What type of light should you use?

You walk into your office, hit the light switch and nothing happens.

The light bulb burned out, and you need to replace it.  But with what type of bulb?  Gone are the days when incandescent or fluorescent bulbs were your only choice and you just had to select the correct wattage.  But help is on the way.  Light bulbs now come with a “Lighting Facts” label, similar to a nutrition label on food.  Here’s how to read three pieces of info on these labels:

1. Brightness: How much light a bulb produces is measured in lumens. This is a standard measurement across all light bulbs.  (For reference a 60W incandescent bulb produces 800 lumens.)
2. Light Appearance: Lights can cast a warm or cool tone in the room and is measured in Kalvin (K).  The lower the Kalvin, the more yellow-white the light.  Higher Kalvin lights produce a blue-white light.
   • Warm white (2500K – 3000K) is great for bedrooms and family rooms.
   • Bright or cool white (3500K – 4100K) is ideal for kitchens, workspaces and bathrooms.
   • Daylight (5000K – 6000K) is perfect for reading.
3. Energy Used: This indicates the bulbs wattage.  Make sure never to buy a light bulb with a higher wattage than your lamp recommends.

The Lighting Facts labels are designed to help you more easily compare the different types of light bulbs, e.g., CFLs, LEDs, halogen and incandescent.  Check out this article for more information about these bulbs.