Brightening up your home can be done in a number of ways, from changing the decor to a lighter paint colour and reducing the amount of furniture within your rooms, through to putting up more mirrors to reflect natural light, and using light bulbs which not only offer a bright light but reflect it throughout the room.

In times gone by a light bulb would be a traditional incandescent bulb; but over recent years these have been phased out, not only across the UK but also across Europe; with their replacements coming in one of three forms – halogen, LED or CFL.

Choosing which is right for you will depend on both your light fittings and what you are after from your bulb; but to give you a helping hand, especially with winter fast approaching, at BuySpares we’ve compiled this handy guide which looks at three of the key areas you need to consider when it comes to picking the right bulb for your home.

Bulb Type:

Halogen:

A halogen light bulb uses a inert gas to allow the tungsten filament to burn brighter and therefore a lighter colour is emitted, similar to that of the traditional incandescent bulb. However, Halogen bulbs often provide an intense glare rather than a warm glow – not to mention they can often be more expensive than their counterparts.

On the plus side, halogen bulbs are proven to be long-lasting, whilst they can also be used with dimmer switches, enabling you to be able to control the amount of light they emit. As a further benefit, they also use up to 50% less electricity than previous incandescent bulbs.

LED:

LED bulbs run using roughly up to 90% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs; and such bulbs are often the most energy efficient options; whilst their long-life can help you save a reported £180 on energy bills over their lifetime.

LED lightbulbs produce more light per watt consumed, helped by the fact that they do not take time to light up nor do they emit much heat, meaning they aren’t wasting energy.

A downside of LED bulbs however is that like halogen bulbs they can often be an expensive option (in the short term).

Did You Know: Many football grounds now use LED bulbs within their floodlights!

CFL:

CFL bulbs are not only cheap but they’re also widely available and are therefore common in most houses throughout the UK. The cheap cost of the bulbs may also account for why they are common within UK homes, not to mention have a typicalestimated life of 10,000 hours.

On the downside, they can take time to brighten up and aren’t therefore ideal of stairs, nor should they be thrown into your everyday rubbish or recycled when they’ve “blown”, as they contain mercury.

Brightness:

When it comes to the brightness of the bulb, you’ll need to carefully consider where the bulb is for as it is likely that you’ll want a brighter bulb (which brightens quickly) on stairs and landings. As such, once you’ve selected your bulb type, you’ll need to check its brightness.

A common mistake made amongst most homeowners is that when selecting the brightness of the light bulb, they look at the wattage. However, the wattage only indicates how much energy is needed to light the bulb; for how bright the bulb is you should check the lumens.

The higher the lumen, the brighter the bulb!

Bulb Shape:

When it comes to bulb shape, there’s a wide variety available such as globe, candle, spiral and of course the traditional shape; and with your bulb type and brightness decided upon you can begin to consider what shape bulb you’d like for your home.

Choosing the shape of the light bulb isn’t as straightforward as opting for which one you prefer aesthetically, as each shape emits light in a different manner, with globe bulbs spreading light in a 360 degree pattern – although obviously we’d recommend that you opt for a bulb which looks aesthetically pleasing both when it’s turned on and off.

With these considerations in mind, next time you’re after a new light bulb within your home visit the “light bulb” section of the BuySpares website and purchase the perfect bulb for your needs, requirements and those which fit in with your homes decor – and brighten up your home.

Tags: Halogen Lightbulbs, LED Bulbs, Light Bulbs