If you’ve never thought past the switch on the wall when it comes to turning on the lights in your home, we’ve got news for you. First of all, lighting a room correctly is important for both aesthetic reasons and practical ones—you can’t chop lettuce in a dimly-lit kitchen, and it’s hard to set the mood for a romantic evening in a dining room lit with cold fluorescent lights. But while a fancy fixture is all well and good, good lighting is about more than hanging up some pretty pendant lights. In the end, it all comes down to the humble light bulb.
Here are the four common types of lighting you may have throughout your home, and the right kind of light bulb for each of them:
Warm General Lighting
“General lighting” is the primary light source in a room—the one that turns on when you pull the string dangling from your ceiling fan. Warm incandescent bulbs are often a great choice for living spaces like game rooms, living rooms, or bedrooms since they cast a soft and flattering light over the room. Good bulb choices of this type include GE Lighting Soft White or the AmeriLuck 2700K Soft White.
Cool General Lighting
If your common areas are filled with warm general lighting, your workspaces are good places for “cool” lighting. These bright white bulbs give rooms energy, reflect off bright colors, and are good choices for rooms where work needs to get done. You’ll want to make sure you choose a bulb that’s between 3500-5000 Kelvin for a space like this, much like the Cree 100W Equivalent Daylight bulb.
Task Lighting
When you’re chopping vegetables or writing a paper, you may often find yourself in need of focused lighting directly over the task at hand. These lights are smaller and brighter than general lighting and may often look like pendant lights in the kitchen, or a reading lamp on your nightstand in the bedroom. Halogen bulbs are very bright and are excellent for this purpose, and you’ll have a wide range to choose from. Our favorites include the Philips energy-efficient 60-Watt Equivalent and the HELLA Standard-55W Standard Halogen.
Accent Lighting
Accent lights are great for drawing attention to an object—like a piece of art—or for lighting up parts of your yard. They’re usually bold, bright, and direct, but you can find a wide range of options here to suit your unique situation. LEDs are a good choice for accent lights, especially outdoor lighting, and you can’t go wrong with the Cree BR30 LED or the Sunco Lighting BR30.
From lifespan to wattage to color, there’s a lot to consider when choosing a lightbulb for your fixture and space. Oftentimes it’s worth investing in a more expensive model upfront since higher-quality bulbs tend to last longer and provide higher quality of light than cheaper ones. In the end, however, it comes down to what looks and functions best in your home. To speak with a professional about installing the right lighting for your space, call Colvin Electric today.