R20s. We bought some LEDs but were bummed that they were too long to fit in the fixture (they stuck out of the ceiling). We returned them and bought a different LED for a candelabra fixture in the kitchen. We’re trying to be more green, but need a better, dimmable bulb to replace those R20s. Especially since the R20s burn out all the time and are not cheap!

  16. Jen L.

    I have been switching over to LED as the regular bulbs burn out. Love that I am making a move to better and longer lasting lighting!

  17. Sarah G

    Yes, our bedroom has the most difficult (and expensive!) light bulbs to find – but, we always get them at Home Depot. :)

  20. Terri

    We use LED bulbs in almost everything. The only things I haven’t used them in are the lamps that use three-way bulbs. I like using the lower light for watching television. Thank you!

  21. Claire

    We try to use the most energy efficient bulbs in our house. I don’t know what kind we actually have though lol

  22. Priscilla

    We don’t have any household light fixtures with LED. We only have CFLs. Our bathroom has unusual lights bulbs above the sink. I didn’t find what I needed on their website. Looking forward to the EcoSmart line coming to stores.

  25. Jennifer

    We don’t have any unusual light fixtures. We have been wanting to start changing our bulbs to LED…

  26. charlene w

    We have tried to convert over to LED- but slowly due to the expense. I have found the most unusual sizes at our HD as well.

  27. Michelle

    We move so often (military) that not having to buy lightbulbs so often is very nice. The new bulbs last so long!

  29. David

    One point you mention that I noticed when shopping last week is the Lumens.
    “be sure to look at the measurement of light output, known as lumens, instead of watts to select the right bulb.”

    Back when Halogen was the energy saver, they told you a Halogen at so many watts was like having a 60, 75, 100 etc.

    In comparing LED to Halogen Flood lights… the Halogen had about double the Lumens, I’m disappointed and is why I haven’t made the change yet.

    I use floods along with my coach lights all night long… this change will definitely show on my electric bill…I just don’t want to exchange it for the brightness and safety of lighting up the house.

    If I win the $50, I’ll definitely make the change and analyze the results for you all.