Apartment Therapy Unplugged | Best Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Best Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

2007_04_27 light bulb.jpg The concensus seems to be that incandescent bulbs provide better light than compact fluorescent. You have all made it quite clear. The common question that comes up is "Which compact fluorescent can best create the light produced by a regular incandescent?" To answer this question objectively, Popular Mechanics put seven widely available compact fluorescents to the test against a standard incandescent bulb.

What was the verdict? Turns out that all seven compact fluorescents tested produced better light than the standard incandescent. The most highly rated bulb was the N:Vision soft white at just under $6.

Click here for the detailed evaluation.

Comments (4)

Hooray! I think a lot of people have this notion that compact fluorescent bulbs will result in light similar to that from the fluorescent tubes at the office. I don't think people realize how far CFL's have come! You can even get dimmable CFL's! And they don't flicker!

Anyway, I love my CFL's and I'm glad to see this came out in support of them.

posted by J-fer Rose on April 27th 2007 at 8:43am
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wouldn't that be "objectively"?

posted by sam1 on April 27th 2007 at 9:25am
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Yes sam1, sorry, objectively. Mental note, be careful when writing while jetlagged.

posted by Ryan on April 27th 2007 at 9:56am
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I just wish the dimmable CFL floods were cheaper. At almost $20 a bulb it would cost me over $160 to replace for my lights. I'm waiting for LEDs to come down in cost.

posted by Max on April 27th 2007 at 10:54am
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