How to buy an incandescent bulb
Lighting | Appliance wattage advisor | Incandescent bulb buying guide
What to consider before you buy an incandescent bulb
An incandescent light bulb also known as an incandescent lamp is an electric light with a wire filament which produces light when current passes through it. Incandescent lighting is cheap to produce but is very inefficient, converting only 5% of the energy into light. Read more on Energy Efficient Light Bulbs.
Power Consumption
The use of incandescent light leads to high electricity costs as they consume quite a lot of energy to function. Incandescent light bulbs have an average lifespan of 1000 hours or 41.6 days running 24/7. While comparable CFL light bulbs last an average of 9,000 hours or 375 days running 24/7 and an LED light bulb lasts 50,000 hours or 2,083 days. Incandescent light bulbs use the most energy from the 3 technologies.
| Incandescent (Watts) | Lumens (Brightness) |
| 40 | 400 – 500 |
| 60 | 650 – 900 |
| 75 – 100 | 1100 – 1750 |
| 120 | 1800+ |
| 150 | 2780+ |
Table: Lumen output – Incandescent wattage (Earth Easy)
Warranty
Always remember to check for warranty. The duration of the warranty determines the confidence the manufacturer has in the product. Therefore the longer the warranty, the more confident the manufacturer is that the product is durable. Never buy an appliance with no warranty! Also, look out for the lifespan (total number of hours) of the bulb. Finally, you should buy from an authorized dealer to ensure that the warranty is valid.
Brands
There are many incandescent bulb brands in the market. Always check for the SONCAP and the warranty (as said above). Additionally you can check our blog for reviews and ratings of incandescent bulbs.
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