The much taken-for-granted light bulb is changing. Many consumers looking into upgrading lighting are finding themselves puzzling over the new packaging in the supermarket aisle, wondering what happened to the good old standard incandescent light bulb. Here is quick guide to help make sense of it all.

Watts and Lumens
Most people understand the relative brightness of a 60 watt bulb versus a 100 watt bulb, but how about 700 lumens or 1300? Watts are a measurement of power, but with the new energy saving bulbs using less power, this measurement fails to describe the actual brightness. This is where the lumens come into play. Lumens are a measurement of brightness. So, both a 100 watt standard light bulb and an 18 watt LED bulb shine at 1300 lumens.

The New Lights
Joining the standard incandescent light bulb on the shelf are its halogen cousin and the newcomers the LEDs and CFLs. Halogen bulbs are basically an incandescent with halogen gas added to make the bulb more efficient. Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are a new creature all-together using photons rather than a traditional filament to produce light.

The third option is the compact fluorescent light (CFL). These are those curly bulbs filled with gas. These bulbs were encouraged as replacements for incandescent bulbs because of their lower wattage requirements, but LEDs are quickly moving into the top spot for utility and savings for people upgrading lighting in their homes.

CFLs gained a bad reputation when first introduced. This was partly due to the aggressive way in which they were pushed onto the public at the expense of their beloved incandescent lighting and partly because of convoluted safety procedures in disposing of the bulbs due to the trace amounts of mercury they contain.

Since then, LEDs have stepped-up, displaying versatility in design options coupled with the added bonus of energy efficiency. They are now challenging the incandescent bulb’s hundred year reign.